Progressive Evolution Definition: The Processes, Levels, Patterns and "Products" of Evolution's Progressive Directionality

Introduction

Do you consider yourself progressive? Perhaps you see your ideas or values as progressive, perhaps you recycle; maybe you even have a grey water system set up in your home. That’s great! We hope you’ll continue along the progressive path. An amazing way to expand your progressiveness is to learn more about the progressive evolution of the universe.

The universe has been evolving for 13.7 billion years at this point, and we (science,) now has the ability to look back over its complete lifetime in order to assess where it’s been and where it’s going. When we do so, we find a series of reoccurring patterns that clearly work well for the universe – it’s continued using them all this time, as it’s moved toward greater complexity, creativity and consciousness. That’s how it invented us, after all--incredibly intelligent and conscious beings, a product of the universe that’s aware of its own complexity.

So it’s time we get even more progressive and align ourselves with the deepest reoccurring patterns of success that the universe has now demonstrated so well to sciences. If we do so, we can figure out how to put an end to the catastrophic climate destabilization that is now occurring and just about all of our other big planetary problems. Otherwise, humanity may end up following that other pattern of universe evolution: the breakdown and recycling of non-learning, maladaptive and non-cooperative parts of a whole. 

In spite of evolution having sporadic and random periods of extinction, retrogression and meandering, in general, evolution is going somewhere and the general direction of evolution is progressive. Below you will discover what that direction is and why it is so important to our future.

What is Progressive Evolution

"Whether you are aware of it or not evolution in the universe is actually going somewhere. Like a prisoner you are completely embedded within that evolutionary process and, you are always being carried along (mostly unknowingly,) on its unstoppable journey toward its destination. In order to insure the highest probability of success in your life, wouldn't it be wise to understand exactly where evolution in the universe is going and the rules it uses to get there? Then you could use those rules and align with that directional momentum to more effectively push you along toward your goals. " Lawrence Wollersheim

Evolution is commonly defined as any process of growth or development from one stage to another. Progressive means favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement and movement toward better conditions. Biological evolution refers more specifically to changes in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift.

Using relevant parts and processes from the preceding definitions universe progressive evolution would be the structural or generational change, growth and development of parts and wholes (within the universe's evolutionary system,) towards development, progress, improvement and better conditions. Specifically this means that progressive evolutionary structural or generational growth and development of parts and wholes that unfolds in consistently reoccurring patterns across the 13.7 billion-year-old evolutionary process.

The Consistently Reoccurring Patterns of Progressive Evolution

"If a complex system continually repeats something over great lengths of time it is reasonable to treat that repeated item as something that the system values, is important to the system or, that somehow is (or has become,) an essential part of the system's overall success. Universe evolution has consistently reoccurring core patterns some of which that have been repeating themselves successfully ever since the Big Bang almost 13.7 billion years ago. Knowing, aligning with and using these time-proven, consistently reoccurring core patterns of progressive evolution will greatly enhance personal and group success." Lawrence Wollersheim

Progressive evolution in the universe is the most complex thing in the universe and it does have patterns that can be understood. One way to more easily visualize the following consistently reoccurring complex process levels and pattern steps of progressive evolution is to visualize them as feeder streams eventually joining each other eventually becoming main river and unstoppable flow of universe-scale evolution itself. While this metaphor far from perfect, for reasons mentioned in the progressive evolution footnotes (at the end of this page,) this metaphor is good enough to help you see both the many contributing pattern streams and the centralizing main pattern river within the known developmental directionality of progressive evolution.

To align oneself or one's organization with the unstoppable progressive directionalized power flow of evolution (the indomitable impulse or intention of evolution if you like,) one would seek to align oneself and one’s groups to the highest degree possible with as many of the pattern levels and steps of progressive evolution as they could. This would theoretically give oneself or one's organization optimal survival success.

On the other hand failure to align oneself and one's organizations with the core patterns of progressive evolution results in the other great meta-pattern (and process,) of progressive evolution to take over --- destructive creation. That pattern is essentially the breakdown and recycling of any and all non-learning, non-adaptive and non "co-operating" parts or wholes to be recycled and reused later in some other evolutionary experiment or situation to once again attempt to further forward the unstoppable directionality of progressive evolution mentioned in more detail just below.

The main integral and unstoppable (or nearly unstoppable,) processes levels and steps containing the core consistently reoccurring patterns, "products" or inherent "values," of the directionality or impulses of progressive evolution are as follows:

• Continuous creative release of its potentials and potentiality (for a created or evolved thing to become what it can.) This continuous release or realization of potential births continuous change, which births increasing
• Expanding complexity, (In some ways all of the other progressive levels below can be seen as the unpacking of the previous level of complexity into newer levels of progressing expanding complexity. Expanding complexity like all thing expanding things in the universe requires expanding energy exchanges),
  • Which in some parts and unions within the universe eventually then creates... (parts here is meant as things, not necessarily locations,)
• Expanding growth and/or expansion, (again requiring more energy exchanges,)
  • which in some parts and unions within the universe eventually then emerges...
• Expanding creativity, (mutation, novelty innovation again requiring more energy exchanges,)
  • which in some parts and unions within the universe eventually then emerges...
• Expanding self-organization, autopoiesis, which again requires more energy exchanges, (For more on self organization principles, click here.)
  • which in some parts and unions within the universe eventually then emerges...
• Expanding self and other awareness and reflectiveness, (other awareness [consciousness,] includes others, the planet, the universe and even that great mystery that is the origin of our universe,) of the relevant exterior and interior environment present, past and future (through future modeling capabilities, through expanding use of technology and prediction skills,) within both the parts of the whole and within the whole itself as a collective union,
  • which in some parts and unions within the universe eventually then emerges...
• Expanding full-consequence capture, full accountability,(which requires expanding levels of full transparency for all parts of a whole and the wholes themselves. In one way or another, evolution eventually and invariably always enforces increasing levels of consequence capture upon any parts or wholes that do not learn, adapt "cooperate" and progressively evolve.)
  • which in some parts and unions within the universe eventually then emerges...
• Expanding learning resulting in skill/ability, knowledge and intelligence,
  • which in some parts and unions within the universe eventually then emerges...
• Expanding adaptability choice, freedom, autopoeisis (for some parts and wholes in adjusting to the environment or changing the environment,)
  • which in some parts and unions within the universe eventually then also emerges...
• Expanding robustness, redundancies and reserves of and in the parts and unions,
  • which in some parts and unions within the universe eventually then emerges...
• Expanding or alternating periods of compression and/or centralization
  • which in some parts and unions within the universe eventually then emerges...
• Expanding ordering, integration, harmony and then new synergies, (which again like all of the above in one way or another requires more energy exchanges,)
  • which in some parts and unions within the universe eventually then emerges...
• Expanding cooperation, (which again requires more energy exchanges,)
  • which then in some parts and unions within the universe eventually then emerges...
• Expanding or new cooperative wholes (unions,) of greater scale, (which again requires more energy exchanges,)
  • which then as a consequence of this new or expanding cooperation creates...
• Expanding interdependence, (by parts and wholes which then also loops back upon the parts and the whole (union,) to further motivate greater cooperation because of the expanded interdependence and expanding interconnectedness,)
  • which in some parts and unions within the universe eventually then emerges...
• Expanding control over the environment for cooperative unions resulting in expanding sustainability for the cooperating parts and wholes, which again requires more energy exchanges, (in part because of the increased cooperation between and by the parts and the wholes [unions,]) which ​at some developmental level of progressive evolution and only in some human parts within the universe eventually results in...
  • Expanding reflection by those human self-reflective parts upon the total universe environment and the universe's complete evolutionary processes and systems (including the Universe's Big Bang origin.) This creates a whole universe consciousness in the part of the universe. In a way, the universe becomes conscious of itself through its part.
• And finally at the end of the cycle lies the potential for some form of an expanding transcendence of some parts and wholes (unions,) into new things through many different processes. This then potentially restarts a new cycle (or spiral,) of progressive evolution at a new level where once again continuous creative release of new potentials and potentiality (for the newly evolved or created thing to become what it can.) This continuous release or realization of new potential births continuous change, which births increasing... (through all of most of the cycle of development above.) If transcendence did not occur for any reason, (which also includes, failed experiments, retrogressions, collapses and extinctions,) then the universe evolutionary process wastes nothing of that which has reached the limits of its existence, growth or potential release cycle. It then recycles back all those resources and parts back to evolution to be used in new creativity. (Collapses also serve a purpose in removing what would not learn and adapt and for creating new space for new species and evolutionary experiments.)

What Happens if Any of the Developmental Steps of Progressive Evolution are Interfered with or Thwarted: The Meta-Pattern of Destructive Creation 

If any of the above universe meta-patterns above fail to continue to progressively evolve at some point toward the next levels of increasing complexity and increasing energy exchange (such as in the many retrogressions, failed experiments, collapses and extinctions of evolution, etc,) within evolution's progressive directionalized path of core patterns as mentioned above, another pattern and core meta-process of progressive evolution activates and takes over --- destructive creation. Destructive creation is generally the breakdown and recycling pattern for non-learning, non-adaptive or non "co-operating" parts or wholes (unions.)

Noting is wasted in universe evolution. This breakdown and recycle core meta-pattern allows the elements of evolutionary "failed experiments," retrogressions or other failed adaptations, collapses or extinctions to be somehow be reused later in some other new evolutionary creativity and experiments. This then allows for these broken down and recycled elements to once again allow and support the forwarding of the ongoing levels of the unstoppable directionality of progressive evolution as illustrated above --- hence the term destructive creation.

Furthermore, keep in mind that all of the above progressive evolution process steps in one way or another directly support or indirectly contribute to the meta-directionality, impulse, or intentionality of progressive evolution, which is the creation of more:

• cooperative wholes (unions,) at greater scale, which are sustainable and expand "fair" and/or appropriate energy exchanges between parts and wholes. (It may be that increasing cooperation and exchange of energy at greater scale for greater lengths of time is the core central hub of universe progressive evolution.)

Based on the universe's 13.7 billion years of core repeating patterns demonstrated in its progressive evolution there is no known logical reason to believe that the above basic patterns and basic directionality of progressive evolution are likely to change.

The Theoretical End Result or Product of Evolution

If these core directional patterns of progressive evolution above continue as they have for the last 13.7 billion years, and the universe continues into the far, far distant future, as amazing as it may seem the first time that you hear it, eventually:

• "All of the universe is evolving toward becoming a cooperative super-organism (whole/union,) and conscious super-union composed of all diverse universe parts aligned in appropriate energy exchanges able to control the total universe environment in sustainable ways at universe level scale. All of the potentials within the meta-patterns and qualities will have reached their maximal or absolute states for expression of all possibilities within the universe."

Theoretically, the universe will eventually exhaust all universe possibilities (potentiality) for expanding or more differentiation, complexity, growth, mutation, (creativity, novelty innovation,) autopoiesis, (self organization,) adaptability (choice, freedom,) intelligence, learning, integration, harmony, synergy, compression or centralization resulting in eventual unification into wholes of greater cooperation and scale, interdependence, consciousness, self reflection (currently only in humans,) reflection of the universe upon itself and its own processes (currently only through its human self-reflective parts,) and theoretically, eventually the universe by itself as itself as a totality. When one even partially grasps the amazing adventure and progressive directionality of the universe's evolution one cannot help, but experience a humbling awe.

• "The individual is going to be universalized. The universal is going to be individualized, and thus from both directions the whole is going to be enriched." Jan Smuts, From Holism and Evolution

Look over the list of main progressive processes of 13.7 billion years of progressive evolution again. See them as expanding levels of unfolding and unpacking complexity bearing more unique qualities and more complex, refined and rare "fruit." Look at the most complex, refined and rare qualities being produced at the current known end of the universe's expanding complexity.

From this view of evolution's progressive directionality, it appears we as humans are truly important within progressive evolution and, we have an important value, meaning and role to play as conscious co-evolutionary partners with the Universe and its processes of progressive evolution.

When you look back at all of the levels of expanding complexity unpacking directionally into level after level of more amazing qualities and life one begins to also see that the universe is in a continuous process of ongoing cosmogenesis. Based on universe facts it appears that Genesis did not end just before or at the big bang, but is continuing on to this very moment. And if cosmogenesis is in fact continuing to occur, then now we have the opportunity to participate as partners in this progressive process once we know how it works and what we can do to co-evolve our futures with it --- and that may be the greatest single opportunity of our individual and collective futures to EVER emerge in human history!

Extinction and Progressive Evolution

Prior to the last 10 years or so millions of species that have failed to recognize the existence of these progressive evolutionary facts of life, and/or that failed to follow most of them by not using them to better adapt to environmental or internal changes have gone extinct. While knowing and using these “universe facts of life” is not an absolute guarantee that extinction can always be prevented, it is the best prevention that we have now. These principles of progressive evolution are so powerful that it even could be said that in the extreme case of the great asteroid dinosaur extinction of 65 million years ago there was an adaptive failure to follow the principles of progressive evolution.

Theoretically, had the dinosaurs evolved further in harmony with all of the above elements and principles of progressive evolution to the point where they had developed both the intelligence and technology of humanity at this past time, it is arguable that with human like technology and intelligence they could have detected the asteroid approaching the planet years before it arrived and with the other technology (rockets, nuclear bombs etc.,) they could have destroyed or altered the course of the incoming asteroid thus preventing extinction.

Although the example is extreme, it demonstrates how the failure to progressively evolve using the many levels of adaptation to external and internal environments found within progressive evolution equally means failure for individuals, groups or species.

The Prime Directive of Evolution

As living beings, each of us is responsible to forward the Evolutionary Prime Directive of the universe. This prime directive is simply "to forward the the universe's interests (as listed above) and the progressive evolution of life in the universe.

How to Use the Processes and Principles of Progressive Evolution in Practical Daily Ways to Optimize Your Life Success

The above description of the core processes of the expanding levels of complexity found within universe evolution are the progressive directionality of evolution and life! These processes, which have been repeatedly demonstrated and tested over 13.7 billion years of evolutionary testing can also be viewed as core evolutionary interests and values and even as a partial implied statement of practical evolutionary ethics.

They are the most vital directionalized actions and behaviors that hold or enhance the progressive directionality of evolution and life sustainability. As such, they are important processes and "value interests" to know and apply to every area of life. It is the application of what we call the Universe Principles of Sustainability that a true and meaningful sustainable prosperity for all can be achieved.

The above processes of progressive evolutionary directionality have been creatively turned into daily life-guiding success principles. Click the following links to go to these empowering, practical and vital day-to-day living success principles:

The new Universe Principles of Sustainability short form is found clicking here for the Right Actions of Part 1 and by clicking here for the Right Attitudes of Part 2.

Key Footnotes On the Progressive Evolution Definition and the Evolutionary Impulse:

1. The progressive evolution process steps are not always linear or in the exact sequence as listed above. There are many simultaneous and sometimes astronomically complex linear and non-linear interactions and feedback loops going on in and between the various process steps of progressive evolution above. Additionally, progressive evolution has many dead ends. At any step in the progressive evolutionary process steps of expanding differentiation, complexity, growth, mutation, (creativity, novelty innovation,) autopoiesis, (self organization,) adaptability (choice, freedom,) intelligence, learning, integration, harmony, synergy, compression or centralization resulting in eventual unification into wholes of greater cooperation and scale, interdependence, consciousness, self reflection, reflection of the universe upon itself and its own processes through its self-reflective parts or eventually by itself as a totality there can be dead ends where the process for some part or whole within evolution fails to evolve through the next level of increasing complexity and adaptability. There are also many things (parts or wholes/unions) in the universe on organic, biological and cultural levels that do not proceed through all of the above progressive evolutionary process steps and levels of expanding complexity. They either stop completely at one level or another or develop so insufficiently at one level or another they are limited in their development on following levels.
2. To get a better visual idea and overview of how the expanding complexity of progressive evolution develops and unfolds simultaneously on various individual (including consciousness,) social and physical universe levels please see the following Four Quadrants chart by Ken Wilber by clicking here. This chart is meant to be a quick visual general overview of the vast amount of progressive evolutionary complexity going on in the universe and provides some examples to all of the process levels and steps listed above. While there is contention on the placement of some items on this chart its visual usefulness far outweighs ongoing research and dialog about its details.
3. Progressive evolution plays a major role in The New Universe Worldview. Click here to learn more about the new Universe Evolutionary Worldview.
4. Although the above definition of progressive evolution has been based on parts of the works of the following individuals the inclusion of their names does not imply any specific endorsement of this article or the information expressed within it by them. The following individuals have been mentioned in part to gratefully recognize their contributions to expanding the areas of cosmology, big history, progressive evolutionary science and/or conscious evolution. This article is based in part upon the universe and progressive evolutionary science and theories expressed by Teilhard De Chardin, Erich Jantsch, John Stewart, Lawrence Wollersheim, Duane Elgin, Michael Dowd, Connie Barlow, Nancy Ellen Abrams, Brian Swimme, Thomas Berry, Joel Primack, David Christian, David Ray Griffin, Sri Aurobindo, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Ken Wilber, Andrew Cohen, Steve McIntosh as well as numerous other evolution theorists, scientists, authors and speakers.
5. There are some individuals and organizations that teach that all it takes to improve and progressively evolve the world is to change and expand consciousness particularly their spiritual consciousness. As you can see from the above definition of progressive evolution expanding consciousness is just one among the many other levels of action processes and education that must take place for progressive evolution to be optimized. Although it is important, it is by no means the one single most important thing that will change everything else in the universe system. If there were such a thing, it would more likely be education because from education all other skills and qualities could be improved.
6. The progressive directionality of evolution as described in the levels of unfolding complexity above are sometimes described as the impulse of evolution, the intention of evolution or the intentionality of evolution. These personalizing concepts are not used above to signify that is the position of the science on progressive evolution. They are only included here to reference the wording now be used by many individuals coming from various spiritual backgrounds who do hold another more personal perspective on progressive evolution.
7. In a sense, the universe can be said to be reflecting upon itself first through its own self-reflective human parts and theoretically, eventually by itself as a totality [either through the synchronized and integrated linked consciousness of its networked human parts or, in the emergence of its own independent and unified new universe-reflecting consciousness. At this point it can be said that either the universe has evolved self reflective and universe reflective humans to better assist itself in co-evolving itself (the universe,) along its progressive directionality or, that self reflective and universe reflective humans can for their own self interests decide to become conscious partners with the whole process of universe evolution to better co-evolve evolution to meet their needs by aligning their needs and actions to the overall existing progressive directionality of universe evolution as expressed above.
8. Progress evolution is many actions that unfold within the space of the universe. Space fields have inherent qualities which condition the actions occurring within them. To learn more about those space conditioning qualities effecting the actions of progressive evolution, click here.
9. Another factor effecting evolutionary natural selection, which transcends the incomplete concept of survival of the fittest is mutual consistency in ecosystems, which implies a continually dynamic balancing process. Mutual consistency further supports survival of the most cooperative. Some of the ideas of mutual consistency are described here.
10. The above progressive evolution overview has been provided to Evolution Spirituality for use by Lawrence Wollersheim. It is from his soon to be released book, The Universe Manifesto, the Universe Evolutionary Worldview that encompasses and re-aligns everything. Within the Universe Evolutionary Worldview the simple definition for ethical behavior is "those behaviors that enhance the progressive directionality of evolution and life."

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