Evolutionaries' by Carter Phipps. Review | Blogitem

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Shaun Johnston:
In modern times we've made two revolutionary discoveries. One is, how changes in physical matter can be accounted for in terms of physical laws that can predict precisely what will happen next. Having given rise to science (how this can be studied) and industry (how it can be applied) this revolution is well under way.

The second revolution is, how emergence of species of living creatures can be accounted for in terms of them evolving from one another. This revolution, despite its promise of how much it could tell us about ourselves, remains stillborn through the mistaken application to it of principles coming out of the first revolution--reductive physicalism.

For this second revolution to advance it should be taken from under the wing of science and studied on its own terms. Tip: one recent product of evolution is creatures with minds. Minds are better studied through methods of the humanities than through those of science. Tell me, does this interest you?

"Evolutionaries" by Carter Phipps. Review

Details: Written by Shaun Johnston Shaun Johnston; Published: August 12, 2012 August 12, 2012; Hits: 12442 12442

On reading “The Phenomenon of Man” I anticipated it dividing concern with evolution into two streams. One, to which I subscribe, would resist its siren song and continue to be about redefining human nature on the basis of discoveries about evolution. The other, inspired by "The Phenomenon..." would be about redefining evolution on the basis of pre-existing convictions about human nature. Sure enough, that second stream has developed into an "evolutionary" movement, as Phipps describes it in this book. And at the heart of this movement is a community of writers associated with the magazine EnlightenNext (formerly What is Enlightenment?) that Phipps served for over a decade as executive editor.

Phipps defines the community’s quest as the convergence of interest in “The Phenomenon of Man”with the spiritual wisdom of Sri Aurobindo. Member of this community take evolution to mean any sort of thing changing, without reference to whether the cause has anything to do with biological evolution. More...