No matter how well robots and computers mimic human actions, they are not and will never be alive. They are tools. Complex tools, to be sure, but tools. Potential “Terminator” scenarios would result from the motives of the humans who control and program them, not from the machines “taking over.”
Western science recognizes and knows how to deal with four levels of energy: heat, vibrations/fields, atomic, and chemical (molecular.) It does not recognize higher levels of energy, peculiar to life. Ignorant of the higher levels of energy, scientists attempt to explain life totally in terms of those four energies. They don’t see the fundamental difference between a human and “artificial intelligence” – an incorrect and deceptive term.
Life begins to differentiate from non-living matter with Constructive Energy, which organizes cells, including single cell creatures such as bacteria. Cellular energy, which separates inside and outside, maintains the form through time, replacing parts as needed, and can make copies of this form.
Vital Energy operates organs and simple animals that basically function at the level of an organ, such as sponges, and plants. Organic energy, which can coordinate large numbers of cells with a system to supply them all with nutrients and energy, maintaining its form through time and successive generations of its constituent cells, and building the organ from starter cells. Cancer operates at this level too – one reason why Western science does not understand it.
Automatic Energy makes it possible for organs to coordinate and function together within an organism. Organismic energy, which coordinates collections of specialized organs in a body, resulting in animals. A hierarchy of complex systems. As with Vital Energy, this allows for building an organism from starter cells using information stored in these cells, and then maintaining the organism through time, with nervous systems that monitor and repair parts with at least some learning, and blood systems to supply nutrients and oxygen to all cells.
Sensitive Energy allows for communication between organisms at the level of group or community. When you observe the precise coordination in movement of a swarm of insects, flock of birds, school of fish, or herd of mammals, you see sensitive energy in action. It extends beyond the borders of the organism. How can bee, ant, and termite colonies coordinate so well that they seem almost like single organisms? The animals in a herd or flock also share a common sensitive energy field. Inter-organismic energy, which coordinates separate organisms within a group, using sense organs and interaction between the nervous systems of each body. Those who see auras or astral bodies sense this energy.
Conscious Energy allows for inter-species communication and interaction, makes an ecology possible. It also differentiates humans from other forms of life. A human has an internal ecology. A human “contains” all animal species. Ecological energy, which coordinates many different kinds of bodies in an ecosystem, and also makes evolution possible. Evolution is “conscious” in that sense, though perhaps not in the way normally understood.
Gurdjieff called humans “three-brained beings.” To coordinate and balance three “brains,” different kinds of intelligences, requires Conscious Energy. However, most humans operate mainly at the level of Automatic and Sensitive energies.
Creative Energy allows connections between and among humans. Of course humans can connect on a purely animal level too, via Sensitive energy, as when they become a crowd or mob. But cultures, civilization, religion, cities, nations, corporations work with creative energy. According to John G. Bennett (History – Volume IV of The Dramatic Universe), this level of energy definitively entered humans around forty thousand years ago precipitating what archeologists call the “cultural revolution,” though it probably was building for some time before that. Inter-human energy, which coordinates conscious beings.
Creative Energy manifests in humans in seven basic ways, from lower to higher: play, sex, money, power (politics), art, the Work (individual evolution), and the Great Work (evolution of humanity). It can addict and distort humans (game addicts, sex addicts, money addicts, power addicts…) especially when two or more combine: prostitution and pornography (sex and money), gambling (play and money), fascism (power with Work ideas), the film industry (art and money)… Nowadays, the combination of money and power (capital) threatens to destroy the stability of the Biosphere which supports humans.
J. G. Bennett (History – Volume IV of The Dramatic Universe) says that Erotic or Unitive Energy, entered human society at the time of Jesus Christ. He may have been a prophet of this level, but it definitely has not yet established itself in humanity. This level of energy would be necessary to establish an Ecumene, a global community of humans living in harmony with each other and in balance with the Biosphere. Ecumenic energy, which can coordinate various cultures and even civilizations. The emergent “Ethnosphere” would work with this energy.
The Greek myth of Eros and Psyche illustrates how the human mind (Psyche) must surpass the problems posed by Creative energy (Aphrodite) and unite with Erotic energy (Eros).
Creative, or sex, energy manifests as either creation or destruction: this indicates a crisis point – humanity may wipe itself out before it masters Unitive energy, the minimum level which can control and direct the delightful and enthralling but potentially catastrophic power of Creative/Destructive energy.
The progression of an individual’s conscious work on itself possesses parallels with the Great Work – work associated with the evolution of all humanity. As everyone knows, a short period of destructiveness can ruin the result of a long time of creativity. Every evolving human confronts this duality, perhaps the most difficult hurdle on the path. It develops power in creative capacity but then looms the “dark side,” the destructive potential. Goethe cast his character Faust at this stage. Spengler named Western civilization “Faustian.”
Only a higher level – Erotic energy – can harness the dual creative/destructive nature. Unitive energy can unify this duality. To win through, an evolving human (or humanity) must sacrifice something; it must submit its creative power to the service of something higher. Few succeed.
After the great destructiveness of European Civilization, which culminated in the World Wars, perhaps institutions like the European Union herald the integration of Unitive Energy.
So, in the Great Work, humanity wavers at this point. Great creative power, great destructive power. If you wish to help, work on yourself. Humanity as a whole can only pass this point if a sufficient number of individual humans have done so.
Current human history previews three possible paths. One, it could destroy itself by super-war or by ruining the potential of the Biosphere to support humans. Two, it could simply regress to an animal level, living as intelligent apes, enjoying the fruits of its accomplishments but abandoning further evolution (Brave New World, Huxley). Three, it can evolve into its destiny, which requires raising its center of gravity to erotic energy level.
Transcendent Energy, the highest, would fuel creating Biospheres in the solar system and also around other stars. Inter-Biospheric energy, which could in theory coordinate a solar system “Bioplex.”
Sunlight delivers all these energies to the Earth. Life forms “distill” them like an oil refinery separates crude oil into lubricating oil, kerosene, gasoline, etc. So humans, eating plants, animals, fungi, and single celled life forms, take in the higher energies as well in a yet undifferentiated blend, and separate them out. Certain esoteric techniques can make this process much more efficient.
Note: For the structure of energy levels, I use the basic scheme outlined by J. G. Bennett in The Dramatic Universe.