Does evolution have a direction or is it a random walk constrained only by the laws of Nature?

by José Díez Faixat

"Emergence of ever more complex structures seems to be programmed into the nature of our evolving cosmos."  -Alex M. Vikoulov, The Syntellect Hypothesis

​All manifested reality appears, relentlessly, in the form of dualities. No form of expression is possible outside this play of the opposites. We cannot find sound without silence, object without subject, outside without inside, and so on. All opposites are mutually dependent and therefore we can understand them as polar manifestations of reality that transcends them and precedes this duality itself.

​​The Universe seemingly began at a pole of maximum energy (and practically no consciousness) and heads towards another pole of maximum consciousness (and practically null energy). Physicists talk about an infinite potential energy in the original quantum vacuum, while sages talk about absolute consciousness in the metaphysical void. It is our proposal that these two voids are one and the same Void, examined by physicists objectively and perceived as emergent forms by conscious entities subjectively, but which in itself, is neither objective nor subjective, but “prior” to that dual perspective. And the most fascinating aspect of all is that this Void is not a distant metaphysical reality, but the simple and pure self-evidence of each and every moment, the undeniable always present certainty-of-being.

As there is no separation between subject and object in this interplay of Self-Manifestation, it can be rightly called 'Self-Causation', or 'Self-Simulation'. It is not possible to see it, because there is not “anything” that could be seen by “someone,” but neither is it “nothing,” because, in fact, all things in the Universe – both objective and subjective – are mere partial and relative forms of this Self-causation. And although it is, therefore, unutterable, ineffable, we may point to IT as the self-implying whole. 

In order to be able to “apprehend” Self-simulation, it needs to polarize itself, at least in appearance of object and subject, the same as 0 may become dual in +1 and -1 without changing, other than formally, its absolute value. In our paper we propose that, in order for Self-simulation to be perceived, it apparently splits in two poles: the original (energy-based) and the final (conscious-based), generating an illusory spatio-temporal and info-cognitive relationships among them which, on vibrating – like a guitar string – gives rise to an entire scale of harmonics. That, in turn, constitutes the levels of achieved stability for further evolution and its sporadic transitions as well as harmonious funneling of the so-called game of chance.

The proposed hypothesis is fairly simple: Just as in any musical instrument successive second harmonics (1/3 of the vibrating unit) progressively generate new sounds, these same second harmonics generate all the major evolutionary novelties in universal dynamics as a whole. That is, evolution, far from being a random process, unfolds in an orderly way, and as we’ll see further in a teleological way, going through successive phases of the so-called spiral of fifths. It is truly surprising that such a simple proposal is found to be precise and categorical when cross-checked against historical data. (cf. Beyond Darwin: the hidden rhythm of evolution, which can be found at http://byebyedarwin.blogspot.com/p/english-version_01.html)

Our evolutionary hypothesis fits well within the successive transformations that humans have experienced in history: the Neolithic, Antiquity, the Middle Ages, Modernity and the emergent Postmodern Age. If, as we see it, all these stages resoundingly fit the provisions of the ‘periodic table’ of rhythms that we have proposed in our paper, it is more than likely that our hypothesis may also provide the insights to glimpse the successive phases yet to be deployed in the years to come in an ever-accelerating process that will eventually lead to a moment of infinite creativity, connectivity and consciousness – the Omega Point – perhaps, only within a couple of centuries hence.

The technological acceleration that we perceive around us in the past decades has, according to our proposal, very deep roots that reach back to the very moment of the Big Bang. In short, we can assume that the Universe emerged in a violent energy-based Singularity that generated vertiginous transformations. Later, due to cooling, the emergence of novelties gradually slowed down. After the formation of the solar system and the subsequent emergence of life on our planet, the rhythm of creative transformations began to increase progressively, first through biological evolution and, later on, through human development and expansion of civilizations. Currently, the emergence of novelties is again dizzying and everything seems to indicate that we are rapidly approaching another imminent Singularity of infinite creativity, connectivity and consciousness.

According to our approach, both Singularities – Alpha Ἇ and Omega Ω – are nothing less than the polar expression of the non-dual Void, always present, "prior" to its apparent dualization as energy and consciousness, and what some might call the breaking of symmetry, a "screen" on which the drama of life and evolution is played out. The initial and final Singularities would be, in this sense, the points of entry into and exit from that eternally self-referential Emptiness (or homogeneous Fullness) that, instant after instant, manifests itself in and out as the perceived world of forms.
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To illustrate this idea, philosopher Alan Watts used to employ the analogy of electrical current that “will not start to flow from the positive end of a cable until the negative terminal has been established." The universe of forms would not have arisen from the Void solely through the initial Singularity – the Alpha Point of the Big Bang (Ἇ) – if the final cosmological Singularity – the Omega Point (Ω) – had not been simultaneously present. This is possible because, as we have stated previously, Ἇ and Ω are but the polar appearance of the fundamental ever-present essence – Self-causation – and, therefore, the temporal distance that separates both singularities is illusory. Everything happens Now.  

Video: The Omega Point Cosmology - Ecstadelic Media (cc)

​According to our hypothesis, the key of the creative leaps deployed throughout evolution and history is in the standing waves that are generated from the fundamental resonance, frequency, or sound if you will. The cause of these standing waves is that the ends of the vibrating unit are fixed and, therefore, limit the possibilities of oscillation, thus generating the entire quantum spectrum of musical harmonics. These harmonics are nothing less the potential archetypes that, one after another, are updated in and out as the successive steps of evolution and history.

The key to the whole evolutionary process lies, then, in its initial and final poles. The Universe would not have arisen without the simultaneous presence of the singularities Ἇ and Ω, entry to and exit from homogeneous void. The final singularity towards which we are directed is, then, nothing less than the antagonist of the initial singularity. From our point of view, it is a pole of the same caliber as the initial moment of the Big Bang. If this original pole consisted, basically, of an explosion in the realm of "energy," the final pole towards which we are heading vertiginously will consist, fundamentally, of an implosion in the realm of "consciousness."

But, let's take a good look, as we said before, both facets – "energy" and "consciousness" – are not two different realities, but polar aspects of the same and only Void, the objective and subjective facets of the ever-present Self-causation. Hence, from our perspective, the “trick” of evolution and of history will be definitively revealed at the forthcoming final instant. That is, the entire trajectory from the Big Bang to today has occurred in this eternal Now. It will thus be made manifest that our life has not been a mere fleeting fragment in the midst of an endless process, but that we have, in fact, always been the pure, timeless self-manifestation in which all worlds have happened, happen and will happen. There has been no “before.” There will be no “after.” There is only Now. Is it not self-evident?
 
-José Díez Faixat

READ MORE: "Beyond Darwin: the hidden rhythm of evolution," which can be found at http://byebyedarwin.blogspot.com/p/english-version_01.html, with versions in Spanish and English, and PDF format in both languages. ​
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Tags: José Díez Faixat, evolution, random walk, laws of Nature, consciousness quantum vacuum, metaphysical void, metaphysical reality, self-causation, spatio-temporal relationship, game of chance, Beyond Darwin, evolutionary hypothesis, Omega Point, Big Bang, Alpha Point, Alan Watts, cosmological singularity, science, spirituality

​* Image Credit: Shutterstock

​About the Author:
José Díez Faixat is a Spanish-born philosopher and consciousness researcher. Architect by training, participated in the creation of the rural community of Mas Roger, Spain, proposing an alternative, non-violent, ecological, simple, spiritual form of life. His research studies combine the great wisdom traditions with theoretical physics. As a result, he has written two books in Spanish: Entre la evolución y la eternidad (Between evolution and eternity, Barcelona, 1996), and Siendo nada, soy todo (Being nothing, I am everything, Madrid, 2007). Recently, he has finished writing his first book in English – Non-Dual Evolution – in which he completes and updates his decades-long research.

e-mail: jose@vjarquitectos.com
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