The Spirit in Human Evolution - Waldorf Research Institute

That is exactly what the spirit does; it works on nature from within! Culture
did not arise spontaneously at a point of critical mass in biological evolution; it was
not just the product of higher levels in the hierarchy of neural representation systems. The
brain is not its cause but its instrument. Culture, like individuality, is a human quality
and has a spiritual origin. It could, of course only come to expression where a surplus
capacity had been created, where opportunities presented themselves. The brain evolved
to the point where it became accessible to a higher order of organization and this metaorganization,
I would suggest was the human “I.”
It seems that at each stage of evolution exaptations occurred which anticipated
future needs, or if that is too teleological, which at least bore potential for future
emancipatory steps. At any rate this motif repeats itself with the development of each
individual, in that the brain cortex has a vast number of neural glia (neural nerves)
uncommitted to any specific function, and thereby an enormous potential for diversity,
flexibility and plasticity in the forms of mind that can arise to use the instrument.
Rudolf Steiner often pointed out that it is the “I” which, of the higher members of the
whole human being, is least developed but which bears within it the greatest scope for
evolution. Again we encounter this signature of the “I,” in an organ that has throughout
human evolution borne a curious paradox within it.
As quintessential organ of the nervous system the brain is the first to form in
the embryo, and in the course of evolution it evolved before it was fully needed and in
that sense is a product of the past and yet within itself bears unfathomable potential for
future development. Linking these qualities of past and future, the brain is above all the
organ of consciousness that by definition only exists in the on-going, eternal present!
Emancipation
I have used the term emancipation above in passing. This is an important aspect
of approaching human evolution from a qualitative and spiritual perspective and it
needs a bit of explaining.
One of the significant trends in animal evolution has been the increasing degree of
emancipation of certain animals from their immediate dependence on their environment.
In its most elementary form this provides greater mobility. Another significant aspect is
the increase in organizational complexity that goes hand in hand with an internalization
of life processes. Fish are supported by the water, while the amphibian can support its
own body weight on land. Neither can regulate its own body warmth through metabolic
activity. Mammals however can do this to a far greater extent. This trend of internalization
and emancipation can also be seen in reproduction. From an evolutionary point of view
there has been an increasing tendency among vertebrates towards internalizing of the
embryonic phase of development. This ranges from fish eggs being fertilized externally
in the water, amphibians having thicker embryonic membranes, reptiles laying eggs
requiring the environmental warmth to develop, birds building nests and brooding on
their eggs, through many subtle variations on up to placental mammals. At each stage
the egg and developing embryo are increasingly removed from direct contact with the
environment. This trend is accompanied by longer gestation and prolonged parental
care.
Nevertheless nature favors the fertile over the careful. The vast majority of
offspring supply the food chain! The trend towards emancipation involves only an
increasingly smaller range of species.
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