Human evolution in the Third Millennium

We live at a critical juncture in the history of our species, when a mode of evolution that was dominant since the advance of the Neolithic creates unsustainable conditions. The hitherto dominant mode can be characterized as aiming at conquest, colonization and, more recently, consumption: it is the ‘extensive’ form of evolution. By contrast the currently desirable, and in the long-term uniquely sustainable mode of evolution is the intensive form: it aims at connection, communication, and consciousness. The values, worldviews, and ethics of intensive evolution can be already perceived and need to be further developed; they are the key to a future that is both sustainable and humane.