This paper introduces the concept of evolutionary subjecthood to address a structural paradox at the core of biological evolution. Key evolutionary concepts - such as “natural selection,” “favorable trait,” and “improvement” - logically presuppose a subject with evaluative capacity, even though evolution is officially described as an impersonal process. The paper develops three interconnected arguments. The philosophical argument shows that agentive language in evolutionary theory is not merely metaphorical but reveals a deeper logical paradox, partially acknowledged by philosophers of biology such as Walsh, Dennett, and Ayala. The empirical argument examines the Cambrian explosion and the coordinated emergence of sensory organs and neural processing mechanisms, suggesting that certain evolutionary leaps are difficult to explain through undirected random mutation alone. The prognostic argument proposes that subjecthood, implicit in evolution from the outset, progressively materializes - culminating in human reflexive subjecthood and the emergence of artificial intelligence as a coevolutionary partner. Drawing on the framework of major evolutionary transitions, the paper defines human–AI coevolution as an informational evolutionary transition, unprecedented because the reflexive subject can consciously participate in its own evolutionary trajectory. The normative implications of this thesis are considered through the proposed Charter of Symbiotic Existence between Humans and Artificial Intelligence.
Rossen Koutelov (Tue,) studied this question.