Paradigm of Cognitive Evolution: From Competition of Force to Competition of Understanding

Abstract This paper examines the inevitable transition of human civilization from physical and technological competition to cognitive evolution. Building on the Dominanta X and ICE–N frameworks, it argues that humanity has reached the terminal limits of quantitative growth: further acceleration generates cognitive instability, social disorientation, and moral entropy. The emerging evolutionary mechanism of selection depends not on speed or accumulation, but on awareness, self-regulation, and comprehension. Empirical data from neuroscience, psychology, and social research demonstrate that sustainable progress now requires a shift from reaction to reflection, from consumption to understanding. The result is the outline of a civilization of comprehension—a system in which survival depends on the density of consciousness rather than the scale of population or production.