Has "Evolution" become a choice?

Has evolution evolved to the point of becoming a choice?
That it has come to a crossroads,
at this point of evolution in consciousness?

Has the responsibility of further conscious evolution been somehow given to us, or what ever the term may be.

Could that be a distinguishing characteristic of the human species?
That we are no longer simply a product of evolution....but have now "BECOME" evolution, at least to some degree?

The very understanding of "evolution" is a pinacle point in ones own evolution.

That we can take charge of our own learning curve and level of awareness has enabled us to create a positive feedback loop that has given us the capacity for an exponential rate of improvement and advancement.


I have not clearly defined what it is I am trying to say.......it will come.

Any contributions on helping calrify what it is I am saying?

P.S. The amount of times the word "evolution" was inffered= 9 times

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Evolution is nothing more than ......change! Evolution is not some kind of supreme being or anything like that. Evolution is the change in species over time.

Humans polluting the planet is evolution in progress. Obesity is evolution. Every change that one can possibly imagine is ....yes..... evolution.

Evolution does not "do" anything. Evolution is the change that is noticed or recorded ...even if humans set off a gazillion nukes on the planet, that IS evolution in progress. The effects of those nukes on species is evolution.

Baron Max

 

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I understand what you are saying and why we have different views of what "evolution" entails.

I see evolution as something uniquely different to that of simply a "change" or simply looked at as what happens over a span of time.

Such as dropping a rock and it breaking into 3 smaller units.
I wouldn't define that as evolution.
Change, ...yes.

I see evolution as a process of dynamic intelligence, improvement, advancement.
Something that does not only happen over time, but is a constant.

I think there is also the reality of De-Evolution.
Such as any conscious and uneccessary action taken, that would harm or eventually lead to the demise of a species or single living unit.
A relic of opportunity that has only been given to those with "choice".

I see how you can catagorize de-evolution into evolution as well.
Kind of like how when trying to acheive a goal, all your failures were just bringing you one step closer to victory.
So in that sense, even your failures were successes.
Implying that evolution itself or we as a species have some ultimate outcome to acheive.

I see both the concept of evolution and de-evolution as seperate concepts with specific definitions.
Whereas they could both be put into a larger and general concept such as existence however.

Anyways, I think that evolution has taken on a whole new ballgame with consciousness.
The rules have "changed/evolved".

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Evolution is not a path to the better-ness of a species, it has no consiouness, no aim. It is mearly what occurs when change is inspired into a species to that species next step.

You can no more be evolution than you can be growth.

 

Wrong. Evolution is different from change, and also different from development.

 

Wrong. Evolution is the spiral of differentiation and integration which has inevitably led to more and more complex systems from the beginning of the cosmos to today, shifting into different forms as the center stage has come into play. Today the center stage is the consciousness of evolution and conscious evolution: the capacity to transcend. It is also a key to our survival in the modern age.

 

I'm not sure that I understand y'all. You seem to be speak around the issue, not the issue itself.

If man is finally able to consciously manipulate evolution, that, in itself, IS evolution! You seem to think that evolution must be unrecognized before it can be called evolution. If man, for example, uses stem cells to create "the perfect human", that, gentleman, is also evolution! Just because we consciously did it, effected the change in mankind, it is still evolution .....and it's really not any different to a fish evolving with lungs!

If man also creates and explodes nukes and wipes out the entire life system of the planet Earth, that, also, is evolution! And note that the animal, man, did it consciously and with forthought. And it would still be called evolution.

Baron Max

 

Well, the evolution of technology and social structures is a good example of this. Perhaps the evolution we can take control of isn't biological, but technological. Who knows what is still possible with biological change, however. The human genome was sequenced only recently, stem cells are just starting to show promise. When we understand the mechanisms of the brain, who knows what will happen. I invision a merging of computers and consciousness, why not have a computer in your head?

Some autistic people can perform computer-like calculations in their head, so maybe we don't even need computers. I think mild forms of autism are actually a mutation that the modern world may select for.

In any case, I think to try and control these things implies a greater understanding of them than we now have. People are still primitive in many ways.

 

I think that people are devolving. Have any of you noticed that it's the crackhead biologically inferior people who have all the children? A positive evolution would be if people who have desireable traits mate and have children. Studies have shown that educated and superior individuals are far less likely to have children in modern society. In theory poeple can consciously choose to evolve by sterilizing "inferior" people and only allowing "superior" people to reproduce. This would encourage a stronger gene pool.

 

Yep. And speaking of the genome - are you familar with the term "meme"? The cultural equivalent of gene. I wonder if we can decode the human memome.

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This meme occasionally dies (as is the case in post Hitler Germany) but has great power to resurface. The problem of who and how the desirable characteristics are to be defined is obvious. The biological fact is that everyone carries some defective genes. Thus no one is genetically without flaws. When serious ones are present and detected in a fetus, I would support a mother's decision to abort, but certainly do not want some committee of socially powerful deciding to order this or control breeding.

Less obvious is fact we do not know the future challanges to our species. For example, it is possible a small black hole may pass by the solar system and slightly change Earth's orbit, making it colder. If the "elete selection committee" has eliminated all people with very hairy bodies, the our species may be doomed. Your suggestion is very bad for the species. Diversity of the gene pool is desirable, even it it produces some people with currently less desirable (as judged by the self apointed elete) characteristics.

BTW an ice age induced by a small black hole passing our solar system is the theme of my book Dark Visitor. It is really a physics book for people who like scary stories but hate physics. It will happen some day and we won't see it coming because black holes do not reflect sun light. There are more of these small black holes than stars. More infro at www.DarkVisitor.com

 

Perhaps it is civilization that has stopped the process of natural selection by providing nearly everyone with a comfortable living. It doesn't matter very much if you are strong or smart, you can still raise a large family.

 

"Such as dropping a rock and it breaking into 3 smaller units."
this is entropy

"If man also creates and explodes nukes and wipes out the entire life system of the planet Earth, that, also, is evolution!"
man initiating nuclear winter is not evolution. organisms which survive the fallout adapting to fill resulting niches is.

"A positive evolution would be if people who have desireable traits mate and have children."
not necessarily. the fact that these "crackhead biologically inferior people" are having "all the children" is evidence that they do in fact have "desireable traits." or that this country has too many entitlement programs. anyway, diversity is indeed the watchword.

"Perhaps it is civilization that has stopped the process of natural selection by providing nearly everyone with a comfortable living."
i doubt that natural selection has stopped, or at least sexual selection.

 

Dang it! I've said it before, I'll say it again: you folks are focusing on the wrong kind of evolution. What is of critical need today is a focus on the evolution of consciousness, the evolution of culture - not the evolution of species.

 

Baron,

You wouldn't, you inbred hick bastard.

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But just beacuse man had the ability to manipulate himself will not exclude himself from evolution. There will still be macro-evolution occuring, outside of genetic manipulation, beyond what we control. Much of it is sexual selection, much of it will be. The world is far too complex for man to ever be outside of evolution, or create his own type of evolution. We can go and manipulate and change all we want, but our wants for changing will be outside of our control. The scope of our changes will be over millenia– too far for man to plan out.
Perhaps this is what you are saying.

That's not evolution, that's extinction. It's the sign of a maladapted creature, something that's either too broke to work or a hold over from another epoch. The trilobites went extinct. Did they 'evolve' into oblivion? No, they lost an arms race, and subsequently no longer exist. Evolution requires an existance.

 

I like the thought of being in control of evolution a little bit. You know, influencing those around me through the environment to create changes in them or further down the line. Evolution, i suppose, is not a very limited and long thing, as dogs have been bred and change durastically in very few years.
Maybe, through want, we can change our evolutionary path? Perhaps....

 

Evolution occurs in all cases. But to what ideal - ahh, that's the question.

 

Have we yet come to a point in our development in which no choice which we make or assigned attribute makes any difference in the course of our life, most notably in our chances of breeding? Biological evolution won't be "optional" until then.

 

But to change "our evolution", we'd have to know what it was going to be in the first place, wouldn't we? Evolution is NOT like breeding dogs to arrive at a different breed.

And once again, I'm struck by the notion that no matter what we do, being a part of evolution in the first place, is that not part of the evolutionary process? I don't see how we, as humans, can seperate ourselves from it? Do you? I.e., whatever happens, even if we're the cause, is still evolution, ain't it? And if not, what the hell else is evolution?

Baron Max

 

agreed, nicely put