Evolutionary Foundations for Philosophy

The author is president of Kinetic Visions Co., a creative services (words, music and art) bureau through which he is contracted as managing editor of the Mensa Bulletin, the journal of American Mensa, Ltd., the 'high-IQ' society. It was in the pages of the April 1988 Mensa Bulletin that Van Cleave's evolutionary philosophy got its first test: exposure to the 50,000 highly critical and widely knowledgeable Mensans in the U.S.

The response from readers was very encouraging, such as that from Warren Allen Smith (president of Variety Recording Studios in New York, a member of the Board of the Bertrand Russell Society, and former book review editor of The Humanist):

"[Y]our viewpoint needs wide coverage, and I trust you will write for scholarly as well as popular publications."

"Although I'm not known for hyperbole, I must say that I find little to fault in your entire article. I just wish my own outlook were so articulate. Your mention of metaphysics may change my view on that.... I'd not thought of the subject as being 'our collection of models'.

"Your concluding observation that we need to act and believe as if each of us is connected with all others is so pertinent."

Canadian Mensans, reading Van Cleave's article when it was reprinted in Mensa Canada Communications, were likewise appreciative and encouraging.

This article, incorporating the new insights and refinements of the past year's work, was prepared for a special two-day "ethics track" at the upcoming Annual Gathering of American Mensa (June 30 - July 2, 1989 in Atlanta, GA), where Van Cleave will serve as a member of a panel on "Cross-cultural Ethics."