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Steve McIntosh is the author of Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution (Paragon House 2007). He was an original member of the Integral Institute think tank, and has taught integral philosophy to a wide variety of audiences. An honors graduate of the University of Virginia Law School and the University of Southern California Business School, today McIntosh is president of Now & Zen, Inc., and director of The Project for Integral World Federation.

Noosphere Evolution
and Value Metabolism

An examination of the nature and behavior
of the structures of consciousness and culture

Steve McIntosh

This article expands on the work of Ken Wilber and the theory of Spiral Dynamics, advancing the thesis that the essential forms of consciousness and culture (the holons of the Lower-Left quadrant -- the "organisms of the noosphere") are human relationships which, like biological organisms, are self-organizing dynamic systems that metabolize the "noosphere equivalent of energy" to create order in themselves and their environment. However, unlike energy in the biosphere, the "food chain" in the noosphere is made up of the spectrum of information, meaning, and value.

By identifying human relationships as the "organisms of the noosphere", the article shows how intersubjective relationships nourish subjective consciousness with meaning and value. The article also examines the energetic qualities of the primary values -- beauty, truth, and goodness -- and shows how these values act as descriptions of the directions of evolution. It is argued that evolution proceeds in three basic directions at once -- the three perfection directions. And that this tripartite evolution is mirrored in each of the domains of "I, we, and it."

The article concludes by describing how an understanding of the underlying "biology" of the internal realm of evolution leads to increased health and functionality in human relationships and organizations.

Read full article (in PDF format, 226 Kb)