Zayin Neumann, M.A.

In this short essay I will account for what looks like evolution when viewed from the Mental epoch of human history, and what looks like devolution when viewed from the Mythical epoch . By way of beginning our discussion I will assume that a movement towards freedom and novelty are inherent to the world. Alfred North Whitehead calls this foundational abstraction Creativity and defines it as the process whereby the many become one and are increased by one (1978, p. 21). After some careful comparison I have come to see Dane Rudhyar's process-oriented triptych model of consciousness as a description of a similar, if not identical, process. Rudhyar tells us that novelty is introduced and embodied in the world by a triptych process of involution, devolution, and evolution. His definition and use of these terms can bring a considerable amount of clarity to Gebser's mutations of consciousness. Before clarifying this point, I will spend some time defining these terms. I will rely heavily on Whitehead's own terminology to do this . I will also assume that the reader has a working knowledge of these terms, so as not to have to define each of them as I go.

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Abstract: In the work of many contemporary authors evolution has been aligned with a linear developmental view of consciousness. The work of Jean Gebser suggests consciousness unfolds in leaps or mutations, what he terms spiritual evolution. He adds to this that the coming mutation will be atemporal and acausal rather than linear or cyclical. For this deep intuition to be applied in any real way it requires a clearer elucidation of the process of spiritual evolution whereby novelty ingresses in actuality. This paper illustrates how Alfred North Whitehead's consideration of propositional feelings, intellectual feelings, and rational knowing we can find a coherent description of an originating impulse that he terms Creativity. Creativity is the process whereby leaps of novelty can occur. By combining the work of these two authors we can grow a deep and penetrating understanding of evolution and consciousness.

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