What is the Jain view of evolution- particularly the evolution of human beings?
Jains do not subscribe to the typical western/Darwinian view of evolution. Rather, their own brand of evolution emerges from their conceptual representation of time. Viewing time as a cycle with no beginning and no end, Jains divide the time cycle into two halves- a descending half and an ascending half. These halves are further subdivided into six parts (for a more thorough description of the Jain time cycle, please see the question on time). Each portion becomes subsequently worse than the previous portion. Thus, the first portion represents a very serene time for human beings, and the sixth portion represents a very tumultuous time. We are currently in the 2600 year of the 5th portion of the descending half of the time cycle, which lasts 21,000 years. Lawrence Babb provides a description of life during the various portions of the time cycle. When a descending half-cycle begins, all human wants are effortlessly satisfied by wish-fulfilling trees, and human beings attain an age of thr
