Contemporary theories of the evolution of human consciousness vary with respect to the nature of the direction and assumed goal of evolutionary change. The most conspicuous positions on this issue emphasize what the author has called the modes of efficiency, inner harmony, relatedness, and transcendence. Nearly every theorist posits a universal course of change corresponding to one of these modes. Available evidence on historical developments in different cultures does not support such a position. It is more reasonable to assume many possible evolutionary pathways, but there may be a natural tendency for the pathways to converge ultimately toward a condition of flexible access to all modes of consciousness.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aurobindo, Sri
(1970). The life divine. Pondicherry, India: Sri Aurobindo Ashram.
2.
Bronowski, J.
(1964). Insight. New York: Harper & Row.
3.
Bronowski, J.
(1970). The creative process. In J. D. Roslansky (Ed.), Creativity: A discussion at the Nobel conference. Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing.
4.
Bronowski, J.
(1973). The ascent of man. Boston: Little, Brown.
5.
Bronowski, J.
(1978). The origins of knowledge and imagination. New Haven: Yale University Press.
6.
Chaudhuri, H.
(1969). Yoga psychology. In C. T. Tart (Ed.), Trans-personal psychologies (pp. 231-280). New York: Harper & Row.
7.
Coan, R. W.
(1974). The optimal personality:An empirical and theoretical analysis. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
8.
Coan, R. W.
(1977). Hero, artist, sage, or saint? A survey of what is variously called mental health, normality, maturity, self-actualization, and human fulfillment. New York: Columbia University Press.
9.
Coan, R. W.
(1987). Human consciousness and its evolution: A multidimensional view. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
10.
Freud, S.
(1934). The future of an illusion. London: Hogarth.
11.
Goleman, D.
(1969). The Buddha on meditation and states of consciousness. In C. T. Tart (Ed.), Transpersonal psychologies (pp. 203-230). New York: Harper & Row.
12.
James, W.
(1961). Psychology: The briefer course. New York: Harper & Row.
13.
Jaynes, J.
(1976). The origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral mind. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
14.
Jung, C. G.
(1954). Child development and education. In C. G. Jung, Psychology and education (pp. 39-52). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
15.
Jung, C. G.
(1969). The stages of life. In C. G. Jung, The collected works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 8, The structure and dynamics of the psyche (pp. 387-403). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
16.
Jung, C. G.
(1970). The role of the unconscious. In C. G. Jung, The collected works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 10, Civilization in transition (pp. 3-28). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
17.
Neumann, E.
(1953). Psychologie des Weiblichen. Zurich: Rascher Verlag.
18.
Neumann, E.
(1954). The origins and history of consciousness. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
19.
Neumann, E.
(1959). On psychological stages of feminine development. Spring, 63-97.
20.
Neumann, E.
(1963). The great mother: An analysis of the archetype. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
21.
Sagan, C.
(1977). The dragons of Eden: Speculations on the evolution of human intelligence. New York: Random House.
22.
Teilhard de Chardin, P.
(1957). Le milieu divin: An essay on the interior life. London: Collins.
23.
Teilhard de Chardin, P.
(1959). The phenomenon of man. New York: Harper.
24.
Teilhard de Chardin, P.
(1964). Thefuture of man. New York: Harper & Row.
25.
Teilhard de Chardin, P.
(1969). Christianity and evolution. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
26.
Teilhard de Chardin, P.
(1970). Activation of energy. London: Collins.
27.
Wilber, K.
(1977). The spectrum of consciousness. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House.
28.
Wilber, K.
(1979). No boundary: Eastern and Western approaches to personal growth. Los Angeles: Center Publications.
29.
Wilber, K.
(1980). The Atman project: A transpersonal view of human development. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House.
30.
Wilber, K.
(1981). Up from Eden: A transpersonal view of human evolution. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday.
31.
Wilber, K.
(1982). Pre-trans fallacy. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 22, 5-43.
