Evolution consciousness and the new technologies: crisis in communication for the twenty-first century

Abstract

SUMMARY The rapid pace of technological change in the late twentieth century is drastically altering the capacity of human beings to manipulate their ontological being. We have tremendous power to transform the world, but this power is being used to exploit and deplete the earth's natural resources in a seemingly unsustainable fashion. In this time of evolutionary change which sees the merger of ‘man and machine’ there is a need to re-inspirit the world and to transform the power relationships of society to achieve advanced democratic cultures. Hegel's idea of ‘mind’ is central to this evolutionary thesis, within the emergent paradigm of energy and connectivity. Evolution, according to Jantsch, occurs through the self-transcendence of dynamic systems. The consciousness of the mass society is expressed through the media, so mechanisms of empowerment through community and interactive media are proposed. This involves the development of what Illich terms ‘convivial technologies’ which can overcome the problem of alienation.