Redefining Evolution: Life Beyond the Limits of Neo-Darwinian Theory

Abstract

Neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory is fixed in scientific thought as a dogma despite the lack of congruence with some observable and theoretical phenomena related to culture, epigenetics, abiogenesis, and agenetic life. Even the most current versions of evolutionary theory fall short in explaining a range of scenarios that lay outside Neo-Darwinian principles. Proposed here is a recontextualization of Darwinian theory within a new paradigm that focuses not on the biomechanics of evolution but on the existence of various mediums for transmitting Coded Information Networks through time and space. Following this revised perspective, evolution is not a uniform process but rather one defined by a series of overlapping stacked systems for carrying information organized with stepwise increased complexity and corresponding increased potential for manipulating and moulding matter into more complex forms. Panevolutionary Theory identifies three different types of evolution that, while containing different modes of operation, describe the processes used for creating and maintaining life in all its various forms. Phusitic Evolution describes the emergence of life through the dynamics of inorganic compounds, Zoetic Evolution models the propagation of life through molecular biological processes, and Noetic Evolution explains organisms and designed intelligent systems in which the knowledge itself directs the processes required for existence. This Panevolutionary perspective allows observable and theoretical phenomena related to 'Big History' and the complexity of life, including human behaviour, to be explained under unifying principles while resolving paradoxes and inconsistencies in the current attempts to apply the Neo-Darwinian paradigm as universal law. Social Evolution & History / September 2021 4