Evolution of Consciousness

Are we on the brink of the most enormous transformation of the entire earth and of the time of historical space wherein it is suspended? Are we on the eve of a night leading toward a new dawn? Are we about to depart on the trek into the historical landscape of earth’s evening? ... Is this land of evening just now coming into being? Are we today “occidental” in the sense that the night of the world comes on only via our transition? … Are we the late-comers? Or are we at the same time the early arrivals of the dawn of an entirely new age which has already left behind our present conceptions of history?

Martin Heidegger[1]

These words of Martin Heidegger are speculative, but may be prophetic to bring meaning to humanity’s progressive story as we face the challenges of life on planet earth in the new scientific age. Rather than marking the end of the knowledge explosion, the quantum era just keeps on opening newer windows of knowledge after newer windows. The mind needs to remain open to newer possibilities. In the following summary of his book, Evolution of Consciousness Vincent Bedogne presents the vision of a new window through which the human can gaze to answer questions we still grapple with. He views life through the prism of consciousness and its evolving story. He dares to peer past the notion of the Big Bang, Beyond the time of creation, the origin of intelligence, and the importance of the human species while respecting the importance of Darwin’s life-changing contribution.

EVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS

By

Vincent Frank Bedogne

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a Palaeontologist and Jesuit of the early twentieth century. His reputation still stands at the forefront of those who are totally immersed in the new world of science and are committed to the search for an appropriate philosophy to represent the creation as we now describe it. Teilhard de Chardin spoke of evolution as the "creative process" but, because of the Church’s ban on his writings, did not get to outline his theory publicly. Nevertheless, the publication of de Chardin’s books after his death enabled Vincent Frank Bedogne – a 40-year student of de Chardin – to respond to his mentor’s philosophical theory of evolution in his own book, the Evolution of Consciousness. Bedogne’s thesis stands as an enhanced alternative to Darwin’s theory of evolution insofar as the latter relies on chance mutations.

Bedogne argues that Darwin’s approach is reductionist in that it accepts the prevalent scientific understanding that the mind is consequential to the evolution of living things. The broader perception of de Chardin embraces as a real possibility the notion of both ‘internal’ and ‘external’ worlds, or a ‘within’ and a ‘without’ to use his terms. The inner world is that pertaining to human experience which cannot be measured by external means or yardsticks such as time, space, or mathematics. Philosophically, de Chardin is one of the proponents[2] who propose that mind shapes matter and not that matter shapes mind. While the Darwinian external approach of the survival of the fittest remains part of the story, de Chardin argues that the process that ultimately shapes the evolution of creation emanates from consciousness, the internal. In other words, consciousness is primal. This interpretation is presented under the heading of the ‘Creative process’ outlined throughout Bedogne’s book.[3]

Bedogne speaks of the scientific method’s search for the origin of that which exists in our time by tracing its history back to its simplest state. Addressing the subject from the interior perspective of our present state (ie. consciousness) takes us back to its origin which he describes as emptiness, for it is without form other than the notion of consciousness. Yet emptiness as consciousness, the stand-alone universe, must surely be cognizant of its potential being i.e. fulfillment.

Motivated, if the previous statement is true, by its need to create fulfillment, this consciousness turned in on itself, perceiving itself as the object of its own need. As it did, the emerging universe’s internal act of perception manifested in an external construct that we can describe as uniform energy that existed as all space.

Perception of self-as-object, motivated by uncertainty, transformed the universe’s consciousness of emptiness into a consciousness of fulfillment. This is the creative cycle of evolution. The first click of time – the ‘first moment’, perhaps - had passed. The cycle repeats and repeats until the uncertainty of fulfillment disappears and the threshold of formation is crossed. The direction of the evolving universe is set. The consciousness that was the emerging universe had been created. The universe’s experience of emptiness had intensified to formation, manifested in an external construct that we can describe as uniform energy, in an autonomy of unity.

This creative process was self-referential, essentially positive feedback, that continually repeated this process, and with each click of time, with each ‘moment of creation’ - expanding within its own space toward fulfillment. Time and space were created as emergent phenomena of evolving consciousness.

Bedogne speaks of the evolution of consciousness as having come about through ‘autocatalysis’, a commonly-recognised process in the field of chemistry whereby one (or more) of the reaction products serves as a catalyst for repetition of the same reaction.[4] According to this proposition, the ‘self-generation’ of its own self-consciousness progressively through major transitions has produced the creation we are now experiencing.[5]

Bedogne proceeds to describe this unfolding story of evolution through stages: from Emptiness to the emergence of the fundamental structure of creative form, the emergence of the wonder of life, the arrival of reflective understanding by living creatures fundamental to being human, and finally the clarification of the ultimate vision of fulfillment.

Emergence

Bedogne progresses stage-by-stage through the universe’s evolution. The first of the universe’s major evolutionary periods is the age of Emergence. Here, from an internal point of view, the universe’s evolution unfolds as an expansion of consciousness followed by the doubling of the entity of consciousness that resulted. From an external point of view, we saw the universe’s evolution unfold as an expansion of space and uniform energy that resulted. Emergence climaxed as the universe crossed the threshold to the form that would allow it to further evolve – the threshold of Autonomy in Unity.

Structure

The universe’s second major evolutionary period is the age of structure. From an internal point of view, we saw evolution progress as the autonomous entities of consciousness from which the universe was composed perceived one another as the object of their need and, by doing so, created relationships. Relationships, in turn, perceived one another as objects to create successively more consciousness arrangements. The universe advanced as its structure of perception became more complex and the aspects of consciousness from which it was composed became more autonomous and aware. From an external point of view, we saw the universe’s evolution progress as particles, formed clusters of particles and as clusters of particles formed more complex structural units, giving rise to atoms, molecules, the cosmos, organic molecules, and simple metabolic systems. The universe’s age of structure climaxed with the emergence of the first cell, the first entity capable of reproduction. The universe marked the line between life and pre-life. It crossed the threshold of Design Over Structure.

Life

The universe’s third major evolutionary period is the Age of Life. During this period, the universe evolved to greater awareness through the design of the Earth’s biosphere and the life that it embodied. By way of the cycles and thresholds, the trial and error, and the creative building on and discarding of the old creative process, increasingly complex and conscious life forms emerged, and the Earth advanced into and through the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic, and the Cenozoic. Ecosystems became more intricate and realigned in support of continued evolutions. Sex and lifespan appeared. Sleep and dream developed, and abstract thought emerged and intensified. Social structure became less collective. Behaviour grew more spontaneous. Personality grew more distinct, and physical form grew more versatile. About seven million years ago, evolution’s leading-edge locked in the advancement of the human line. About one hundred thousand years ago, human awareness rose above the level of organic structure, and the universe marked a profound turning point in its evolution – the threshold to Reflection.

We characterized the moment of humankind’s first reflective thought as the instant when the universe stood face to face with itself. That first look at itself created an overpowering need to comprehend itself. Through the power of humanity's creativity, the universe set out to grasp the nature and purpose of existence – to create meaning. Our depiction of evolution entered the universe’s fourth major evolutionary period, the age we called understanding.

Understanding

Moreover, our quest to create understanding took place in a universe that had taken on a new form. With the threshold to reflection, the human being achieved the autonomy to exist independent of the greater universe – as a universe in itself. This gave rise to a reality defined by two spheres of existence – life and afterlife – and by the flow of human consciousness between. Spurred by time-acceleration, the universe had re-invented itself. The universe had moulded its structure into a form that given its reflective existence would further it's evolution.

Threshold after threshold, human understanding grew. In the sphere of the living, we invented gods and religions, created myths, and rituals. We built cities, states nations, and empires. We developed writing and mathematics, pondered the heavens, and probed the physical universe. A little over two thousand years ago, we saw the world in terms of the internal and external point of view, and our knowledge of the universe’s physical dimension increased at an accelerated rate. We invented new materials and forms of warfare. We saw the Earth as revolving around the sun, sailed the world’s oceans, and mapped its continents. We founded the scientific method, recognised the existence of evolution, and formulated the laws of classical mechanics. The universe evolved to greater awareness as humankind evolved to a greater understanding of its place in creation.

The discoveries made in the twentieth century and the turmoil that took place during that period thrust humanity to a state of global consciousness, to an internalization of the noosphere. They also brought us to the point where we stand today and to the central contention of our account of the universe and its becoming. Stage by stage, our analysis led us to a conclusion – to an unavoidable outcome of the evolution of consciousness view. As Teilhard foretold and as we described, the universe today crosses the most profound evolutionary threshold since the emergence of reflective consciousness more than a thousand lifetimes ago.

Human knowledge has accumulated without limit. Today, the understanding represented by that knowledge makes it possible for us to fulfill a long-established evolutionary goal. Today, the universe embodies the consciousness to achieve what it had set out to do. The moment the first human being pondered his or her existence. We recognise the internal nature of the universe. We understand that the universe began in a state of emptiness and that the universe’s motivation is to create the consciousness that will allow it to resolve this sense of void. We embrace the universe’s becoming. Today, the universe crosses the threshold to Meaning.

Fulfillment

Empowered by this awareness, we set forth into the universe’s final evolutionary era, the age we call fulfillment. Today, we step into an era where wisdom and creative growth define the human experience, and our awareness of who we are and of where we are headed aligns our creative energy to the task of perfecting life on earth. We will redefine the limits of science and re-interpret the nature of God and religion. We will invent a new economics, take command of evolution’s trailing arrow, and rebuild the earth’s urban and ecological infrastructure in support of the universe’s continued evolution.

Today, we also step into an era that has an ultimate outcome. In the distant future, when the boundary between the living and those who have passed has fallen into obsolescence, and the sphere of the afterlife has become one, uncertainty will build for the last time. One final moment of doubt will grip creation. Evolution’s leading arrow exists only in present. To become what it must, the universe must abandon all that it has been. With the acceptance of this insight, with the willingness to let go of all that has passed, uncertainty will collapse. The energy held at bay by that uncertainty will propel the universe through its last evolutionary transformation.

Life and Earth will fall from existence. From the memories of physical creation, a structure of ultimate non-collectivity will rise. We will each become as the universe, and the universe will become as each of us. We will each perceive the universe and all other human beings as the object of our need. We will each embrace and be embraced by the creative cycles of all others. As our creative process supports and is supported by the creative process of all other entities of existence, consciousness will have reached its potential. Uncertainty will no longer grow. The creative process will no longer bring forth evolution. Time will flow but not accelerate. Space will manifest satisfaction. We will exist as hyper-unique beings, entities on a level of consciousness equal to all others and the universe. Ultimate autonomy will sustain ultimate unity. Just as no state, less evolved than the universe’s original state of emptiness can exist, no state more evolved than the universe’s final state of self-convergence can be achieved. The universe will have perfected itself. It will have reached the level of awareness Teilhard called the “Omega Point”. No longer will the universe be alone. Together, humanity and the universe will have created the consciousness necessary to sustain their fulfillment.

Conclusion

This story of evolution as described by Vincent Bedogne honours the insightful brilliance of the once-silenced Teilhard de Chardin, the great scientist theologian. Few have been able to bring the internal and external perceptions of life together as well as he. De Chardin’s setting of the vision of life, built upon the notion of consciousness through the method he calls “creative process”, (rather than purely through the Darwinian process of natural selection), speaks to those looking for an alternate understanding of the creation and in particular those seeking a positive vision of the essential place of humans within the evolving creation. [6] Humans are the guardian and stewards of creation's consciousness.

[1] Jean Gebser, The Ever-Present Origin, trans. Noel Barstad with Algis Mickunas (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1985), 402.

[2] Godwin. Robert W, One Cosmos under God: Unification of Matter, Life, Mind, and Spirit. (St. Paul Minnesota 55114: Paragon House, 2004).

[3] It is based upon de Chardin’s formula attraction, connection, complexity, and consciousness.

[4] Taran, O., von Kiedrowski, G. (2011). Autocatalysis. In: , et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11274-4_138 pp128-129

While autocatalytic phenomena have been observed in fields as diverse as cell biology and nonlinear physics, their general study is the subject of the emergent field of “Systems Chemistry". Autocatalysis | SpringerLink

[5] Taran, O., von Kiedrowski, G. (2011). Autocatalysis. In: , et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11274-4_138 pp128-129 "Autocatalysis may come to be seen as the minimal requirement for the emergence of life as it is at the core of modern biogenetic theories." Autocatalysis | SpringerLink

[6] Boslaugh, S. E. "anthropocentrism." Encyclopedia Britannica, January 11, 2016. https://www.britannica.com/topic/anthropocentrism. This vision necessarily invokes the philosophical viewpoint of Anthropocentrism which states that human beings are the central or most important entities in the universe. In its simplest manifestation, this runs up against classical Darwinism and also raises ethical and theological questions. This is a contested view and will be the subject of a further paper. anthropocentrism | philosophy | Britannica.