In contrast to conceptual systems, the notion of information bounds for physical systems is quest... more In contrast to conceptual systems, the notion of information bounds for physical systems is questioned. Several related assumptions are challenged: that there is a bottom to the complexity of nature, that physical reality can be exhaustively modeled, and that physical systems contain definite entropy or information. Preamble The dream to account for everything in a final unified theory can only succeed by exhaustively modeling the natural world. Yet, this is only possible to the degree that nature coincides with human thought systems—particularly with mathematical models. Perfect coincidence would imply that the cosmos itself happens to be a thought system. By usual standards, this would imply that natural reality is not real, but ideal. In fact, the unreality of nature continues to be a tacit assumption of modern science, deriving from traditions that influenced the emergence of natural philosophy from medieval European thought. The founding fathers of science were religious men who believed that the laws of nature were divine decrees revealing the mind of God, and that the world was a product of divine creativity: a virtual machine. This dovetailed with the ancient Greek notion that the world is ideal, a deductive system inherently commensurate with rational thought. Together, these imply that the created world must be finitely complex, definitely knowable, and isomorphic to human definitions. Introduction This paper challenges several basic assumptions: that physical systems can be represented exhaustively; that they have a definite information content; that they are effectively identical to their mathematical representations; and that there is a bottom to the complexity of nature. In turn, such premises rest implicitly on an idealist thread within Western traditions: in a fundamental sense, nature does not possess its own indwelling reality, but only that bestowed upon it or defined by some outside agent, either human or divine, or that it is a mere shadow or projection of something more fundamental—an idealized product of definition. Such beliefs underwrite the assumed correspondence between nature and human thought that enables prediction and control, and therefore technology. As a consequence, the true objects of scientific study are not natural entities and processes but scientific models. These correspond to aspects of nature that can be readily treated mathematically, to the possible exclusion of other aspects. Though the capacity for mathematical treatment has expanded with the computer, scientific focus lags behind because of underlying metaphysical assumptions. For example, standard cosmological theory is a linear historical account—like the story in Genesis or the clockwork universe. It tends to disregard nonlinear processes of self-organization. Properties of matter are considered mere byproducts of fundamental equations acting " deterministically ". This imagined causal power of laws is an anthropomorphic and religious holdover from pre-scientific thought. It also reflects the computational limitations of an earlier age, when mathematics had to be done on paper.
This paper proposes the feasibility of a second-order approach in cosmology. It is intended to en... more This paper proposes the feasibility of a second-order approach in cosmology. It is intended to encourage cosmologists to rethink standard ideas in their field, leading to a broader concept of self-organization and of science itself. It is argued, from a cognitive epistemology perspective, that a first-order approach is inadequate for cosmology; study of the universe as a whole must include study of the scientific observer and the process of theorizing. Otherwise, concepts of self-organization at the cosmological scale remain constrained by unacknowledged assumptions and biases. Examples of limiting notions are discussed in the context of alternatives. To include the role of the theorist does not mean reducing science to subjective or sociological terms. On the contrary, second-order science would provide a more complete portrait of nature. The work of cosmologist Lee Smolin is discussed as a candidate example of second-order cosmology.
For diverse reasons, the problem of phenomenal consciousness is persistently challenging. Mental ... more For diverse reasons, the problem of phenomenal consciousness is persistently challenging. Mental terms are characteristically ambiguous, researchers have philosophical biases, secondary qualities are excluded from objective description, and philosophers love to argue. Adhering to a regime of efficient causes and third-person descriptions, science as it has been defined has no place for subjectivity or teleology. A solution to the " hard problem " of consciousness will require a radical approach: to take the point of view of the cognitive system itself. To facilitate this approach, a concept of agency is introduced along with a different understanding of intentionality. Following this approach reveals that the autopoietic cognitive system constructs phenomenality through acts of fiat, which underlie perceptual completion effects and " filling in " —and, by implication, phenomenology in general. It creates phenomenality much as we create meaning in language, through the use of symbols that it assigns meaning in the context of an embodied evolutionary history that is the source of valuation upon which meaning depends. Phenomenality is a virtual representation to itself by an executive agent (the conscious self) tasked with monitoring the state of the organism and its environment, planning future action, and coordinating various sub-agencies. Consciousness is not epiphenomenal, but serves a function for higher organisms that is distinct from that of unconscious processing. While a strictly scientific solution to the hard problem is not possible for a science that excludes the subjectivity it seeks to explain, there is hope to at least psychologically bridge the explanatory gulf between mind and matter, and perhaps hope for a broader definition of science. CONTENTS
Physical reality is found, not made. Since it is not a product of definition to begin with, it ca... more Physical reality is found, not made. Since it is not a product of definition to begin with, it cannot be exhaustively formalized. Nature is not virtual, nor merely 'mathematical', 'information', 'geometry', 'simulation' or 'computation'. Rather, it must be considered 'immanently real'. Moreover, there can be no final theory of everything. The computational metaphor is appealing for various psychological and historical reasons, including the certainty offered by deductive systems. A Preliminary Remark The world has undeniable discrete aspects, interwoven with continuity. Since I view analog and digital as descriptive strategies, I will leave aside any question of priority of one over the other, and focus rather on the notion that physical reality corresponds in some sense to digital computation. The fact that the world is obviously quantized in various ways implies no ultimate binary structure, much less that the world is, or reflects, some kind of computation, or is in some sense virtual. 2 An Ancient Problem The theme of the discrete and the continuous is ancient. One wonders naturally of what parts something is composed. To limit regression, the ancients were led to posit indivisible particles as the ultimate basis of matter, even of continuous media like water. This strategy is equivalent to the assumption of axioms in a deductive system, another favored theme of the ancients. Such particles might act upon each other through direct contact or across an intervening space or medium. However, nothing prevents questioning the indivisibility of these 'atoms' or the composition of the space between them, inviting further analysis. In the face of this dilemma, the ancients were divided as to whether the world was a plenum, a void, or some combination. Such niceties were later handled by the real number continuum, which provided a rigorous treatment of geometric space, the basis of the physics of differentiable curves and equations solvable with pencil and paper. Since this treatment applies only to idealized situations, it selectively influenced the types of phenomena studied. Geometricizing space and time, for example, resulted in the view of nature as comprised of reversible deterministic systems. The digital computer expanded areas of study into non-linear processes, facilitating computation by brute force. It also influenced science in quite another way. The computer has become the latest expression of the mechanist philosophy, not only a new means to study nature, but the latest metaphor for nature itself. This is reflected in 1 Bill McKibben The End of Nature Random House NY 1989, p58 2 Hence, my short answer to the question, 'Is reality digital or analog?': No, but it is real!
Bruiger, Dan, 1945-Second nature : the man-made world of idealism, technology and power / Dan Bru... more Bruiger, Dan, 1945-Second nature : the man-made world of idealism, technology and power / Dan Bruiger.
Abstract: The purpose of this essay is to explore the nature and role of art as a human phenomeno... more Abstract: The purpose of this essay is to explore the nature and role of art as a human phenomenon from a broadly cognitive perspective. Like science and religion, art serves to mediate the unknown, at once to embrace and to defend against the fundamental mystery of existence. Thus, it may challenge the status quo while generally serving to maintain it. Art tracks the individuation of subjectivity, serving the pleasure principle, yet is appropriated by the collective’s commitment to the reality principle. While science and religion close in on serious answers to fundamental questions, art opens up possibilities toward playfulness, uselessness, imagination, and arbitrary whim. Though art has no unifying definition, meaning, or intent through time and across cultures, it remains important to people, both to do and to enjoy. It serves to counterbalance the naive realism of science, the “rationality” of modern society, and the literalism of text-based religion. While its allegiance is divided, its most worthy intent is to aid us to confront and negotiate the great mystery revealed to us in consciousness.
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