Where are we going? Depends on where we've been and where we are. Over the last three thousand years, and particularly the past five hundred, humanity has run roughshod over the Earth, trampling Eden underfoot. We can change-indeed, we must, to continue to live until the sun shines no more.In "On Evolution: Charles Darwin and the Russian Prince, First Nations and Twelve Step Societies," James Duncan reveals how the principles of First Nations (replacing Natives of the Americas), Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), and the Al-Anon Family Groups (Al-Anon) societies, offer the path to change that we so desperately need. These principles disprove a key tenet in Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, and support the achievements of the little known Russian prince and naturalist, Peter Kropotkin.Darwin held, in The Origin of Species (1859) and The Descent of Man (1871, revised 1874), that only competition drives natural selection, paving the way for world domination by the strongest, the most competitive - and the most savage. Duncan disputes this crucial part of Darwin's argument, pointing towards Kropotkin's work on mutual aid. Citing the latter's Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution, published in 1902 when the prince was ready, Duncan argues that innate cooperation and mutual aid, rather than extremely dangerous, divisive Darwinian competition, can lead us toward the success of our endangered species.Mutual aid, or mutual support, is found, put simply, between and within the molecules of the entire world, as well as between the world's living and non-living entities. Seen in this light, competition is an infinitesimally small enterprise.As did Kropotkin, Duncan puts forward secular mutual aid as the primary engine of natural selection, but says that this is not enough. Ancient First Nations and more recent Twelve Step societies such as A.A. and Al-Anon, make mutual aid "Higher Powered." They practice spiritual Higher Powered Mutual Aid, or HPMA, the long forgotten but binding factor of evolution.According to Duncan, adopting the HPMA approach to living would be a much, much more effective means of dealing with the serious problems of the world today, bringing us toward salvation as foreseen by the Twelve Step pioneers. Since Higher Powered Mutual Aid societies, exemplified by First Nations, A.A., and Al-Anon, place authority in Higher Powers, it removes human authority from the equation. In A.A. and Al-Anon, Twelve Step leaders are only "trusted servants," allowing people to heal at their own pace, and to attain their own unique potential and purpose in life. Much older First Nations circles have practiced this since time immemorial. A "chief," an English word, is only a trusted leader, chosen for wisdom, courage, and oratorical skill.These circles and groups function without the authoritarian, hierarchical powers that we have today. Minus such anti-ecological leadership, people in these circles and groups are encouraged to be self-responsible and self-regulating, to reach towards the individual good and the common welfare. By freeing ourselves of the fictitious "individual" for the "individual in relation" to all Creation, and with confidence in the workings of Higher Powers, humanity can develop the morality so necessary if we are to survive. The immoral "anything goes" culture we have today is leading us to oblivion. Bold and insightful, "On Evolution: Charles Darwin and the Russian Prince, First Nations and Twelve Step Societies," invites you to walk the widening path leading to morality, sobriety, spirituality, serenity, and truth. The trail isn't always easy to walk, but, thoroughly followed, it will bring amazing results. If enough of us walk with Duncan, we can save humanity...from itself, and bring ourselves back to the Garden once again.
About the Author: The second of 14 children, James Duncan was raised in western prairie towns and later on a farm in eastern Ontario. Through his work and studies, he became keenly interested in environmentalism and the welfare of humanity. He holds an MA in Geography and an MSW with a focus on community development. After his initial university training, Mr. Duncan worked at the Soil Research Institute of Agriculture Canada in Ottawa, participating in a program regarding the joint U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. At the Lands Directorate of Environment Canada in Gatineau, Quebec, he subsequently conducted research and wrote reports, largely about the impact of exurbanites who had moved to rural areas surrounding cities. More recently, as a volunteer with Cuso International (the former Canadian University Service Overseas), he spent a fruitful two years in Botswana as a District Officer (Lands). In a country dominated by the Kalahari Desert, Duncan was primarily responsible for agricultural land use planning in northern Chobe District. He worked too on quasi-urban improvements in the Kasane-Kazungula Planning Area where he was based, 70 kilometres from Victoria Falls. Upon returning to his native land, Duncan was employed at the national offices of Cuso International and OXFAM Canada, both in Ottawa. At OXFAM, he arranged a non-governmental response to the Ethiopian famine of the late 1980s. When completing his MSW, Mr. Duncan was involved in a Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) community development project for consumers of mental health services, and published a report on his findings. Duncan was engaged later in a community-based alcohol and drug harm reduction project at the Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre in west Ottawa. During his work, Mr. Duncan joined mutual aid societies in the Ottawa River valley, namely those of First Nations and the Twelve Step movement. Here he formulated the concept of Higher Powered Mutual Aid (HPMA), undercutting Charles Darwin's insistence on competition in evolution, and building upon Peter Kropotkin's mutual aid or cooperation. At this time, Duncan also published a series of articles for Al-Anon's literature development, and with the Ottawa Independent Writers group. Now retired, Mr. Duncan continues to write, pursuing further mutual aid ideas and a 30 story account of his time in Africa. He lives with his family in Ottawa, Canada. James G. Duncan is a pseudonym.