New Dimensions of Existence
.
The Main Dimensions of Societies
.
Virtual Societies, Super-Societies, a Super-Brain?
.
* * *
This essay is only Part 4 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.Origin, Evolution, and Function of the Human Mind
4.Origin, Evolution, and Functions of Societies and Cultures (this essay)
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 Conclusions
*
Content of this
essay: “Origin , Evolution, and Functions of Societies and Cultures”:
Page
Introduction1
.
1.The Origin of Societies:Another Step of the “Combinatorial Principle”
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2.The
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3.Virtual Societies, Super-Societies, a Super-Brain?
.
.
.
Introduction:
.
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].
.
Come
along on a mental voyage – to explore 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!
.
This essay is only one
part (Part 4) – on the origin, evolution, and significance of societies
and cultures.It is part of a larger overview of all
of existence in the essay “Evolution:
Understanding Our Physical and Mental Existence”, to be foundon
the website www.schwab-writings.comin
the Section on “Science and Evolution”.
.
.
.
1.The
Origin of Societies:Another Step of the “Combinatorial
Principle”
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The origin and foundations of societies can be found in forces of group coherence that evolved on account of their benefit to the group and became genetically anchored, in ethical behavior:the supporting care for others, cooperation, and sacrifice for the common good, see Chapter 3.1.1.
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In that sense, the origin and formation of societies corresponds to a basic phenomenon of nature.The combination of atoms to form molecules, the combinations of cells to form complex organisms, or the combination of words to form sentences can be loosely compared to the combination of individuals to form complex societies.
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In becoming a member of a society, the individual loses or surrenders part or all of his or her independent behavior and gains significance in his place within the higher order of things.Not only behavior, but also individual thought may have to be adjusted to integrate into society.Even the lead individuals may be influenced in their behavior and, in their minds, playing the role that they assume to be expected of them by their followers, sometimes being more pushed by the crowd than leading.This acting, as presumed to be expected by the respective “society” or group, is quite pronounced in political parties, but also in industrial or charitable organizations.It can lead to differences in ethical judgment or behavior when acting for or within the group, as compared to acting in the private sphere.This can also lead to greater heroism of individuals being part of a group (as in a military unit) or to senseless stampedes in a crowd.Such descriptive observation can lead to prescriptive suggestions to facilitate behavior change or behavior maintenance.For example, it has led to the formation of congregations by religious movements – or to the removal of sect members from their group to allow them to return to balance.
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There are a number of predecessor phenomena to human societies to be found in nature:the swarm of fish, birds, or insects, the herd or the pack of animals, the human family, and the tribe.They all are examples of the above-mentioned “Combinatorial Principle” of evolution.There are observations in nature indicating that “swarms” of individually judging organisms demonstrate a “wisdom of crowds” by averaging individual error rates in danger avoidance or resource location.The history of successful cultures may indicate the same – but the phenomena of mass hysteria tell another story, even in their milder forms, where judgments can be correlated and errors magnified.
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These predecessor phenomena present a variety of characteristics.Swarms of fish or birds do not seem to have any hierarchies or leaders, yet are able to act in unison, as in the direction of their movement.Herds or packs of animals have a primitive structure, with different roles for males and females and certain lead animals, which can direct the motion of the herd and have preference in procreation.The most differentiated are some insect swarms (for example, bees) with physical differentiation of individuals by function and extreme subordination of individuals under the common interest.
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The human family used to function in a similar way as certain animal packs – especially in early times when having been multigenerational and including unmarried relatives and subordinated auxiliary members.There was the lead-individual, mostly male, occasionally female.But, with the availability of language, there was discussion or debate.As siblings split away from the core family but stayed in the neighborhood, practical reasons of cooperation in complex tasks (hunt, construction of large buildings), defense, conquest of new territories, and common resource-utilization (allocation or irrigation of fertile ground, partition of fishing catch) necessarily led to the evolution of additional structures, ultimately resulting in societies.The groups of humans with strong bonds of society coped better and prevailed – but the ones with excessive rigidity lacked innovation.Thus, our modern type of human behavior as a social beings evolved.
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The history of the fall or decay of civilizations is another story – of succumbing to superior weaponry of invaders, to better leadership, or in consequence of their own civic decay.
.
But first some
comments on the origin and evolution of societies:
The invention of husbandry
and agriculture, the generation of surplus resources and idle time, and
population growth with consequent warfare for needed territory led to the
evolutionary formation of larger social units with more important
political, military, and religious hierarchies, served by more subordinates
occupied in the military, trades, arts, commerce, and rituals. Large
societies, beyond extended clans, began to emerge, possibly first in Sumeria,
southern
.
As societies evolved, became larger and more complex, complex systems for communication, command, and control necessarily evolved – in a balance between specialization and coordination.
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The evolution of human societies seems to indicate that there are trade-offs between emphasis on individuality and adherence to common behavior, between freedom and order, between stability and evolution.
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It is interesting to note that societies do not necessarily have any permanent material substance.They can move from building to building.Their individual members are exchanged through aging or hiring-and-firing.Their inventories or financial resources are just cycled through.The essence of societies is abstract, consisting only of their configuration (Gestalt), and even that may be evolving in time – similar to what was mentioned about human existing, where the material content of the body may be cycled through and evolve while the “human individual” remains as such.
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.
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2.Main
Dimensions of Societies
.
The new dimension (with
the concept of “dimension” to be understood as a specific aspect or expression
of existence in the universe) of human “society” had never appeared before
and was now evolving beyond the primitive predecessor phenomena described
above.As indicated, societies resulted from the fact
that individuals adjusted or subordinated their behavior in order to facilitate
group action.Such adjustment or subordination was
based on a variety of constellations in either forced dominance-submission
schemes or on habitual or voluntary consensus-building, resulting in a
large variety of structures of society, from loose brotherhoods to
hordes, oligarchies, democracies (with a large variety of interpretations
of inclusiveness and civil rights), monarchies (of different types, from
absolute to constitutional or elective), tyrannies (including consensus
of the ruled or not), and dictatorships.[3]
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Societies, in many ways, are similar to organisms, including their urge for survival, noticeable even among the smallest clubs and political, social, or charitable organizations.This may result not only from commercial interests of employees, but also from the fact that many individuals as members of societies see part of their personal – at least mental – existence anchored in the association with such a society, seeking to protect that aspect of their existence.
.
Our culture may still
supremely value the individual – its freedom,its
meaning of life in personal development and expression, and in its rights
–, but, as a matter of fact, the significance of individuals in our
time is often seen in direct proportion to their significance in or for
our society.
.
In a functioning society, one can observe the evolution of the following “dimensions” or aspects of its expression:
-Various forms of coordination, dominance or submission between individuals or groups
-Establishment and maintenance of law and order
-Various methods of consensus-forming
-Culture (including ritual, fashion, art, and formulation of values)
-Politics (methods of governance)
-Economics and Commerce
-Technology development, industry, transportation
-Education and research organizations
-Religious organizations, churches, monasteries, religious hierarchies
-Military establishments for protection and organized warfare
-Welfare for the poor and medical systems for the sick
-The unique function of literature and the media
-Directions of societies (religious foundation and proselytizing, commercial, freedom, conquest)
-Personality-like characteristics of societies (for example, aggressive versus peaceful)
and more
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Coordination does not require dominance by the few and may occur by common self-interest or common exposure to external forces, for example, in “free market” scenarios.Dominance, occurring in various forms of more or less intense command and control in all types of government, implies the imposition of will or force on others [4] – often justified by external dangers (or “market failures” in economic terms) – but those dangers being equally often caused by government failures (“non-market failures”).Mental dominance can occur among individuals or among groups.The consequence of dominance is submission – if not evasion.This establishes a basic structure among groups of people and evolves into a rudimentary “society”.In sophisticated societies or organizations, dominance or submission is voluntary, as in the political order, in police action in traffic control, in organizational structures in industry, or in command structures in the military.In any event, the proper institution of dominance and submission schemes is the foundation of a functioning “society”.
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The establishment and maintenance of law and order and, in this sense, confidence-building among its members serves not only emotional needs but serves the efficiency of all forms of operation (in economic terms, “lowering of transaction costs”).This leads back to the discussion of ethics and moral laws with their foundations in both, emotions and utility.This maintenance of law and order actually takes place not only formally through laws, a legal system, and the police, but also informally through accepted cultural values and behavior.Full regulatory control would be cumbersome (see the orthodox Jewish multiplicity of laws), if not impossible, since life’s evolution can never be fully predicted.
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Consensus-forming, also occurring in various forms in all types of government, is the process of influencing and coordinating the focusing, selective observation, and preference-weighing of a group of individuals.The first scientific observation of the behavior of multitudes in uncertainty and their formation of consensus was done and expertly described by the early sociologist Gustave Le Bon.[5]For example, he describes how “masses” of people in uncertainty may mill around for a while, consider one or another alternative solution, until one solution gains increasing attention and, finally, unites the multitude to act in a certain direction.This process, appearing more “democratic” than the phenomenon of arbitrary dominance, may appear as the quintessential evolution from individual to group existence – where not the individual leads a singular existence, but the group or “society” is the principal phenomenon of existence, with the individual just being an element of it, like a cell in an organism.Individuals with divergent opinions are swept along, unable to exist independently of the group.The majority of individuals assume behavior consistent with or for the benefit of the group. This is also visible with the behavior of individuals in modern industrial organization.
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“Free markets” in our time attempt to provide efficient information processing and decision making mechanisms in a very complex world.On the other hand, the global character or the free market and the inherent global dangers in market failures let the need for global governance appear more urgent.Such failures may be not only of economic nature, but include ecological dangers as, for example, global warming.
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Consensus forming on a large scale does not necessarily imply homogeneity (generally more efficient), but may leave justification for diversity resulting in higher flexibility.
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Culture is a fuzzy linguistic concept, often describing the totality of a society’s characteristics.As a general definition, it can include a society’s common world view, values (including human rights in politics, civic obligations, and common heroes or role models), type of education, rituals, habits, artistic expression, language, religion, and common history, as when talking about the “culture” of a specific ethnic group or geographic area.
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In a narrow definition, “culture” refers more specifically to the world of the arts: the offering in theaters, concerts, museums, libraries, the production of literature, and architecture (see the essay, “Aesthetics, Art, and Culture” on the website www.schwab-writings.com.), as when talking about the “cultural life or character” of a city.It is amazing how much of private resources are spent for embellishment in each home and of public resources for embellishment and the cultural offering in each community.
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In the unending evolution of higher forms of existence, multi-level hierarchies of cultures have evolved – for example, the superimposed cultures of nations over provinces (for example, of “America” over “Texas”, of “France” over “Provence”, of “Germany” over “Bavaria”) and of federations or continents over nations (for example, of “Europe” over “France”) – with often Darwinian evolutions as in biology.
.
The phenomenon of large-scale
immigration in the Western countries has led to another form of
cultural
hierarchy, with the historically local culture being seen as the
one to maintain the direction of society (see the German discussion of“Leitkultur”
and the corresponding French discussion of the dominant French culture
in
.
Politics is the art of getting some action in governance without dictatorial dominance – often in the form of establishing policies. It is a form of consensus-forming and, sometimes, manipulation among individuals for the purpose of directing society at large – if not for gaining personal power.It implies “leadership” (strength of character, charisma, psychological impact), conviction, persuasion, favoritism or networking, barter of votes and support, threat or blackmail, excellence in having better information or skills, and capability for fundraising.Politics also includes the manipulation of mass psychology to get public support, to remain in power, or to be reelected – this often being the highest goal for politicians.In this sense, politics can be the highest calling for an individual who wants to serve the common good, a form of intellectual art for the greatest benefit of society, it may also require some realistic practicality – or it can be misused.
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In this sense, politics presents an evolution of human thought and creativity to other dimensions than individual life, the dimensions of society, not functioning individually, but always in the context of a multitude of interacting individuals, within the organism of society.
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Economics and commerce are the result of an evolution from a subsistence way of life or forced change of possession as in banditry or war to the controlled allocation and exchange of resources.“Economics” became an academic discipline investigating all economic activities, subdivided into microeconomics and macroeconomics.Commerce basically consists of the bartering of unequal objects or services between distinct entities, individuals or groups.Commerce is necessarily connected with logistics for the storage and transportation of goods, whether of agricultural or industrial origin.
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A key element in the evolution of this phenomenon of society was the invention of money.Initially, money was seen as a step in bartering by presenting the underlying amount of a rare or noble material (gold, silver, or copper) as the substance of currency.As this equivalence was removed, currency has no substantive “real value” any longer and has acquired “virtual value”.[6]The value now is largely controlled by a government’s money-printing practices and setting of central interest rates.This brings us to “interest rate”, which results from the abstract “time-value” of a resource, as another phenomenon not applying to individual life (or could it?), but evolving with society.
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In further evolution of the phenomenon of money, we now have the complexity of international currency exchange rates, with their potentially great significance for the prosperity of nations, see the Chinese political manipulation by attempting to keep their currency pegged to the US dollar at an extreme rate favoring their exports and, hence, their employment level and political stability while the USA, consequently, experiences great unemployment problems.In other words, not virtual economic value, but equally “virtual” political considerations become the determining factors in currency value and, consequently, commerce.
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Furthermore, there are the often ancient instruments of toll, import duty, taxation, or subsidies to impact or control commerce – all phenomena nonexistent in a world of individuals or family units and evolved in the course of the appearance of societies.
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Value assessments of alternatives in multidimensional, probabilistic situations are facilitated by the intriguing, abstract economic concept of “utility” (corresponding to value assessment in emotional or ethical situations).[7]
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Commerce is influenced largely by the psychological assessment of the future among the buying public or among industrial organizations.Confidence in the future or apprehension actually impact purchasing selection and, more so, purchasing volume – specifically in the stock market.
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Another important evolution in consequence of commerce is the establishment of contacts with other cultures resulting in idea exchange between different cultures and consequent cultural evolution.
.
Commerce led to the spread
of religions, first, of Hinduism, then of Islam throughout
.
Technology development, initially slow in human evolution, accelerated with the generation of energy from water mills, then steam power and later electricity or atomic energy, leading to mass production of goods in industry, innovations in transportation (railroads, large ships, cars, airplanes), and finally to the world of electricity and electronics for communication and data processing.Not only did a large portion of the population find employment in industry and transportation, but specific organizations formed and began to influence society’s life.
.
Education
(beyond training in the military or the trades) began as an individualistic,
elite pursuit, selectively supported by religious organizations.Evolving
societies (after the Enlightenment, French Revolution, and Socialism) brought
education to every citizen.Research
in technology and the sciences had also been an individualistic, elite
pursuit.In the 19th century, educational reform in
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Religious organizations, a typically human consequence of religious movements, led to the building of meeting rooms for religious assemblies, education and devotion – the churches or synagogues.The idea for monasteries probably came from the India of Buddha’s time.Governance of the monasteries and, more so, the maintenance of religious dogma in evolving thought led to religious hierarchies – based on the ancient priestly order of ritual and as typical for human nature.
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A power struggle within society between religious and political hierarchies was the logical consequence – in some countries still going on, occasionally being a beneficial check on the political power, in other cases much to the disadvantage of the ordinary citizen.
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Military establishments evolved for the protection of communities and for organized warfare for conquest.Territorial skirmishes are as old as most pre-human animals, especially predators.But the organization of structured armies under the command of strategy- and tactics-controlling leaders is typical of human societies.
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What are the driving
forces of warfare?Initially in history, tribal
territorial friction and territory expansion under the curse of population
expansion may have been the driving force – and still is in many
parts of the world.Rulers of societies always searched
for the expansion of their power base.The
securing of borders and creation of buffer areas may have
been another reason, as in Chinese colonialism along the whole of its Western
frontier and as by
.
Organized warfare of large societies had a number of effects:
-Changes in society’s structure
-Acceleration of technological evolution
-Spreading of cultures or absorption of foreign cultures
-Cultural evolution in reaction to conflict
.
Ancient
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The building of empires always spread cultures in ancient times, the same as in more modern times.But equally often, the occupied cultures changed the occupiers.[9]Occasionally, cultures changed in reaction to warfare.The Spartans adapted their entire culture to the purpose of military superiority and dominance over the occupied and suppressed Helots.They would have had to be more farming-oriented without that.The dominant British culture changed in reaction to empire-building and colonialism – as did the Japanese prior to World War II.Such cultural change can be intense when the soldiers are a large group of conscripts, not just a small group of professionals.
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Society responds to the typical characteristic of warfare by creating dedicated functions, but also by producing dedicated groups of individuals, often drawn from the nobility in feudal societies or from family tradition.
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Welfare systems for the poor are as old in societies as formal ethical thought, going back to the dawn of human civilization among the Sumerians.[10]Medical systems greatly expanded with the medical knowledge of the Greeks, leading to the establishments of elaborate clinics and spas (see the one established by Galen [129 to 199 AD], in the valley below Pergamon).In Christian times, hospitals were established for sick pilgrims and times of plagues.The French Revolution and subsequent civic reforms brought improved hospitals for the communities.In our time, with the steeply rising cost of ever more advanced medical knowledge and costly equipment, medical insurance evolved as one of the key problems of society’s structure.
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“Literature” as a form of a society’s cultural expression may have begun with the Gilgamesh Epos[11] in Sumeria, supported by the invention of writing at that time in that area.Verbal epic stories of cultural importance must have existed before and also were found in most other cultures, including the Polynesians.As a written document of cultural definition, the Gilgamesh Epos was followed by the Old Testament, Homer’s epic works, the Vedas (about 1,000 BC), and others in other cultures – in more modern times, the works of Shakespeare, Goethe, and other national authors.
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The “media” play a special role in the life, formation of culture, and functioning of modern society – the bestsellers, newspapers, radio, TV, films, and now the internet.Is that merely the role of a “communication” system?Is it, rather, the physical role of a system of sensors and reporting “nerves” to amuse the communal brain?Is it an intellectual control function with which to spot trouble?Is it the attempt to form a second brain, competing with the political function of the government for control of society, as is being blamed on those who control some of the media?Is it just a commercial function reacting to what sells at highest profit?Or is it a strange combination of all the above – similar to what would be a neural system run wild in an individual, but only possible in the evolution ofsocieties?
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Societies can pursue
specific directions in their existence, for example, religious
ideals (as in the medieval
-“Life,
liberty, and pursuit of happiness” (
-“Liberté,
égalité, fraternité” (
-“Freedom, democracy and the order of law”
-“Unity
and law and freedom” (
-“Law,
order, and good governance” (
.
Nations, as individuals, usually long for what they lack – the poor ones long for some sustenance, the troubled ones for peace, law, and order, and the suppressed ones for freedom.The few lucky ones living in freedom and well-being still see the wide variance in the status of individuals within their own segment of society, the poor and suffering ones in their midst, and the frivolous consumption by some of their wealthy citizens.This leads to balanced “directions” combining several complementary goals (for example, the American “compassionate conservatism” or the German “social market economy”).
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The basic principal of evolution valid in the universe at all times – based on a forward thrust in accordance with always varying starting and border conditions and in accordance with opportunities – may not allow the definition of a single, optimal direction of our or all other societies forever.
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As cultures appear and mature, so can societies evolve.The last few hundred years have seen important changes – for example, the rise of democracy with the disappearance of slavery and the rise of feminism.Both were not predictable in the preceding centuries. Will there be other changes of our societies in the future that we cannot predict now?
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Societies can project
characteristics similar to personalities.It
is common to describe nations or organizations, whether industrial or charitable,
with terms that are used for the description of individual personalities
– ruthless, aggressive, fair, idealistic, and more.What
establishes these personalities of social entities?Are
they stable or variable?In what way?The
description of the characteristics of a society on the level of a nation
or ethnic group is largely the description of its culture
– defined above by the common world view, values (including human rights
in politics, civic obligations, and common heroes or role models), type
of education, rituals, habits, artistic expression, language, religion,
and common history.Consequently, the behavior of
a society reflects its culture – and is as stable or variable as that.But
many societies are temporarily defined by their lead individuals,
establishing their direct responsibility.
.
As individuals demonstrate
a variety of personality expressions under the impact of situations,
societies can do the same – with different expressions in peaceful
times of abundance, in stressed times of internal convulsions, or under
attack.An extreme form of dual expression is possible
– almost schizophrenic – as in present-day
.
Commercial organizations
are basically unethical, unless specific laws of society or internal
rules are used to establish certain “ethical” behavior patterns.There
usually is a deep and complex split between the values and behavior in
the private matters of individuals employed by such an organization and
their behavior when representing the organization – when they feel that
they have to act in the interest of the organization as they perceive it.Therefore,
ethical rules must be established, possibly by national or international
law, and the individuals within the organizations – not just
their organizations – should be held legally responsible
and financially liable for their actions.
.
There are some
special
developments of societies that should be mentioned, namely exotic
sects and mass movements, – sometimes based on the strange neuro-psychological
phenomenon of “obsession”, as in mass-hysteria.Some
of the human emotions discussed earlier can be inflamed by gifted leaders
(or preachers) leading to group formation and total submission of individuals
to the group spirit, for example, of religious, ideological, or nationalistic
nature [12].Human
history is filled with reports of such small or large movements, some benevolent,
others resulting in afflictions of mankind and wildly destructive.
.
As in organisms, specialized functions in society imply specialized occupations for some individuals (as for the cells in organisms).Specialization can occur by tradition, inclination, skill, or available means.Such specialization-by-function results in specialized areas of intellectual competence and interest. This is most visible in the specialization of academic branches of research and knowledge, as in, for example, anthropology, sociology, politics, economics, commerce, and warfare.Associated are specialized think tanks, consultants, lobbyists, and public relations professionals.The composition of government “cabinets” – the sum of secretaries or ministers – also corresponds to this differentiation.
.
.
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3.Beyond
Societies:Virtual societies?Super-societies?A
“Super-Brain”?
.
Can there be another step in evolution beyond societies by following the “combinatorial principle”?
.
The internet can bring an evolution toward “virtual” societies and subcultures across actual or physical ones, as in another dimension of existence.
.
Hierarchies of societies
have evolved through the ages:Tribes or their
remnants, in the form of provinces, were incorporated in nations and nations
in federations (in the
.
Societies are similar to organisms.Organisms acquired brains that provided them with exceptional benefits.Will there be an evolution arriving at something like a “super-brain” within and for the benefit of societies?What would it have to look like, or how would it function?A few interesting observations are possible. [13]
.
In certain areas on Earth, one can observe the role of one or several (multi-level) minorities providing a degree of coordinating intelligence and control, being societies within themselves.They are comparable to a system of nerves, featuring good communication, loyalties, and shared interests, apparently acting only in their own interest, but their presence and actions mostly resulting in benefit for their respective society.
.
Examples could be: The
feudal and in-bred elites of
.
Do all those minorities have, maintain, or evolve their own “culture”?
.
4.On
the Origin and Evolution of Cultures or Civilizations:
.
Update
.
In discussing groups of people who, in the course of history, reached a high level of sophistication or accomplishments, three distinct terms are commonly being used:“society”, “civilization”, and “culture”.The definitions of these terms are fuzzy.Not only are the numeric limits unclear, but also the coverage of the terms is variable, sometimes being seen differently by academic specialists and common people in daily conversation.Can a single nomadic family in an isolated oasis constitute a society or culture – as a large, extended tribe or nation could?Were the ancient Romans (as compared to the Greeks) a culture or just a civilization?
.
Definitions:
“Society”:
-Webster:“A body of persons united for the promotion of some object – the more cultivated portion of any community in its social relations and influences.”
-Duden:“Gesellschaft = Sum of people who live together under certain political, economic, or social conditions”.
-Larousse:“Société = Equal to the concepts of community, social gathering.Each family forms a natural society”.
-Common usage:“A somewhat organized or structured, large group of people, distinct from other such groups”.
“Civilization”:
-Webster:“The state of being refined in manners from the rudeness of savage life, and improved in arts and learning”.
-Duden:“The totality of the accomplished or improved social and material conditions of life by means of technical or scientific progress”.
-Larousse: “Civilization”.
-Common usage:“The organizational, behavioral, and technical accomplishments of a society”
“Culture”:
-Webster:“Improvement by mental or physical training, education, refinement – the way of life of people”.
-Duden:“The totality of the mental, artistic, and formative accomplishments of a society as the expression of human upward evolution”.
-Larousse:“Cultivation of the arts and sciences, mental improvement”.
-Common usage:“Emphasis on the philosophical, religious, and artistic accomplishments, of a society, but also including its organizational, behavioral, and technical accomplishments (civilization)”.
For reasons of simplicity, the following essay will use only the term “culture” when discussing the genesis – or origin – and the evolution on the west coast of Peru of the societal, political, artistic, and behavioral accomplishments occurring some two to three thousand years ago among a certain group of people – the Chiva, the Moche, and the Chimu – later the Wari and the Incas.
Only in very few places
on Earth did high cultures originate spontaneously and independently of
others – as in
The northern Peruvian slopes to the west of the Andes and the related coast (combined with a part of southern Ecuador) appear to have formed an additional such cultural genesis area, having brought forth, first, the “Initial Period” cultures north of today’s Lima, then the seminal Chavin, from there the important Moche, later, in their place, the Chimu, and, in the highlands, the empire of the Wari, followed by the Incas.Why there?How did it happen?What is equal and what is different in the early Peruvian cultures from the origin and evolution of other cultures?
The subject area of cultural
origin reaches from the Nazca region, south of today’s
There are a number of contradictory academic theories and numerous individual indications to be found in the museums of the area, in numerous books written since the arrival of the Spaniards in 1532, and in various articles.But the Peruvian cultures themselves did not have any written records and their verbal histories were suppressed or lost in later centuries.Archeology has to make sense of silent ruins, the findings of dispersed objects, and geology.
The subject area consists
of a flat, mostly sandy, coastal strip in the west of
In the ocean, the cold
Humboldt Current flows along the shore from
When primitive men arrived, simple, stone-age settlements appeared on the rivers, separated by wide areas of intervening desert.Cultural development was slow.From 2500 BC on, some simple pottery, some cotton cultivation, and simple (not woven) textile production can be proven to have existed during that period, but those people were basically hunters and gatherers.
It is assumed by some scientists that the Amazon basin, directly after the last ice age, some 15,000 years ago, was not a jungle but rather a steppe or savannah, beginning to be populated by early human immigrants.It is further believed that those Amazonians developed cultivation of food plants (manioc) and, accidentally, discovered the production of pottery by cooking in the clay soil of that area.Some anthropologists are still looking – so far in vain – for significant settlements – possibly early cultures – from that period somewhere in what is now the Amazon rain forest.It is also assumed that very early trade occurred between the Amazon area, the Andean mountain tribes, and down to the coast – for decorative feathers, precious stones, later gold, and, possibly, hallucinatory herbs in one direction; and coral or decorative shells, later also manufactured products in the other (as in North America carried out by the Hopi tribe from the Gulf all the way to tribes inland, as to the Zuni and far beyond).
But an important cultural step took place in the so-called Initial Period after 1800 BC (in other words, possibly earlier than the rise of the Olmec) in the area north of today’s Lima (as far north as the Moche River), as at Paraíso, Aspero, Moxece-Pampa (with a 27-meter-high, beautifully decorated mound and another one only 6 meters high, but 135 by 135 meters wide), and Sechín, where large populations must have lived together in structured cultures.These large cultures became possible on the foundation of irrigation and the large-scale cultivation of nourishing plants – initially including squash, beans, peanuts, and avocado – supplemented by seafood.Maize (corn) arrived later.
Earlier assumptions had indicated that one tribe, the Chavin, existing between 1000 and 300 BC on the west side of the Cordillera Blanca of the Andes, had come up with irrigation by diversion of running mountain water to their small, sloping fields.The Chavin also domesticated the llama, cultivated potatoes, developed refined weaving techniques, molded pottery, and advanced metal melting and fabrication processes, leading later to the famous pre-Columbian pottery and gold jewelry of the Moche, Chimu, and Incas.
Newer assumptions and the results of newer archeology indicate that the technology of irrigation was already common in the Initial Period shortly after 1800 among the Paraíso, Aspero, Moxece, and Sechín cultures before the arrival of the Chavin about 1000 BC and may have been derived from another Andean source, possibly even from the more mountainous original home area of one of those tribes.
Once the art of irrigation
was transferred to the coastal lowlands, the cultivation of maize had arrived,
and the Chavin arts and crafts transferred, either by learning or by Chavin
migration, the Moche culture appeared.In
parallel, the Nazca culture was centered around the ancient agricultural,
artistic and trading city of
The subsequent, significant population growth and the need for the organization of ever larger irrigation projects led to the need for orderly behavior of many people in close social proximity, and thus to social order or stratification – evolving from family hierarchy to tribal structure and beyond.Increasing wealth and concentration of demand led to diversification of occupations in accordance with skills and opportunities – in other words, to civilizations or cultures, especially when an increasing amount of resources and skills went into artistic endeavors and when organized religion, elitist luxury, warfare, and trade developed.It is astounding how the habitation and decorative possessions of rulers and elites in the early Peruvian cultures – as found in their tombs – elevated them far above the general population.
The separation of the proto-cultures along the rivers by large stretches of desert may have been an important factor in facilitating the rise of early societies, protecting them during their “incubation” period from constant invasions, raiding, and looting by envious neighbors – as had commonly occurred in the North American plains and still recently in the Amazon jungle.
Why were large mounds (or pyramids) built by the early Peruvian cultures?When no caves are available in the lowlands, shelter, as any camper knows from practical experience, may have to be created in the ground for protection against the wind.Housing, more often, may also have to be created on platforms to avoid the occasional flowing water from rains and the access of all kinds of crawling animals to the living quarters.
Rank has always been associated
with elevation.Wealthier people preferred
living on higher platforms than lower people.Holy
places and sacrificial fires were preferably established by most cultures
on elevated places – spirituality being associated with the sky and morbidity
with the earth below.In any event,
through the centuries, early Peruvian cultures began building high mounds,
called “Huacas”, mostly provided with external ramps leading to platforms
on top for religious rituals or for the ceremonial location of the political
or religious rulers of society.Every
generation or every wave of material or military success led to additions
to the mounds, augmenting their elevation.Since
rocks were not available in the desert plains, mounds were built of adobe
brick from mud being washed down in the rivers from the
The cultural or social
genesis in the early Peruvian cultures and the Moche culture was actually
quite similar to the Sumerian one, including the interplay of the innovations
of mountain tribes and lowland population growth (irrigation supposedly
having been introduced into Mesopotamia by conquering tribes from the Zagros
Mountains occupying the lower Euphrates plains), the formation of elites,
the building of mounds (or pyramids), and the appearance of decorative
reliefs on buildings, and more.The
craze for building large Huacas can also be compared to the building of
the pyramids in Central America, the pyramids in Egypt, the numerous temples
of wealthy cities in the Greek world (see Agrigent and Selinunt on Sicily),
and the building of ever larger and taller churches or cathedrals in every
settlement of
In a difference between
the Peruvian cultures and the Middle Eastern, European, and, later, Muslim
ones, the duality of, and conflict between, political rulers and high priests
did not occur in the Peruvian cultures.Sophisticated
rules for social order were developed, basically not very different from
the Ten Commandments – even going beyond them – but it is not known whether
any of them were based on “divine” revelations as were the Ten Commandments,
Christianity, or Islam.In
On the artistic side, the Peruvian cultures developed reliefs and colored them with a variety of paints.They had music – the flute.But they did not have stringed instruments.Their verbal art included the telling of stories (see the Inca origin).But, in the absence of any written documents, we do not know of any early Peruvian poetry.
On the practical side, it is interesting to note that the Chavin and Moche had already known or “invented” fishing hooks and nets, cotton cultivation and weaving of textiles, many kinds of weapons, and sophisticated metallurgy.But they did not invent the wheel, neither the pottery wheel, the usage of iron, writing, bow-and-arrow, free-standing sculpture, the arch in construction, nor any advanced form of residential architecture.Indications are that astronomy was rudimentary at best.The Peruvian cultures did not have any domesticated animals and livestock besides the llama (also used as an animal of burden) and, to a minor extent, the guinea pig, and later the dog.
The most important structural remnants of the Moche and subsequent coastal cultures (mainly the Chimu) are the enormous Huacas around Trujillo (Huacas of the Moon and the Sun – and the Dragon or Rainbow Huaca) and around Chiclayo (north of Chiclayo is the main Huaca at Túcume with more than 20 smaller ones around it and the more distant Huaca and tomb of the Lord of Sipan).West of Trujillo is a cluster of nine walled citadels (each several hundred yards long and wide) within a single city that formed the super-city Chan Chan with possibly more than 35,000 inhabitants – all walls and structures having been built from mud bricks.
The most important artistic remnants in form and decoration from the Moche are the molded pottery items, decorative gold objects, and decorative friezes of all public buildings.
It is not clear why or how the Moche culture that originated around 300 BC came to an end in the time between 650 and 700 AD.Was it a climate catastrophe, a super El Niño, a long drought?Was it a super-tsunami?Was it a plague?While the general climate along the coast brings only minimal amounts of rain, the occasional Super-Niño (possibly occurring only every 10 to 20 years) can bring enormous amounts of sustained rain over several weeks, not only damaging the mud-brick buildings, but also washing away the irrigation canals and the valuable plantations – leading to famines and, possibly, diseases.
After this catastrophe,
the Wari Empire arose in the Andean highlands around today’s city of
Subsequent to Wari dominance,
the lesser-known Sicán culture flourished in the area north of today’s
Sometime around 1300 AD,
the important culture of the Chimu began to rise in the same area as the
prior Moche culture and, after imperialistic extension, extending for 600
miles along the coast.The Chimu began
to build the city of
Other cultures and societies appeared in the Andean area, became powerful, and then succumbed to the Inca.
In addition to the Moche
and Chimu in the north and the Nazca in the south, there is Pachacamac
in the middle, close to today’s
Much later in time, only
after 1400 AD, the Inca became important in
In sum, the area of today’s
Summary of findings:
-As everywhere else in nature, an ample food supply and the absence of predatory enemies leads to a corresponding increase in population – possibly to the limits of the food supply.
-Human
cultures appear spontaneously as soon as an ample food supply in any area
allows the accumulation of a substantial population on limited space, leading
to the building of villages or towns.Therefore,
cultures arise from agriculture, but not necessarily from husbandry requiring
spread-out settlements and ongoing movement to new pastures.(Later,
centers of importance resulted from trade – as
-Social structure arises from the original family structure, expanded as populations expand to the structure of a clan, the tribe, and the whole culture, most of them being patriarchal.
-The social structure is necessary to provide orderly life in close proximity and also to accomplish large common projects.Therefore, most early laws are similar to the Ten Commandments, but are expanded to include social orderliness.
-The “large common project” often is the execution of irrigation projects (digging of canals, regulation of water distribution), and, later, the building of defensive structures.
-Geographic isolation favors the origin of cultures by protecting them against envious raiders during an incubation period.This may explain the specific location of most nascent cultures on Earth.
-A structured society develops elites around their political leaders, including his relatives and his primary aides (in administration, the military, and among the priests – sometimes among the merchants).
-It is quite common that nascent cultures sanctify high places when living in hilly areas but, when living in flat areas, build platforms or mounds, not just for common housing, but more so for the elite and for religious rituals or the ceremonial use of the rulers.The height of the mounds increase with increasing wealth of the culture, sometimes in competition with other neighboring towns or in competition with preceding rulers.
-In all nascent cultures, the use of art is significantly expanded from simple decorations in primitive groups to expensive decorations of public buildings and the decoration of the elites.
-Sooner or later, successful cultures begin territorial expansion and empire building.
-Communication needs do not always lead to the art of writing, but sometimes only to simpler forms of symbolic communication (knotted strings, dotted beans, acoustic communication by symbolic rhythms, such as drums in the jungle or by optical signals, such as smoke signals).
-The rise and evolution of cultures may be restrained or impeded by overemphasis on tradition or by political or religious elites.It is an open question whether the rise of cultures necessarily leads to the culture’s weakening and, ultimate, decline.
-Minor conquests, minor migrations, trade and even minor communication between cultures can lead to substantial idea-transfer.
-The end of cultures, if not occurring at the hands of an invading enemy, more often occurs in consequence of environmental degradation (possibly self-induced), political or ethical degradation (resulting in neglect of irrigation, decline of military strength, or other community-supporting functions), climate change (gradual or catastrophic), natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis, pests), large-scale diseases, or infighting for power.
-Cultures are subject to crazes, which absorb resources and limit evolution – whether of material nature, as excessive building activities, or of more abstract nature, as the collection of slaves and sacrificial victims, or of a spiritual nature leading to pilgrimages, building of holy sites, self-imposed limitations, or self-damaging aggressiveness toward others, whether in conquests of remote territories, crusades, or modern terrorism.
-As some cultures fade, others may arise in a different area – after a time interval, even in the same area or, through absorption in the conquering culture.
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A footnote regarding
travel recommendations for northern
Tourism
Agency for
We
had very satisfactory experience with the following agency and all its
guides:
“Chasquitur”, located
in
Sandra Ratto (owner)
or Geraldine
Tel. from the
The
trip to
For