Wikipedia page on the subject which I co-authored, is the Cosmological or Philosophical perspective, which isThere are two definitions of Spiritual evolution
One, to quote from the Wikipedia page on the subject which I co-authored, is the Cosmological or Philosophical perspective, which is
the philosophical, theological, esoteric or spiritual idea that nature and human beings and/or human culture evolve along a predetermined cosmological pattern or ascent, or in accordance with certain pre-determined potentials.
Within this broad definition, theories of spiritual evolution are very diverse. They may be cosmological (describing existence at large), personal (describing the development of the individual), or both. They can be holistic (holding that higher realities emerge from and are not reducible to the lower), idealist (holding that reality is primarily mental or spiritual) or nondual (holding that there is no ultimate distinction between mental and physical reality). All of them can be considered to be teleological to a greater or lesser degree.
Philosophers, scientists, and educators that have proposed theories of spiritual evolution include Nader Angha, Schelling, Hegel, Max Théon, Henri Bergson, Sri Aurobindo, Jean Gebser, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Arthur M. Young, Edward Haskell, E. F. Schumacher, Erich Jantsch, Clare W. Graves, Alfred North Whitehead, Terrence McKenna, P.R. Sarkar, and Ken Wilber. Thesy tend (for the most part) to be non-materialistic or non-reductionistic.
The other (which sometimes overlaps with the above) is the occult perspective of the evolution of the Divine Principle, the Higher Self or Soul, through successive lifetimes. This is explained by H. P. Blavatsky(the Higher Manas or Immortal Ego in Theosophy), Sri Aurobindo (the Psychic Being), and elsewhere. Because this assumes reincarnation as an integral fact, these ideas are less likely to be embraced by the mainstream.
 |
 |
 |
images not loading? | error messages? | broken links? | suggestions? | criticism?