Creative Evolution - So.. What Comes Next.. ?

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In the beginning.. there is nothing..

And then there is a big bang.

Stars.. planets.. moons.. galaxies form.

Some chemical processes take place.. stimulated by excessive heat.. and the first life arises on the planet.

Single cell to multicell.. complexity keeps gradually increasing.

Fishy things crawl out of the ocean and scaly.. feathery.. and fluffy.. things evolve out of them.

Brains get bigger.

The human race evolves out of the apes.

That's the story.. so far..


But the question still remains..


What comes next.. ?

Has evolution ground to a halt.. ?

Or could something else evolve.. out of us.. ?

If so.. what form would it take.. ?

And.. what manner of existing.. ?

Is it already happening.. ?

That's what I'm wondering.

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“There do exist enquiring minds, which long for the truth of the heart, seek it, strive to solve the problems set by life ,try to penetrate to the essence of things and phenomena and to penetrate into themselves.

If a man reasons and thinks soundly, no matter which path he follows in solving these problems, he must inevitably arrive back at himself, and begin with the solution of the problem of what he is himself and what his place is in the world around him.”

G. I. Gurdjieff
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Transhumanism is probably the next step, where man takes a more conscious approach to altering himself. This will likely start in efficiency enhancements to existing systems and removal of sickness and things such as that, but as time goes on, the alterations could get more dramatic.

Never really thought about this. First thing to come to mind are Great White Sharks and Salt Water Crocodiles, as I understand it they have not changed in millennia, On the other hand we have,( I am no anthropologist) I understand that humans in general have changed build since the middle ages. Stand open to be corrected

Correct. 300 years of dental records in the US show that jaws are becoming more narrow.

That's an interesting point.

That we take over and guide evolution ourselves.. so it is no longer driven by instictive behaviour.. but instead.. by rational ideas..

I guess then.. evolution would be guided by science.. rather than nature..

Whether that would be a good thing or not.. I'm not sure.

However with the removal of sickness.. and maybe even barbaric human conflict.. like war.. we would still have the problem of limiting our population.. what with sex being so popular.

I also wonder.. if this took place.. would some humans develope.. while others got left behind.. ?

I imagine this would cause great conflict.. unless the two could live side by side.

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“In summoning even the wisest of physicians to our aid, it is probably that he is relying upon a scientific `truth', the error of which will become obvious in just a few years' time.”

Marcel Proust
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We become apothesized. Not in the sense of being glorified or worshiped though. I think this is our goal, to become from where we became. I am unaware who my father is so I have often looked to the Universe as a parental figure. Think of it like wanting to be like mom or dad when you grow up.

Last edited by Psimulus on 26 Aug 2008, 2:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

I find the following stuff very interesting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Age_of ... l_Machines
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Singularity_is_Near

I'm specifically interested in that Technological Singularity. Whether it becomes utopian or dystopian is yet ot be determined...

Yes.. this is something like along the lines I'm thinking of..

“God becomes as we are,
in order that we may become as he is.”

William Blake

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Meaning that we begin evolving spiritually.. towards discovering our god-like identity.

Teilhard de Charidin suggested this idea of a spiritual evolution.. in his own additional "theory of evolution".. and put forward a very good case.. based on his own observations.. and common sense.

Myself.. it seems well within the bounds of reason that what has been cultivated inside us.. can exist independently of the physical altogether.. just as a chick can adapt to existing outside of its egg.

It is possible to imagine another stage in evolution that can completely transend the physical universe.. a form of life that doesn't require limbs.. a stomach.. or even a brain.. because it has discovered a way and means.. to evolve beyond that stage.. just as fish once came out of their marine environment and adjusted to living on the land.

When we look at all the varities of life.. and some of the extreme environments that life exists in.. it doesn't seem at all unreasonable to suppose.. that if there is way for life to be substained withour the physical requirements..

You can bet your life it will happen..

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“Strange developments are going on in astronomy. They are fascinating partly because of their theological implications, and partly because of the peculiar reactions of scientists....

For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream.

He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

Mountains of Ignorance - by Astronomer Robert Jastrow
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LOL

Well, in all honesty, I am studying to become an artificial intelligence specialist. I guess if we buckle down and stop being ret*d for a change, it can work out pretty nicely for us; if not, we can (seriously) expect much less pleasant results.

I was thinking more along the lines of this:

Minus the ridiculous part about time travel, of course, The Terminator is one of the more feasible examples of science fiction in recent times.

There are actually autonomous stealth bombers in the works at Boeing and SAAB you know.

If you accept (as I do) that the essence of life is at the borderline of the created world and pure consciousness, then no, I don't think life can go completely beyond the physical universe. Its very nature is that it is intemediary between the created and what goes before creation.

I do however think that humans will evolve themselves through genetical engeneering into beings with huge heads and small limbs. We will become less and less physically orientated and more and more mental and spiritual beings.

Evolution occurs by small changes that gradually become major. Most attempts by nature to change fail and the organism either dies before it is born or fails to survive through other basic necessities being neglected. It has recently been determined that autism has a genetic base. But autism has a very large range of variation from mild AS to very bad problems in basic functions. This is the way evolution takes place. Some autistic or AS modifications give the possessor increased capabilities. If those capabilities are successful enough to give the owner a breeding advantage then humanity might move in that direction.

You forget that natural selection is hardly working these days, fit ot less fit children are kept live by medical science and do procreate. The future will be to man made human evolution. The beginnings have already been made with people selecting out less fit embryos with genetic defects.

I'm a biologist, so I will make the following statements from my professional perspective.

1: There is no such thing as a "next step" to evolution. Evolution does not have some kind of teleological "plan" behind it.

2: Evolution might have "direction" but it is only "direction" in retrospect.

3: Natural selection and "survival of the fittest" does NOT mean "survival of the most macho" or "survival of the best outdoorsman", or even "survival of the highest IQ score". Biological "fitness" is measured in terms of number of offspring's offspring. Part of the fitness of the human species is that we DO take care of our own and DO NOT generally play stupid macho games wherein only some kind of mythological ideal of "the strong" are permitted to reproduce.

Too much idiotic crap is promulgated under the name "evolution".