Consciousness may be thought of as the beginning point of evolution and of creation, rather than as a recent by-product of the evolutionary process. To support this view, Elisabet Sahtouris cites developments in quantum physics. She notes that a guiding intelligence can be observed in evolution, and that even the DNA molecules themselves show extraordinary properties of intelligence. Sahtouris notes that human culture has set itself against the natural world. This, she maintains, is characteristic of young species such as our own. Mature species, however, learn to cooperate with the environment. This level of social and natural organization can be seen in the complex harmony of rain forests. This is of special concern for the human species, as we have already seen the extinction of our close human ancestors.

Elisabet Sahtouris, Ph.D. is author of A Walk Through Time: From Stardust to Us and coauthor, with the late Willis Harman, of Biology Revisioned.