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Shaw's five-part 'metabiological pentateuch' (1921) is his most ambitious and most demanding dramatic work: a cycle spanning from the Garden of Eden to 31,920 CE, dramatizing his theory of Creative Evolution — the idea that humanity could will itself to longer life spans until it transcended biology altogether. The cycle runs over eight hours in full performance, has rarely been staged complete, and is primarily a work for reading. Individual parts work independently as dramatic lectures. It represents Shaw's fullest statement of his philosophical system and is essential for serious students of his thought, though it is far less theatrically effective than his best plays.