The General Evolution Research Group

The General Evolution Research Group (GERG) began with a secret meeting in Budapest in 1984 of scientists from both sides of the Iron Curtain during a critical juncture in the Cold War. Spurred by the mounting threat to our species of rapid nuclear proliferation and overkill, the purpose was to see if it might be possible to use the chaos theory then coming into vogue to develop a new general theory of evolution that might serve as a road map for our species out of the mounting chaos of our times to the reassuring order of a better world.

GERG in Florence, 1986. From left to right circling the table clockwise: Eisler, Corliss, Chaisson, Laszlo, Varela, Csanyi, Banathy. Empty chair is where Loye was sitting before he got up to take these photos.

Out of this beginning, founded by general evolution theorist Ervin Laszlo and a handful of original co-founders, over the years GERG has expanded into a small informal research group of 40 scientists in most of the major fields of social as well as natural science.

Multinational as well as multidisciplinary in scope, coming from 14 nations throughout Europe as well as in Asia and from the U.S., the GERGians (or GERGites, as sometimes referred to) have met in Florence, Bologna, Vienna, Finland, Germany, Sardinia, Toronto, again in Budapest and in Carmel, California, to try to move toward the goal of building the better theory and story of evolution.

A vital part of GERG is our journal, World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution.

We serve very loosely as the research arm to The Club of Budapest, a prestigious group for advancing humanity also founded by Ervin Laszlo.

A Brief History of GERG – with more photos – will provide fascinating insights into the aspirations, frustrations, camaraderie, joy, and wild humor so often characterizing the creativity of advanced research groups in our time.

More photos will accompany the List of GERG Members across many fields of science and from around the world.

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