The Reflexive Universe: Evolution of Consciousness

Arthur Middleton Young (November 3, 1905 – May 30, 1995) born in Paris, he attended Haverford School and then earned a degree in mathematics from Princeton. Always intrigued by the challenges of the invention, he was an American inventor, helicopter pioneer, cosmologist, philosopher, published author and archetypal astrologer.

Always intrigued by the challenges of the invention in 1929 he selected the development of the helicopter as his first career goal. For twelve years he worked alone on his farm in upstate New York, using small models to test his ideas until Bell Aircraft Company invited him to build full-scale experimental helicopters of his design. On March 8, 1946, his “Bell Model 47” received the first commercial helicopter license ever issued.

After the shock of seeing nuclear weapons used in World War II, he decided that science was in need of a comprehensive paradigm or “unified theory” which would bring to light the moral and spiritual implications of new scientific knowledge, and help guide its use. To this end, he established the Foundation for the Study of Consciousness in 1952 in Philadelphia, sponsoring parapsychological research and publishing an interdisciplinary journal.

In 1973, the “Institute for the Study of Consciousness” was founded in Berkeley, California. Young advocated process philosophy, an attempt to integrate the realm of human thought and experience with the realm of science so that the concept of the universe is not limited to that which can be physically measured. Young’s theory embraces evolution and the concept of the great chain of being. He has influenced such thinkers as Stanislav Grof and Laban Coblentz.

In 1976, Young’s theory of evolution of life on Earth — which attempted to synthesize understandings from geology, biology, anthropology, psychology, and parapsychology — appeared under the title The Reflexive Universe. The book describes a “Theory of Process” which takes Spirit into matter and back out again. It is elegantly written, the prose is effortless and along the way, and he gives insights into the entire spectrum of science, philosophy, and metaphysics. Truly an all-encompassing work that bridges the gaps between such diverse fields as biology, physics, and psychology. Young accepted the general “theory of evolution,” but pointed out where he felt the Darwinian theory was insufficient to the facts. The book also incorporates a brief speculative discussion of further human psychological and spiritual growth.

In 1984, his helicopter, the Bell 47D1, “an object whose delicate beauty is inseparable from its efficiency,” was placed on exhibit as part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Here, he worked with his students and hosted symposia until his death on May 30, 1995.