kicking academia in the face.
The Evolution of Consciousness on Planet Earth
Consciousness manifests itself in the forms of selves and things. Everything perceived is included in these two categories. This duality is merely an illusion, as there remains but one single consciousness. Proof of this is explained by noting that the perceived object would cease to exist if it were not being perceived. Furthermore, if there is nothing perceived, then the perceiver also ceases to exist. The only way for this duality to remain intact is if there is one unified consciousness to begin with. Chuan shih lun describes consciousness as the current in a river, and the five mental states of sensory contact, attention, sensation, volition, and conceptualization as the waves. The current would not exist without the waves, and the waves would not exist without the current, and yet they are both the same water.
The invention of the scientific method allows for indirect observation of consciousness’s evolution throughout history and prehistory. Our scientific understanding of reality and the universe has a starting point, known as the Big Bang. This was the beginning of what we recognize as time and space. There was no “before” the Big Bang, for all matter and energy everywhere was in one place. This concept of everything unified before the beginning of time is the scientific description of the one unified consciousness. The Big Bang itself occurred, sending all energy and matter out away from a single point, creating division. This action then, describes consciousness manifesting itself in multiple forms.
The Big Bang began the evolution of consciousness from one to many (and back again) over 16 billion years ago. At this point, consciousness took the form of action/reaction. While this may not seem recognizable to human beings as what they deem consciousness to be today, it was still something. In the “time” “before” the Big Bang, nothing happened. And now, after the Big Bang, something is happening for no reason other than it is happening. It’s actually quite a big deal. The chemical, gravitational, etc. reactions taking place at the moment of the Big Bang are still occurring today. They are the basis for all consciousness, and therefore of all existence. Consciousness acting as action/reaction formed the cellular cycle of its own evolution, and over 15 billion years, ended with the creation of the first cells on planet Earth. Slowly, energies began to settle enough to form subatomic particles, the building blocks of matter. Protons, neutrons, and electrons were formed, their whole existence based on magnetic charges: positive or negative. Essentially they must be made from the same energy, but for some reason, chose to be positive or negative (or neither in the case of the neutron.) These particles, made of the same bits of energy, differing only in charge, are then automatically drawn to one another to form the first hydrogen atoms. Just because of the single +/- difference, a whole new structure, greater than both its components, is formed. These hydrogen atoms build upon each other to form helium atoms, and eventually these two simple chemicals form massively enormous stars. These stars “live” for a finite amount of time, their “lives” made up of nuclear reactions for as long as its fuel lasts. When a star dies, it usually collapses in upon itself, forming a planetary nebula, which expels heavier atoms out into space. These heavier atoms provide a cornucopia of building materials to eventually form objects like planets for other stars. Some of these planets, like Earth, are the perfect distance away from their own stars to allow liquid water to exist on the surface. Liquid water is the nectar which brings life, a completely new and more advanced form of consciousness. The first life is born in the water, when a few molecules arrange themselves circularly in such a way to form an enclosed space. This is the first cell wall, and the wall provides a separation between the in and outside, protecting whatever may be inside. This is the first survival method, and leads to the continuation of this cell’s life. Consciousness has thus far done so much with such a simple action/reaction existence.
Life evolved, for it had all the tools it needed for the moment. Seemingly random cases of action/reaction brought forth an infinitely diverse grouping of living organisms. Random combinations were tested, and anytime one worked more efficiently than any other combination, that organism had a better probability of survival long enough to pass on its DNA code, its blueprints, to offspring. Over billions of years, the simplest life evolved in this manner, action/reaction as its only means of continuing on. When consciousness had done as much as it could, it, like the life it formed, evolved. With a sea full of organisms all competing to survive, a helpful skill was to be aware of the world around itself. Abilities to sense one’s environment developed as a desirable trait, and so consciousness evolved from simple action/reaction to a more advanced state of stimulus/response. Now, organisms were hard wired with responses to certain stimuli that would ultimately aid their survival. Consciousness in the state of stimulus/response would usher in the mammalian cycle of its evolution. Single-celled organisms, like the hydrogen atoms before them, stacked on top of one another forming multi-celled organisms, first plant life which absorbed sunlight for energy, and then animals to eat the former for energy. Millions of years of evolution through stimulus/response consciousness created trillions of organisms, millions of species. This survival game lead to the creation of vast ecosystems of plant and animal life, whose survival and procreation was dependent on stimulus/response consciousness. Like organisms had a better chance of survival when they grouped together, forming hives, nests, schools, flocks, etc. Consciousness was shared among various individuals of a group. When a fish in a school is given a certain stimulus that tells it to swim away to the right, the entire school swims to the right at once. The individual consciousness of the universe, split up, pulls itself back together again. Consciousness again held the form of stimulus/response and allowed life to evolve by these terms.
As life evolved in form, it also migrated to land. Since all life at this point existed in the sea, competition to survive also only existed in the sea. The move to land meant that the most advanced creatures which could bear to survive out of water would have less competition, and therefore a greater overall chance for survival and procreation. Soon enough, over millions of years more, the first mammals appeared. Mammals were different from the reptiles that preceded them. Mammals took care of their young. No longer would an organism reproduce and separate itself from its offspring, but now the concept of family took strong hold. Adult mammals were biologically more advanced than their predecessors, but their young were usually completely helpless until reaching maturity. This family unit changed consciousness’s understanding of The Other. No longer were other members of the same species just another, but now they were family. The first monkeys were the pinnacle example of this form of consciousness. These first monkeys ushered in the familial cycle, and with this cycle came a new level of consciousness: stimulus/individual response. No longer were organisms simply drones, but alpha males, and mothers, and newborn babies. The individual was recognized for the first time. This recognition created much more flexibility for the group dynamic, and more flexibility meant a better chance at survival. As these monkeys lived in their family units in the trees, their physical form was also evolving. Swinging from branches changed their bone structure to allow their spines to straighten, making it possible to stand, and eventually walk, upright for short periods of time. Standing on two legs allowed for them to see further, to locate food supplies and avoid predators. This literal change of perspective allowed the apes to flourish. Along with bipedalism came color vision, which allowed for an exponentially better understanding of the world. The complexities of the first upright apes are like nothing possible from the mammalian cycle, and it is all a result of the evolution of consciousness from stimulus/response to stimulus/individual response.
Apes being able to walk upright meant that they spent more time on the ground and less in the trees. This time spent on the ground meant the eventual loss of their prehensile tail, which had served as their main specialized survival tool up to that point. They lost one survival tool and gained another more powerful tool: the mind. Ever since the earliest vertebrates, animals had brains, but they were mostly simply for controlling the stimulus/response consciousness. However, the tailless apes brains grew to be comparably large, encompassing not only the basic stimulus/(individual) response consciousness, but also a completely new function: the ability to recognize similarities and differences. This is the next stage of consciousness and it ushers in the tribal cycle. The ability to consciously recognize similarities and differences allows for the expansion from a family to a tribe. This involved the development of tool use. In order to make and use a tool, an ape must realize the need for a tool, and be able to conceptualize a way to build a tool. This level of consciousness involves an awareness of the conditions of the world around the organism, and more importantly, an idea of the ideal situation. There would be no use of tools if these apes could not differentiate between how things are and how things could be. Also, because apes are communal creatures, it follows that the seeds of language began to take root. The beginnings of abstract thought are logically attached to the beginnings of language. Apes now had community, mobility, rudimentary language, and the knowledge and ability to transform the environment around them, which all added up to propelling them forward past other life forms on the planet. These apes migrated, following food sources, and their skill set caused them to evolve into the earliest humans. Their skill set was greatly expanded with the development of fire. Their ability to harness fire nearly guaranteed survival no matter environmental conditions. Fire is not only another tool, but an energy source. The ability to manipulate external energy is an important facet of consciousness’s evolution. This means that consciousness has more control of its existence as a life form, which leads to greater survival rates, as well as expansion.
Homo sapiens came into existence with the emergence of complex verbal language. This use of language expanded homo sapiens’ ability to communicate, and therefore expanded understanding. Greater understanding ushered in the cultural cycle of evolution. The state of consciousness in the cultural cycle was that of reasons. Not only could homo sapiens understand similarities and differences, but now they could understand the reasons for the state of the world around them. Understanding the reasons behind occurrences leads to a greater understanding of the occurrence itself, and then allows for abstract thought about the future of such an occurrence. The observer and the observed are now linked much more closely. Again, consciousness that had split itself apart, has brought itself back together. The greater understanding which came about was then able to be shared among individuals, and understanding was shared. This shared understanding is the basis of all culture. All culture is simply the framing of a worldview in a way that is shared and understood by all in the group. Around this time, art began to emerge in human behavior all across the planet. Art in the form of cave paintings, statuettes, and jewelry began to spring up everywhere all at once. The presence of art represents a heightened consciousness. Art encompasses the ability to imagine an ideal, a desire to communicate through external representation, and above all, the desire to take part in creation. A general thumbnail definition of art that still applies to this day is that art aims to individually express the consciousness that exists in us all; consciousness’s own multiplicity aiming to demonstrate its oneness. Human beings had to understand that they themselves were creations, and then wished to create. To create is to be a god. It follows that this would most likely represent the beginnings of spirituality and religion, for if they could imagine being a creator, they must also have been able to imagine their own creator.
Again, consciousness rests and allows the evolution of life to take place with its newest gift of reasons. The cultural cycle concludes with the development of agriculture around 8000 BC. Humanity’s ability to understand reasons led them to understand how and why plants grow, and understand that they could plant food. This changed the behavior of human beings from exclusively hunting and gathering to include farming. The major difference between these behaviors, of course, is that farming allows/requires them to stay in one place and still have enough to eat. The once migratory upright apes are now settling farmers. Now that they are staying in one place, they are able to have larger groups, and settlements become villages. This provides a certain degree of comfort, which leads to the establishment of a more solid and permanent social order. Classes emerge, now that there is a commodity (rice or corn) to be hoarded. At this point, around 3115 BC, written language emerges, first in Sumeria, thus beginning history. The urge to communicate expanded beyond verbal language into a permanent record for future generations. Writing serves to demonstrate some understanding of time, specifically how to communicate across it. The development of writing also begins the national cycle. Consciousness during this cycle, and for all of history, takes the form of laws. With more permanent settlements comes more permanent understanding of existence. No longer do we just understand the reasons behind things, but we begin to solidify our morality. Not only is there a shared understanding, but now there is a right and wrong. Consciousness not only understands itself, but now forms opinions about itself. Humanity now turns its own existence into a set of laws, right and wrongs, yes and no’s, +/-‘s. Conscious life creates its own laws that mimic its most basic level of action/reaction behavior. This period of time, 3115 BC, when humanity taught itself right from wrong, is the described in the Bible as the time of expulsion from the paradise that was the Garden of Eden. We knew that we were naked, and that it was wrong. Things that we had never had any problem with before were now unacceptable. This loss of innocence comes with the emergence of law and morality.
With the establishment of laws and permanent settlements, human history as we know it was allowed to take place. The rise and fall of mighty civilizations, formation of major historical religions, fine art, science, the emergence of nation states, and a whole lot of people killing one another over right and wrong. Humanity had dominated all other species, so the survival of the species was now a question of different groups taking lands and wealth from others. Location on the planet determined these groups, eventually forming nations, whose borders evolved over time usually through the destructive force of war exclusively. Since location played such a key role in the formation of culture, locomotion became a key necessity for expanding wealth and territory. Just as fire had done for early humans, new sources of energy became essential commodities. In 1755, the industrial revolution in Europe began the planetary cycle of consciousness evolution. Fossil fuels powered the locomotion of people to different areas of the world, and with the transport of people came the transport of ideas, the transport of culture. The movement of people aided the movement of ideas, the spreading of consciousness. Soon enough, the spreading of ideas didn’t even require the physical movement of people. The planetary cycle saw the harnessing of electricity and brought forth inventions including the telegraph, the telephone, the radio, the television, and computer networks, the internet. All this consciousness-spreading created a planetary culture.
Planetary culture has just been born. Traditional materialistic political culture has attempted to address the presence of the planetary consciousness with globalization, but has done so ineptly. Planetary consciousness is so much bigger and more significant than the older capitalistic methods of national consciousness. The internet is a shining example of this very fact. The internet joins all cultures, all individuals, all of human consciousness, in an abstract medium. Computers, built by human beings, designed by human minds, naturally mirror their creators. The networking of computers is like the networking of minds. This network spans the globe, serving as a platform on which the entirety of human knowledge, experience, and consciousness has the potential to exist. The internet creates an abstract, shared inner-space. Our consciousness interfaces with the computers, which were designed by and resemble human minds, and the computers network with each other. Through this connection, all of human consciousness is able to actively interface. The internet is in constant flux, generally expanding, but also editing. Web sites are born, web sites change, web sites go stagnant, all depending on the humans at the computer. The internet itself is evolving, recently (since 2006) taking a significant step forward with the expansion of video technology. What was once a mostly textual interface has now become active and animated, allowing individuals from different parts of the planet have a face-to-face conversation in real time (with only a slight delay.)
Nay sayers would focus entirely on the fact that the users are not actually physically interacting with each other. However, it should be noted that humanity is not the supreme being, but rather a vehicle of it. If consciousness is entering its next cycle, presumably a galactic cycle, followed by a universal cycle, then why is it automatically assumed that humanity as it was formerly known will sustain in such a manner? Also, all of human history (which is nothing compared to the lifetime of consciousness) has been focused on the physical interaction of people. And, for the most part, human history is a record of people physically killing other people, mostly due to clashing cultures, or a lack of common understanding. The internet allows for a global dissemination of a new mega-culture to be spread safely, bringing together all of human consciousness and giving it time to sink in. Once there is common understanding, much bloodshed can be avoided.