INTEGRAL WORLD MAILING LIST http://www.integralworld.net Newsletter Nr. 689 Amsterdam, November 21, 2017 “I WOULD NOT BET AGAINST EROS…” - Ken Wilber's General Theory of Evolution: Cosmological, Biological and Cultural - FRANK VISSER In the members-only audio recordings, distributed by Integral Life, called "The Path Ahead: Politics, Globalism, and You" (November 15, 2017) of a few sessions on Trump that have been held lately, Ken Wilber explains in the most general terms what he understands to be the cause behind what makes the universe tick. In the introductory "Part 1: How Does Change Happen?" he widens the scope of the discussion to include the biological and cosmological dimensions and raises the fundamental question: "What's the structure of the universe that is capable of evolution?" As becomes clear during this talk, his answer to this question derives much from the philosophy of both Henri Bergson (who came up with the concept of "élan vital") and of Alfred North Whitehead (the founder of process philosophy). Wilber then argues his point about the universe having a creative aspect as usual, in a rather colloquial manner: This is something that becomes obvious about the universe, if you are not a dedicated reductionist... We went from dirt to the works of Shakespeare!... The universe is not running down, it is winding up!... and that's the creative advance into novelty... The universe itself is an inherently creative organism I have often argued that these appeals to common sense in no way qualify as solid philosophical or scientific arguments. They are of the level of "everybody knows". But everybody also knows that the Sun rises every morning... and yet, it doesn't (as "everybody knows" as well). Science often contradicts this common sense-based view of the world, often resulting in very counter-intuitive conclusions. Read more: http://www.integralworld.net/visser111.html