<i>Cognosis</i> and the Evolution of Civilization

From the time when the complex states such as Egypt or Sumer emerged roughly 5,000 years ago, the civilizations they represent have generally become more populous, more socially varied, wealthier, and more technologically advanced. As a result, the innovations they produced would begin to change the conditions in which they existed, and their cultures have had to evolve to adapt to this ongoing change. For instance, the cultures of Bronze Age Egypt and the Iron Age Han Dynasty had to be quite different, even though both were agricultural societies. And, of course, the Electronic Age cultures of the United States or China had to be dramatically different from Bronze or Iron Age societies. Today, we stand at a critical point where our societies must again change their cultures or watch as any of several possible existential threats blow up in our collective faces.