[All] Fwd: New Theories of Evolution

Sat Oct 30 01:24:38 EDT 2010

FYI
Robert M.

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Dennis Gaumond <dgomo at golden.net>
> Date: October 29, 2010 11:55:39 AM GMT-04:00
> To: mill at continuum.org
> Subject: New Theories of Evolution
> Reply-To: dgomo at golden.net
>
>
> NEW THEORIES OF EVOLUTION
>               NOVEMBER 1, 2010
> In This Issue
> EVOLUTION AND THE BIG SHIFT
> GUELPH CHANT CLUB
> Article Headline
> GREETINGS DEAR FRIENDS
> There is so much change in the air - I see it everywhere. I've been  
> dealing with some interesting and challenging developments in my  
> life. I wish you all the best as you deal with any changes in your  
> life.
>
> I'll be heading down to Costa Rica on December 3, staying 4 months.
>
> This month's article continues with our theme of 'Evolution and the  
> Big Shift', taking a look at some alternative theories of evolution.  
> This information seems to ask more questions than it answers and  
> suggests that we be careful not to view Darwin's theories or any  
> other schools of thought as being written in stone. Life is a  
> beautiful mystery.
>
> In future newsletters I'll be continuing with articles related to  
> the Big Shift -  looking at other theories of evolution, etc. If  
> you'd like to access past newsletters containing the earlier  
> articles on the Big Shift, as well as articles on the Physics of  
> Mysticism,  Magic, the Power of Mantra and other topics, please  
> visit the 'newsletter' page of my website:
>  whyislife.com
>
> Peace and love, Dennis.
> EVOLUTION AND THE BIG SHIFT
> Part 2 - New Theories of Evolution
>
> In the past century there have been theories besides Darwin's that  
> have had things to say about evolution. One of these is Chaos  
> Theory, developed by Gaston Julia circa 1920, and Dr. Edward Lorenz  
> and Dr. Benoit Mandelbrot in the early 1960s. To state the gist of  
> this theory it is necessary to oversimplify and to try to put into  
> words something that is usually described mathematically. It points  
> out that there are sequences in nature that appear to be disorderly  
> or chaotic - displaying no precisely measurable pattern. The shapes  
> of snowflakes, weather patterns, the turbulence in flowing water and  
> waves breaking on a beach are all examples of systems that appear to  
> have no precisely repeating pattern of behavior. When viewed over  
> long time periods, however, these sequences do occur in ordered,  
> measurable patterns. Research has shown that such sequences display  
> an underlying order.
>
> This is only testable using computers capable of plotting and  
> graphing the huge volumes of data representing these sequential  
> movements, which would otherwise require far too much time. This  
> data, when plotted in diagram form, would yield cyclical patterns,  
> but ones where the ends of the circle do not meet, but rather,  
> spiral on indefinitely. This implies that cycles do repeat  
> themselves, but without ever coming full circle to the points at  
> which they began, because there is no beginning and no end. These  
> plotted diagrams form images which contain fractals, a term coined  
> by Mandelbrot. They are smaller images within a larger image that  
> are exact duplications of the larger image. These larger images are,  
> in turn, exact duplications of even larger images, etc. Thus,  
> ideally, these images would regenerate indefinitely into both micro  
> and macro infinity. The concept of fractals seems to be yet another  
> confirmation of the famous Hermetic axiom, 'as above, so below.'  
> Some well-known examples of these fractal images are the Julia set,  
> the Mandelbrot set and the Sierpinski triangle. Fractals also appear  
> in depictions of the 'flower of life' and other examples of sacred  
> geometry.
>
> In 1991, Dr. Robert Wesson, in his book entitled 'Beyond Natural  
> Selection', claims that we would do better to seek an understanding  
> of the ways in which greater systems evolve, rather than focusing on  
> the evolution of individual species. Does environmental change come  
> about because of the evolutionary cycles or patterns of the larger  
> eco-systems, of the Earth itself? Wesson suggests that, as described  
> in Chaos theory, systems swing from chaos to order and then  
> 'cascade' back to chaos, then begin moving again toward order. This  
> pattern of evolution, this orderly sequence of change, applies to  
> all types of systems. Just like the sequence of waves breaking on a  
> beach, any system goes through a series of changes, which if  
> observed and graphed over a long period of time, would yield an  
> orderly, spiral, fractal pattern.
>
> A species is a system unto itself, but it is also a sub-system, a  
> product of the greater system of which it is a part. Change within  
> the greater system triggers change in the sub-systems. For a system  
> to remain stable, it is dependent on initial conditions within the  
> greater system remaining the same. The slightest change in these  
> initial conditions cause the system to begin to collapse, to cascade  
> into chaos. There is a constant interaction between developing  
> systems and their environmental systems - any change in the  
> environment triggers change in the systems. Evolution, which could  
> be described as a series of changes, happens in conjunction with the  
> environment. Natural selection may play a role in determining  
> whether a species succeeds or not, but the actual arrival of the  
> species, according to Wesson, owes more to the chaotic effect of  
> changes in surrounding systems, which constitute the environment.  
> Evolution progresses like an ebb and flow.
>
> Wesson further says, "Evolution can be conceived as a goal directed  
> process insofar as it is part of a goal-directed universe, an  
> unfolding of potentialities somehow inherent in this cosmos." In  
> other words, systems evolve in this pendulum-like manner according  
> to a predetermined plan, an underlying order as represented by the  
> previously mentioned spiral patterns. This implies an 'intelligent  
> designer'. Could this intelligence be the same web of consciousness  
> of which we are all a part? Could it be that the machinations of  
> evolution as purveyed by Darwinism - natural selection - are only a  
> part of this greater design?
>
> Another relatively new area of investigation relevant to the concept  
> of evolution is one regarding morphogenetic fields. In plain English  
> that translates as force fields that generate form. A force is an  
> intangible, unexplainable power that has no observable substance,  
> but which exerts an influence that can be observed. Science still  
> does not know what magnetic or gravitational force actually is. Just  
> as a gravitational or an electro-magnetic field possesses a  
> mysterious ability to exert causal effect on the universe,  
> morphogenetic fields, it is postulated, exert forces which cause  
> primal substance or particles, if you like, to arrange themselves  
> into specific forms.
>
> The organistic view postulates that the morphogenetic field of any  
> particular system generates a set of instructions that determine the  
> qualities of that system. The morphogenetic field of any species,  
> for example, contains the blueprint for the form and behavior of  
> that species. This is much the same as saying that the collective  
> consciousness of a species contains a template for the form and  
> behavior of that species, and that any change in the species is  
> preceded by a change in its collective consciousness. This would  
> agree with ancient mysticism, which contends that all objects have a  
> type of consciousness. The consciousness of a diamond crystal, for  
> example, contains the blueprint that determines the crystalline  
> pattern in which diamond particles will arrange themselves. (I  
> believe that the more evolved the entity, the greater the potential  
> for variation from the template. In other words, the greater the  
> role played by free will, the greater the potential to intentionally  
> alter the blueprint.)
>
> This differs from the traditional mechanistic view that the universe  
> is a giant machine, behaving in a predictable way according to  
> predetermined laws. Within this mechanistic view is the notion that  
> a living organism is a chemico-physical machine and that all aspects  
> of life can be explained in terms of physics and chemistry. An  
> organism takes form and behaves according to a set of instructions  
> that are present in the DNA, in the genetic code. It implies that  
> this very complex code came into being because the requisite  
> conditions just happened to be present, leading to the chemical  
> reactions that brought about life. In other words, the miracle of  
> life was some kind of cosmic accident. The organistic view implies  
> that nothing was accidental, that the DNA code and any other  
> blueprint that may exist are part of a grand design, a grand  
> intelligence.
>
> The problem with this theory is that, although it seems to make  
> sense, it is very difficult to test scientifically. In his book  
> written in 1995 entitled 'A New Science of Life', Rupert Sheldrake  
> sites some ways in which it has been tested. For example, tests have  
> been done on rats to see if the consciousness of one group of rats  
> can influence the consciousness of another group. Similar to the  
> '100 monkey phenomenon', these tests show that a group of rats will  
> more easily learn a task if a previous group of rats at a different  
> time and place have been taught the task. The new group of rats  
> seems to resonate with the energy of all 'ratness', including the  
> change that occurred in the earlier rats. Sheldrake calls this  
> phenomenon morphic resonance. He admits that although the tests bear  
> interesting results, there is nothing resembling a definite proof of  
> morphic resonance.
>
> This 'organistic' view implies that there is a force field or  
> collective consciousness at work and that it is subject to change,  
> to evolution. This dovetails with chaos theory, and even with  
> Darwinian theory, in that it suggests that a system, in this case a  
> species, reacts to/evolves in conjunction with its environment.  
> Rather than being driven solely by the laws of natural selection,  
> this suggests that change occurs from some sort of learning, which  
> further implies that some kind of decision was made in the  
> collective consciousness. The fossil record seems to show that  
> evolution occurs in abrupt bursts during which great numbers of  
> species go extinct or come into being, rather than in a slow,  
> continuous process of change. These bursts of change seem to happen  
> in conjunction with environmental change. What triggers these  
> environmental changes? Could these changes be part of a larger  
> pattern, some sort of design? Is this design an accident?
>
> Some people believe that we may be on the verge of another great  
> burst of evolutionary change, that evolving conditions in the  
> greater system are triggering change in its many sub-systems.
>
>
> For a more thorough discussion of this topic you can access an  
> excerpt from my book by clicking here: BOOK EXCERPT
> Next month we'll look at some other theories of evolution.
>
>
> 
> GUELPH CHANT CLUB
> Looking forward to chanting with my friends.
>
> DATE                                              
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> _____________________________________________________________
> WED., NOVEMBER 3, 2010              
> Guelph,                              Unitarian Church
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>
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