The Artist of Evolution — Sun Tzu

“Line 27. Here Sun Tzu literally describes the process of artificial evolution by means of artificial selection. Stating that his contemporaries can only see with their eyes the tactical artificial adaptations he utilizes to defeat his enemies. But that the cunning of his strategy (i.e., artificial adaptation) which shaped the artificial reproduction of those tactics none can see with their eyes. To borrow a phrase from rap artist Tupac Shakur, Sun Tzu is essentially saying, “You can’t see me”. As the strategy leveraged was conceived in his ‘mind’s eye’ using his natural adaptation of imagination. And since the commander conquered his enemy, that means no one was able to imagine how he would gain victory. I will state his line with bracketing to help the reader perceive this evolutionary pattern:
“All men can see the tactics [artificial adaptations] whereby I conquer [literally victorious in the survival of the fittest contest], but what none can see is the strategy [invisible pattern of my idea] out of which victory is [artificially] evolved.”
This is Sun Tzu practically describing the process of artificial evolution. The choice of the concept “evolved” is deliberate and intentional given the context of this entire chapter. Sun Tzu clearly understood the idea he conceived in his mind led to the development and execution of the artificial adaptations he utilized in warfare. This is just as Napoleon Hill describes in his book Think and Grow Rich where “thoughts” are transformed into “things”. Both Sun Tzu and Napoleon Hill essentially describe the same basic process. It is the exact same process that Aristotle describes in his text, Physics, below with brackets that provide additional meaning for the reader’s convenience:
“Now intelligent [intentional] action [artificial evolution] is for the sake of an end [artificial adaptation]; therefore the nature [natural evolution] of things [natural adaptations] also is so. Thus if a house [artificial object], e.g. had been a thing made by nature [natural evolution], it would have been made in the same way as it is now by art [artificial evolution] …generally art [artificial adaptations] partly completes what nature [natural evolution] cannot bring to a finnish, and partly imitates her.”
This demonstrates again that the ancient theorists were able to perceive evolutionary patterns in the world around them. As they possessed the exact same natural adaptation of imagination we possess. Thus they were able to perceive these patterns without the aid of the technology or information produced by modern empiricism and the scientific method.
In effect, Sun Tzu is literally asserting that they lack sufficient imaginative capacity to accurately perceive the pattern of his strategy. Otherwise they would have been able to anticipate the artificially evolutionary trajectory of his artificial adaptations (e.g., forces, weapons, tactics, plans, formations, etc.). For all these artificial adaptations are artificially evolved to enact the commander’s strategy to achieve victory.
As the commander artificially selected the artificial adaptations that enabled the execution of his strategy. And artificially evolved these artificial adaptations over time as he artificially adapted to practical evolutionary conditions – competitive and environmental. To align the strategy and tactics employed with the requirements of the evolutionary value stream the commander must satisfy at his chosen future point of selection. So, the choice of the word “evolved” is purposeful. It reflects a clear understanding of how the process of artificial evolution by means of artificial works. A pattern in nature that Sun Tzu was able to perceive in the coevolutionary dynamic of war.
This is exactly how the process of natural evolution works as well. No one can see with their eyes the natural genotype that proved victorious in the survival of the fittest contest. Their eyes can only see the product of that natural genotype in a visible natural phenotype – set of natural adaptations. Which the natural organism leveraged to survive and expand in naturally selective competition. To ensure the natural organism was victorious at a specific point of selection.
So, Sun Tzu’s statement is equally valid in both processes of evolution – natural or artificial. One is astounded by the imaginative capacity of Sun Tzu, the man, to be able to perceive the second pattern of evolution. But he is a genius artist in the art form that ensures his peoples’ natural selection. So, it really should have been anticipated. This is precisely consistent with the observation made by Charles Darwin in his book, On the Origin of Species:
“We can, in short, see why nature is prodigal in variety, though niggard in innovation...Many other facts are, as it seems to me, explicable on this theory…these facts cease to be strange, or might even have been anticipated.”
Sun Tzu understood that you had to artificially evolve your tactics (i.e., artificial adaptations) in the coevolutionary dynamic that is warfare – naturally selective competition. The same way that natural species must naturally evolve their natural adaptations in coevolutionary dynamic also in the context of naturally selective competition. This aligns with my commonsense assertion that for billions of years on Earth, evolution has been and continues to be, the only game in town.”