Evolution at the Speed of Thought: A New Chapter in the History of Evolution

Abstract

This discussion proposes a solution to the agency-determinism debate by defining humans as “super-adaptable agents.” Humans super-adapt by developing, testing and deploying cognitive solutions to evolutionary survival challenges. As a result, Homo sapiens has succeeded in transforming the evolutionary process into an intellectual exercise that proceeds at the speed of thought. Stephen Jay Gould acknowledges this transformation by asserting that evolution for humans adheres to a Lamarckian rather than a Darwinian logic. Cognitive super-adaptation enables humans to significantly accelerate the adaptation process, while it also transforms adaptation from a random to a highly specific problem solving process. Finally, cognitive super-adaptation offers perhaps the clearest and most definitive expression of “agency,” i.e., cognitive innovation that transcends otherwise deterministic constraints.

Keywords: evolution, agency, determinism, science, theology, science wars, culture wars, faith, religion, truth