The word "evolution" was not coined by Darwin. Yet, today, perhaps because of the great "Intelligent Design/Evolution" debate, the word seems to be attached to a specific scientific dogma.
To evolve is to become something different out of what is. It is the emergence that takes place in time.*
In terms of "dogma," I suggest that humans like to define things with unambiguous borders so that they may be better grasped. Things that can be grasped tightly can be used as tools. We can come to know their characteristics. In this way, we can know when we want to use them, how we want to use them, and how to avoid being used by them.
Science itself is evolving. It is, in a general sense, developing. There are always those who make things into dogmas. I suggest that we overlook the dogma and move on to see what possibilities are offered.
Evolution of the universe is a subject itself. You may have heard that we are all made of star dust, quite literally. This is a wonderful and humbling realization. The universe and all that is in it has evolved, or developed, according to particular laws. These laws are the primary focus of the various disciplines of science. The laws that we come up with are accepted as laws when they work. That is, they are evaluated on the basis of how well they match what actually happens in the world. The simplest laws that provide an explanation for the greatest number of things are the ones that we tend to elevate. The laws have explanatory value. Furthermore, the laws can be used to predict what will happen.
We are the product of evolution, and at the same time, evaluators of the process of evolution. Our evolution includes the process of coming to understand what evolution is and how it works. When we understand it well enough, we will be able to use its laws in a predictive way. The amazing thing is that even though we are such a completely minute part of the universe, whether we consider space or time or space-time, we have a self-awareness, the capacity to see the patterns and invest them with a meaning. The meaning is the predictive direction.
We will review the interplay of competition and cooperation, oftentimes called "individual-level selection" and "group-level selection". Both of these are part of what we call "natural selection."
The Goodreads website has a diverse array of quotations on natural selection. The quotation that captures my approach is this:
“It looks as if the offspring have eyes so that they can see well (bad, teleological, backward causation), but that's an illusion. The offspring have eyes because their parents' eyes did see well (good, ordinary, forward causation).”
― Steven Pinker, How the Mind Works
In other words, eyes evolved because there is something to see. This is what I mean by saying that "the meaning is the predictive direction." It is a positive, forward causation towards patterns inherent in the structure of the universe. I believe there is evidence to suggest that we humans have the possibility of using our free will to chose towards this meaning.
* Origin early 17th century: from Latin evolutio(n-) ‘unrolling,’ from the verb evolvere (see evolve). Early senses related to physical movement, first recorded in describing a tactical “wheeling” maneuver in the realignment of troops or ships. Current senses stem from a notion of “opening out” and “unfolding,” giving rise to a general sense of ‘development.’
To evolve is to become something different out of what is. It is the emergence that takes place in time.*
In terms of "dogma," I suggest that humans like to define things with unambiguous borders so that they may be better grasped. Things that can be grasped tightly can be used as tools. We can come to know their characteristics. In this way, we can know when we want to use them, how we want to use them, and how to avoid being used by them.
Science itself is evolving. It is, in a general sense, developing. There are always those who make things into dogmas. I suggest that we overlook the dogma and move on to see what possibilities are offered.
Evolution of the universe is a subject itself. You may have heard that we are all made of star dust, quite literally. This is a wonderful and humbling realization. The universe and all that is in it has evolved, or developed, according to particular laws. These laws are the primary focus of the various disciplines of science. The laws that we come up with are accepted as laws when they work. That is, they are evaluated on the basis of how well they match what actually happens in the world. The simplest laws that provide an explanation for the greatest number of things are the ones that we tend to elevate. The laws have explanatory value. Furthermore, the laws can be used to predict what will happen.
We are the product of evolution, and at the same time, evaluators of the process of evolution. Our evolution includes the process of coming to understand what evolution is and how it works. When we understand it well enough, we will be able to use its laws in a predictive way. The amazing thing is that even though we are such a completely minute part of the universe, whether we consider space or time or space-time, we have a self-awareness, the capacity to see the patterns and invest them with a meaning. The meaning is the predictive direction.
We will review the interplay of competition and cooperation, oftentimes called "individual-level selection" and "group-level selection". Both of these are part of what we call "natural selection."
The Goodreads website has a diverse array of quotations on natural selection. The quotation that captures my approach is this:
“It looks as if the offspring have eyes so that they can see well (bad, teleological, backward causation), but that's an illusion. The offspring have eyes because their parents' eyes did see well (good, ordinary, forward causation).”
― Steven Pinker, How the Mind Works
In other words, eyes evolved because there is something to see. This is what I mean by saying that "the meaning is the predictive direction." It is a positive, forward causation towards patterns inherent in the structure of the universe. I believe there is evidence to suggest that we humans have the possibility of using our free will to chose towards this meaning.
* Origin early 17th century: from Latin evolutio(n-) ‘unrolling,’ from the verb evolvere (see evolve). Early senses related to physical movement, first recorded in describing a tactical “wheeling” maneuver in the realignment of troops or ships. Current senses stem from a notion of “opening out” and “unfolding,” giving rise to a general sense of ‘development.’
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