| Richard Dawkins |
Evolutionary Biology |
The Selfish Gene |
Frames genes as replicators of information (knowledge) about survival, with organisms as their "survival machines." Establishes DNA as the first great knowledge substrate. |
| David Deutsch |
Physics |
The Beginning of Infinity |
Argues that evolution is one of two known processes (the other being human thought) that creates explanatory knowledge. Highlights the fundamental significance of the evolutionary process. |
| Donald Campbell |
Philosophy of Science |
Evolutionary Epistemology |
Posits that all knowledge acquisition, from biology to science, follows a "blind variation and selective retention" model. Provides the core mechanism for how evolution "learns." |
| Stanislas Dehaene |
Cognitive Neuroscience |
Neuronal Recycling |
Shows that the brain adapts to new cultural inventions (like reading) by repurposing existing neural circuits, proving knowledge actively shapes its substrate and justifying the "catalysator" concept. |
| Michael Tomasello |
Developmental Psychology |
Shared Intentionality |
Argues that unique human cognition evolved for cooperation and cultural learning, highlighting how the Knowledge Force is amplified by social networks and connectivity. |
| Stephen Jay Gould |
Paleontology |
Contingency in Evolution |
Provides a crucial counterpoint that evolution is not a linear "march of progress," forcing the KF-H to be framed as an emergent tendency over vast timescales, not a predetermined destiny. |
| Daniel Dennett |
Philosophy of Mind |
Memes |
Proposes that ideas ("memes") are cultural replicators analogous to genes, representing the next substrate transition for the Knowledge Force, from biology to culture. |
| Alan Turing |
Mathematics / Computer Science |
Morphogenesis |
Demonstrated how complex patterns (information) can arise from simple chemical rules, providing a foundational model from physics/chemistry for the spontaneous emergence of order. |
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