4.3 Stages of evolution: physical, biologic, cultural.

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The beginning of the universe was the beginning of time. With an explosion of energy, the 'big bang', the forces of nature, gravity and the other attracting forces, came into existence. They gave birth to the smallest particles of matter, which eventually combined to form protons and neutrons. It was the start of physical evolution: the successive formation of atomic nuclei and chemical elements.

According to superstring theory the elementary particles can be described as vibrating strings of linear dimension. As in this quote from Encyclopedia Britannica: "The basic entities in superstring theory are one-dimensional massless strings only 10^-33 cm long. ....The strings vibrate, and each different mode of vibration corresponds to a different particle. The strings can interact in ways that correspond to the observed interactions of particles. "

Since we know that particular patterns of oscillation are the objects of selection in building well functioning networks, it seems that at the level of elementary particles this is also the case. Oscillating strings or loops are subject to selection in the process of building protons neutrons and atoms. E.Rubenstein has pointed out the analogies between various stages of nature's evolution on the planet earth. The three stages are: physical, biological and cultural evolution. "What nature does, in essence, is to make assemblies. Simple constituents agglomerate to more complex compounds". Nature has used one and the same logic for constructing

• the atoms of chemical elements

• pre-biologic molecules

• living organisms

• human organisations and institutions.

The principles of evolution of life on earth, as discovered by C. Darwin and A.R.Wallace, equally apply in other time-scales:

• the creation of elements in cosmogony, which happened soon after the "big bang"

• the evolution of microbial life, which can take place in weeks or months

• the immunologic process of adaptation and defence: a rapid Darwinian selection within days

• animal and human learning, in which generation and selection of oscillating circuits are a matter of seconds.

The general principle of 'variation + selection', the creative logic of nature, is found in all time-scales. It implies that

1. reproduction generates variation

2. the environment selects the best viable variant

3. during reproduction intermediaries (called: messengers) carry information from the memory-bank to structures that are to be newly formed.

Map 4.3.1 Consecutive phases in evolution and the messengers transmitting the information from the genetic memory to the construction site.

Physical evolution. According to E.Rubenstein evolution creates a continuing sequence of assemblies. The first assemblies are created in the hot stars, they are the elements of physics and chemistry. When new elements are generated, chance associations of particles give rise to various atomic structures. Their survival depends on whether or not they are supported and reinforced by their environment. If they are rejected they will be replaced by different structures which may undergo the same fate. Or, if the environment is favourable at the moment they come into being, they will continue to exist. By then their internal structure contains the information of how to construct a viable element. Carrying this information, from the nucleus outwards, are subatomic intermediary particles, belonging to the class of bosons. They act as messengers and direct the agglomeration of other particles into a similar structure as the one from which they originate. There may be variations between one generation and the next, and if a variant is particularly well accepted by the environment of that moment, an element with new properties has been created.

In biologic evolution the results of previous successful developmental steps are laid down in the internal structure of the members of the species. The blueprint for every new individual is stored as a summary report of its creation and development in the past. This blueprint is written in the form of DNA, a macromolecule that holds the archive of its evolution in abbreviated form and acts as a phylogenetic memory. DNA is a long thread-like molecule: a twisted spiral ladder on the surface of which the genetic information is encoded. It is a major component of the nucleus of cells. The DNA molecule generates replica's of itself and sends out directions for constructing a new individual. The score-book with instructions for rebuilding hereditary form and function is called the genome. By incidental errors in copying, some copies deviate slightly from the original. These are called mutants. The offspring with the variation may be more or may be less viable than the original. That depends on the demands of the environment. In a changing environment mutations make it possible to adapt to the new demands. Of one generation those variants with the best fitness survive. They are selected by the environment and have the opportunity to reproduce. The unfit die before they have reproduced. The living organism depends for its subsistence on its environment. A successful interaction of a species and its environment results, among other things, in the capacity to create the proper environment to which it has become adjusted during its own evolutionary creation. Thus the creature is created to be a creator.

The cell-nucleus that contains the genetic memory, sends out messenger molecules that deliver the information necessary to construct the protein molecules on which the organism's form, function and behaviour are based. The messenger (RNA) molecules direct the process in which particles from the environment are attracted and assembled.

Selection is involved in evolution of species, in development from the egg (epigenesis), and in subsequent adaptive learning by the individual (9.5). In epigenesis, as in evolution, the environment shapes the course of development by interacting with the genome. The environment provides stimulating challenge: selective pressure gives rise to the adaptations that improve the resilience of the individual. An increase in fitness in the evolutionary sense is the unavoidable result of selection by the environment, not a purposeful activity on the part of the species. Selection occurs more by chance than by rule. The successive generations survive by trial and success. Epigenesis, the unfolding of the individual, has the semblance of being purposeful when seen from a distance, in "hindsight". In close proximity it is the outcome of variation and selection. We'll discuss later in what degree involuntary or voluntary processes are involved.

Cultural evolution is a further adaptive development by a group within a species. Evolution is the phylogenetic learning process of a species, as contrasted with ontogenetic learning in an individual of that species. Together they have resulted in the development of an intelligent mind in man and this has given rise to cultural evolution. Social institutions, arts and crafts, technology and science have developed in correlation with the human mind. The information contained in our cultural patrimonium is transmitted to new generations by imitation, education and training. Oral and written language is one of the messengers, supported by formula's, diagrams and images. Variations of ideas are being tried out and subjected to discussion before being carried out. Fitness, in the Darwinian sense, depends on convincing evidence and persuasive arguments. A rapidly changing social and cultural environment selects the whimsical values of the day. Fortunately seeds of cultural information can lie dormant to be rediscovered later and give birth to a renaissance.

Summary/conclusion

All forms of evolution are creative and innovative, be it at the physical, the biological or the cultural level. When the universe was created chaos made place for material dimensions and time. Physical evolution has paved the way for chemical and biological evolution, and the human society has launched a powerful cultural evolution. Mental activity and information technology have recently started a new epoch of accelerated evolutionary design of future institutions and technologies (E.Rubenstein). Understanding the past and present of anthropogenesis is a sound basis for making the choices that will determine the future of human societies. In this book we take part in an adventurous walk through time:

• the emergence of epigenesis, that is development of an individual organism,

• the emergence of adaptive learning and of learning systems in animals and men,

• and finally the emergence of speech/language as a species-specific behaviour or human cultural institution.

Variation and selection in successive generations are the source of natural and cultural progression. At the cellular and molecular level generations succeed each other in a short time and adaptations occur rapidly; adaptive changes in species of more complexity take more time. An important and useful concept in this connection is response time: the time needed for a species or quasi-species to respond to a change in the environment (= a stimulus or challenge). It is an index of the time interval or the time window in which the evolutionary process takes place.

4.4 Time's windows