Abstract
This article traces the founding history of the Journal of Conscious Evolution (JCE), established by Allan Leslie Combs in 2005. The narrative explores three distinct perspectives on conscious evolution that influenced the journal’s creation: Barbara Marx Hubbard’s emphasis on humanity’s interconnectedness and creative potential, the General Evolution Research Group’s systems theory approach led by Ervin László, and Combs’s integration of the developmental growth of states and structures of consciousness within a conscious evolution framework. The article details how Combs developed the curriculum for the first accredited Master of Arts degree program in Conscious Evolution at The Graduate Institute in Connecticut in 2002, which directly inspired the journal’s founding. Through personal narrative, the author describes his journey as a student, program coordinator, and eventually Academic Co-Director alongside Combs, providing insight into the pedagogical approach that combined rigorous academic inquiry with experiential learning, including tours of the Metropolitan Museum of Art to demonstrate the evolution of consciousness through artistic expression. The article concludes with examining how Combs’s legacy lives on through the Journal of Conscious Evolution and the institutions he founded, providing a vital framework for understanding and applying humanity’s capacity for conscious transformation amid contemporary global crises.
Keywords: conscious evolution, consciousness studies, Journal of Conscious Evolution, systems theory, integral theory, transformative education, Allan Leslie Combs
Recommended Citation
Silverstein, C. H. (2025). The Founding History of The Journal of Conscious Evolution. Journal of Conscious Evolution, 22(2). https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/cejournal/vol22/iss2/8
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