Evolution's Way

Book excerpt: We are living in a time of exponential changes due to the rapid evolution of technology, far outpacing that of our biology. Extraordinary as they seem, however, these changes are expressions of the natural evolutionary processes that have been occurring since the Universe began. Evolution’s Way shows us how this all-pervasive force shapes and moves the Universe and everything within it—from the first stars to the first cells; from humans to their machines—toward increasingly greater states of complexity, awareness, and unity. As nature’s toolmakers, moreover, humanity and its machines have brought the entire Universe to a sudden point of transformation that’s about to change everything. Humans, like all creatures, are creatures of habit, which means sudden changes can feel threatening to us. But Evolution’s Way helps sooth our nerves by elucidating the spiritual dimensions of evolution, while reminding us we too are an intricate and beautiful part of nature’s drive toward transcendence.