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Summary
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Closing Comments
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Personal Conclusions
5-07-05b
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This essay is only Part 8 of a larger essay.
Read the full essay by going to “Evolution:Understanding Physical and Mental Existence”
That essay is now available in the following separate sections:
1.Cosmogony, Cosmic Evolution, Evolution of Earth
2.Origin of Life, Molecular Biology, Natural Evolution, Humans
3.The Evolution and Function of the Human Mind
4.Evolution and Functions of Societies and Cultures
5.“Intelligent Design Theory” as opposed to Natural Evolution
6.Extraterrestrial Intelligence?What could it Mean to Us?
7.The Future and Expected End of Mankind and the Universe
8.Closing Comments and Personal Conclusions(this essay)
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Click here to "Download" the entire essay in Microsoft Word format
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Introduction 1
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1. Summary of the Observation of Evolution 2
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2. Closing Comments 3
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3. Personal Conclusions 6
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Introduction:
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When we pause for a moment in our busy life – at lunch, during a holiday, on vacation – we can perceive the wonderful and sometimes cruel existence we live in – the universe, nature on this planet Earth, our surroundings, our body, our mind. In trying to understand this existence, we find that everything in our world is evolving – has always been evolving and will continue to do so. If we want to understand our existence, we should attempt to understand this evolution.
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Not too many years ago, one of the early NASA space projects provided the very first and rather beautiful pictures of Earth as seen from outer space. Astronomic telescopes had already provided excellent pictures of distant galaxies. Now we could visualize how our own “Milky Way” galaxy would look with the tiny spot of our Sun as one of a billion others somewhere in its outer reaches – and a still smaller, blue planet, "Earth”, whirling around that tiny sun – about four billion times already since its appearance. That small Earth is our only home, but our brains that evolved only a few ten thousand years ago allow our minds to span the universe in time and space. What were the starting conditions, principles, laws, and forces of nature that let this evolution occur?
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Recent progress in astronomy has taught us how our universe originated in one spot some 14 billion years ago and has been expanding in all directions ever since. What happened in time and space that, out of the original burst of energy at that time, finally we humans, with all our exceptional talents, came to exist and live on this tiny planet where we now are – and to develop the mental capabilities we now have?
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A few key aspects of Creation and evolution appear to be fundamental to the understanding of what occurred. They are especially surprising and impressive [1].
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The mental
voyage has come to its end – from exploring the existence which we live in –
from the vastness of the universe to submicroscopic molecular life, the virtual
phenomena of the mind, and unfolding civilizations – from an origin in the
distant past to an expected end in the distant future!
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This essay is only on part (Part 8) – the closing comments and personal conclusions – of a larger overview of all of existence in the essay “Evolution: Understanding Our Physical and Mental Existence”, to be found on the website www.schwab-writings.com in the Section on “Science and Evolution”.
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1. Summary of Observations of Evolution.
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The preceding presentation has led through four spheres of progressing evolution in growing complexity:
- The physical universe as seen by cosmogony, particle physics, astrophysics, and astronomy – the transcendental origin of energy and its granular structure, forces, natural laws, constants, quantum uncertainties, order and randomness – leading to combinatorial evolution and the greatness of the universe as we see it – largely graspable by theoretical physics, quantum mechanics, and mathematics
- The world of life, its still mysterious origin, then genetic evolution and all the molecular processes in the cells, leading to the evolution of the unique “phylogenetic tree of living organisms” and, finally, to the evolution of the complex human brain – in the process of being understood by biochemistry, genomics, and proteomics
- The human mind with its wide variety of capabilities – in emotions, vast and interconnected memory, visualizations independent of actual perceptions, leading to thought, creativity, ethics, individual personality, and appreciation of art – and the human mind’s multiplicity of expressions – in consciousness, the question of “free will”, “soul(?)”, perceived spirituality, and the many visualized religions – still being investigated by various branches of the sciences, from neurophysiology to psychology – and, more vaguely, by philosophy.
- Societies, civilizations, and cultures with their own great multiplicity of dimensions – several not subject to any scientific approach – for example, culture or politics.
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Three additional topics were presented:
- The “Intelligent Design Theory”, a discussion of a religious view of evolution assuming some divine interference in possibly following a plan and leading to some meaning – as opposed to the scientific view of natural evolution based on the original (possibly transcendental) concept of the originating universe with its given (“created”) energy, forces, structure, natural laws, constants and quantum uncertainty – subsequently following the “Basic Principle of Natural Evolution”
- The possibility for extraterrestrial intelligence and the possible consequences of such existence for mankind, specifically for fundamental philosophical and theological questions or dogma
- The future one can expect for mankind and the universe – risks and opportunities, but also the knowledge about the future ultimate end of all existence as we know it.
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Closing Comments
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Could there be anything beyond the here-described evolution of our world, anything beyond our universe? What is the essence of our understanding of evolution? Are our observations and conclusions about evolution objectively true? What does the observation of evolution mean to us in our human lives?
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The natural evolution on Earth commenced about 4 billion years ago and may come to its end in about 2 billion years due to the heating of the Sun, in total covering 6 billion years of evolution out of then 16 billion years of universal existence. The generation of stars with planets may have begun earlier than 3 billion years after the Big Bang and will continue for many billions of years into the future until all dust in the universe is “consumed”, in total covering at least 20 to 100 billion years of universal existence. In other words, natural evolution on Earth covers only a small portion of the time of universal existence. These observations let other “natural evolutions” at other times – earlier and later than ours – and in other places of the universe appear as quite likely.
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If one were to build a model of the universe wherein the visible part of our galaxy, the Milky Way, were a disk with the diameter of 1 millimeter, then the whole universe would be a sphere with only 150 meters radius, assuming linear (and not curved) expansion of light since the moment of the Big Bang origin.
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If one assumes 1,000 years to be 1 second, then the age of the universe would be only half a year. Our sun will be burnt out in only six additional weeks on this scale of time. The indicated extinction and dissolution of the universe will be well on its way within only a few hundred years.
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Seen this way, our universe, Creation, as it is known to us, is not very big, very old, or very permanent. What does the Creating Force, “God”, do outside of our universe? What did the Creating Force, “God”, do before the beginning of our universe or will do after its end?
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This causes one to think that possibly more has originated in all of Existence/Creation, in a possibly multidimensional universe, or still could originate. Would it be possible that the whole of Existence/Creation in space and time could be multidimensionally infinite? Are there still continuously new Creations? Is there even more than the “multiverse” of string theory?
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Is “God” the ultimate thought
in the “combinatorial principle”, being composed of all the universes that may have
or will exist – or is “God” the inversion of the combinatorial principle, with all the
universes being derived as component parts from this ultimate essence?
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And then, what is the essence of our understanding of
evolution? Is there a divine
essence? Are there ongoing “divine”
actions within Creation, even if only through the most subtle events in the
smallest probabilistic areas, subsequently leading to great consequences? [2]
The cruelty and contradictions of nature, of history, and of so many daily
events would not allow answers consistent with the theology of any of the major
religions – and would lead to the better conclusion that there are no “divine”
interactions with evolution and history.
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If God permits the universe to continue running by itself, following the initial impetus and the once-given laws or constants of nature, how can God be seen in the essence of evolution? Does that lead to thoughts of Eastern meditative philosophy of “acting by just being there” – as the ancient Chinese emperors were supposed to be effective merely by inactively “being there”, thus giving strength and life to the whole empire, the machinery of state, and the laws?
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Could a superior
extraterrestrial intelligence have a superior understanding of the evolution of
existence? As shown in other essays (see “Creative Thought” by H. Schwab, 1994, and others),
the creative unfolding of new concepts in thought is a combinatorial process in
the course of time. This corresponds to
the general principle of the combinatorial unfolding of Creation. Therefore, the recognition of the
transcendental origin of existence also will have evolved in other
space-civilizations from more primitive concepts. Their possibly existing concept of the
original creative force (God) would reflect that. Equally would the understanding and
interpretation of evolution correspond to the evolutionary and combinatorial
development of their mental capabilities, possibly beyond ours.
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Our understanding of natural evolution indicates that the essence of its onward drive results from the impact of random events and the pursuit of opportunities, limited by competition as indicated by the Wallace/Darwin theory. [3] This leads to increasing adaptation and diversification of species. But beyond that, a larger principle is at work in the universe and in nature, the capability to combine different phenomena on one level to let more complex new phenomena with different dimensions of existence emerge on the next evolutionary level – constituting the “Combinatorial Principle” of evolution. This can be observed, for example, in the combination of atoms to form molecules, the combination of individuals to form societies, or the combination of prior recognitions to form systems of thought.
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This progress of evolution is very uneven in its course – almost stationary for a large portion of life, at times even descending to loss of capabilities and simpler forms of life, but advancing in localized short avalanches for others. Evolution is caused by and under the influence of random or interfering events, follows momentary borderline or starting conditions, and pursues available opportunities, constituting the “Basic Principle of Evolution”.
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Evolution operates in a grand style that one could almost call a wasteful manner. It is now assumed that over 80% of all the matter that was created is “dark matter” [4], little understood and not participating in our world of atoms and molecules – but a small percentage creates the wonderful perceivable universe we live in. The origin of stars and planets is massy, with much of the originating material being re-expulsed into space and not further being part of the resulting wonderful celestial body – but the remaining small part forms the billions of stars we see at night and the Earth we live on. Over 80% of the human genome is “junk genome”, of no known purpose and not participating in life’s function – but the small active part of the genome lets us humans appear and evolve with our brains that attempt to understand all of existence. How many populations perish, how many families have no descendents, how many people finish in unknown misery, how many are totally forgotten only 100 years after they lived? But a small percentage of humans drive the evolution of our civilizations and cultures forward, for better or worse, to ever higher pinnacles or to catastrophes.
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It is a special miracle of existence that the essence of evolution in our universe includes its finality – against which it always struggles to the end. All evolution is interrupted by random destructive events, great catastrophes, and extinctions. More importantly, all evolution will be un-done in the final end of the universe, in the final consumption of all energy in the universe, a new collapse, concentration in black holes, or dissipation in ever-expanding and cooling radiation. Will at least the “information” of all that was passed be retained in whatever is left (as postulated by a principle of theoretical physics)? What was all existence for after it vanished again – except to have been “for the pleasure” of the transcendental essence of Creation?
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What is the content of truth
of the analysis of evolution presented in this essay? Can all the above be stated objectively, and
as universally valid?
We should not be overly assured that our present level
of knowledge and understanding of the universe and evolution truly covers all
aspects of that evolution of the world we live in. As
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Personal Conclusions
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In the end, what does the view of “evolution” of the universe, of life, of the human mind, and of human civilization mean to us? Mainly, there remains the admiration of the grandiose intellectuality and beauty of the dynamically evolving Creation, its energy, its interwoven laws, its finely tuned constants, its openness in quantum probabilities, its wonderful multi-level diversification of phenomena and appearance of ever new dimensions of existence – and the recognition of the finality of their existence.
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Are there any consequences
for our lives? What remains as a
role for humanity in this universe, for us personally? What direction or actions could give our
lives meaning – in spite of its own finality?
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If there is no
afterlife, no reincarnation, and no life of a “soul” after death, then we
had better concentrate on this life, the only one we have, and on this Earth,
our only home. Nature expects us
to take care of our most basic needs of survival, food, shelter, procreation,
family, minimal social contact, and decorative embellishment of our
surroundings. For most humans that is
all they can do in their restricted and often very difficult lives. Beyond that, we must struggle for additional
security – if not some freedom and some dignity – and means for further help or
action. But too often, we just strive
for the vain goals of wealth, recognition, power, and entertainment. We learn from the observation of evolution
that we had better use our extra resources in life to flourish as best we can – for
the “pleasure of the Creator”, as Christians say, – to caringly contribute to
this world as best we can – in dedicated service to family, society, and the
environment in our culture’s and religions’ best tradition, – to enjoy the
immense beauty available to our perception – and, most importantly, to help
mitigate the suffering of fellow beings, and to open better opportunities for
all to render their lives more meaningful in a morally and emotionally humane,
sound, strong yet free society and world [5].
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* * *
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The mental
voyage through existence has come to an end –
from the
vastness of the universe to submicroscopic molecular life,
the virtual phenomena
of the mind, and unfolding civilizations –
from an
origin in the distant past to an expected end in the distant future.
This essay
shall be closed in an expression of admiration for existence –
and in even
deeper admiration for the essence from where existence came.
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Appendix of
Open or Inadequately Resolved Questions:
- Starting conditions of the universe:
o Source of energy
o Source of forces
o Source of natural laws and constants
o Source of time and its rate
o Asymmetry of matter and anti-matter
o Dark matter
o Dark energy
o Density distribution variations
o Unified theory, supersymmetry, string theory results
- Discussion of Quantum Chromodynamics
- Conservation of Information in the universe:
o Would time reversal be single track (no branches)?
o Does it apply to thought?
- Distribution of galaxy sizes and rates of rotation
- Why were there nor sub-galaxies formed in the dust disk of very large galaxies?
- Spiral arms of galaxies: explanation of origin, shape, speed of rotation
- Does galaxy rotation slow down (by radiation? Which?)? Will galaxies ultimately collapse into their centers?
- Are very large planets in proximity to their sun in an elliptic orbit properly explained by early disturbance of their accretion disk?
- Why are there no star collisions (whirls in galactic dust disk), as there are galaxy collisions?
- Why do Saturn rings not accrete?
- Origin of Moon: Timing of its accretion, distance and beginning of its lifting, inclination of path, stabilizing effect on Earth axis
- Reference literature for organic compounds on icy comets?
- Why was there never a second RNA or DNA start (at a different age of a mutational start)?
- Why are the branches and twigs on the “phylogenetic tree of living organisms” all singularities?
- What is the diffusion speed of various molecules in cells?
- How many RNA-protein translations take place simultaneously? Their translation speeds?
- Molecule density in a cell, diffusion rates – to ascertain sufficiency of supply for protein expression in translation from RNA
- Timing/speed of natural evolution
- Explanation of very rapid localized evolutions of parts of complex systems (e.g., sensors, the brain) (possibly connected with gene multiplication, gene splicing, and “conscription” of genes?)
- Probabilistic appearance of some first positive mutations (e.g. wishbone in birds)?
- Why are there no three-sided symmetries in animals (but some in plants)?
- Selectivity in natural evolution if many parameters vary at once (fertility vs. dumbness)?
- Justification of the large brain in early humans
- Subconscious decision making
- Further discussion of various theories of consciousness, onset of consciousness in natural evolution
- Is there actually some down-breeding of mankind in a medical sense occurring now?
[1] An excellent presentation of cosmic and planetary evolution – also covering the origin of life on Earth, going into detail and a depth considerably beyond this essay – is presented in Peter Ulmschneider’s book, “Intelligent Life in the Universe”, published by Springer in 2003/4, ISBN 3-540-43988-9, 250 pages. Additionally, the swift progress of astrophysics and astronomy requires ongoing awareness of the newest leading publications in that field.
[2] See “Chaos Theory”.
[3] Alfred Russel Wallace, 1823 to 1913, is often overlooked as the co-discoverer, if not original discoverer, of the modern theory of natural evolution. Wallace, as well as Darwin, arrived at their theory (jointly published in 1858) after reading the “Essay on Population” by Thomas R. Malthus, 1766 to 1834.
[4] Unless new assessments of the weight of Brown Dwarfs and smaller stars change lower this percentage.
[5] A post-script:
Can the above direction for our human life be better defined and goals for the development of this world indicated? How should a future world be like? It may be futile to attempt to define what a future world should be like – seen from our present status and cultural limitations in still widespread inadequacy, suffering and constraints. Evolution in the world does not move toward a defined goal, but moves as possible by initial conditions and opportunities and as driven by all participant elements – to always new and surprising dimensions.