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Order Out of Chaos? (Part 2) What are the Elements of Change?
| SERIES: Order Out of Chaos? AUTHOR: Jim Schofield |
STRANDS: MATHEMATICS / PHILOSOPHY / EMERGENCE |
ABSTRACT: These papers attempt a pair of objectives. First, they see the need to deal with the claims of Mathematical Chaos (and its derivatives and developments) as are now very frequently put forward as THE means of understanding what are termed as Emergences. And second, they must attempt to re-direct our attention away from Randomness (All at once, equally) and Plurality (The Whole and the Part) to a new, more-real and indeed holistic approach, which will give all our scientific attention to a study of the nature and dynamics of the real qualitative changes, that reach positively revolutionary climaxes in actual Emergences – characterised most crucially by the most important one of all, and that which is the true measure of all such Events – the Origin of Life on Earth. These papers commenced in 2008, and do NOT represent where the author’s current position is, but they were nonetheless an essential preparation for meaningful delivery of subsequent research, and hence an appropriate introduction for those new to these ideas. The author has recently written a brief introduction to the series along with two addendum papers, which do indicate in which direction this work is now proceeding. The fullest now consists of:- Order Out of Chaos: Introduction (see Blog) I Order Out of Chaos: Emergent Change II Order Out of Chaos: The Elements of Change III Order Out of Chaos: Addendum IV Order Out of Chaos: Holistic Change These will commence in this current issue and continue over the following issues. Thereafter, further Papers on the same topic will regularly follow. |
SYNOPSIS: 1. Clearly the deterministic equations of a current stable Level cannot be the causes of an emergent revolution. Indeed, the very variables in the supposedly causing relations, though maintained in Chaos, actually vanish in an Emergence. We must look elsewhere for the actual concrete causes. 2. Indeed, the very methods employed in pluralist Science ensure that they will NOT contain these factors. They will have been controlled, removed or subsumed in averages, and hence be totally both invisible and in accessible in such locations. 3. Unfettered Reality is just NOT pluralist, as is usually assumed in both Science and Mathematics, but in fact holistic, and a very different and explanatory form of Science is imperative if we are to understand the overthrow of a currently stable Level, and the actual creation of a completely new, stable Level, which is the result of a successful Emergence. 4. And a new holistic methodology of Science will have to be developed to tackle all aspects of the questions involved. All features of purely pluralist methods must be dumped, including the infamous Additive Complexity forming of compound equations. The clearest example of a completely holistic scientific experiment was indeed carried out many decades ago by the scientist Miller, using the known gases of the primaeval, pre-Life atmosphere of the Earth. And most attempts at explaining why things happen as they do are also always completely holistic. Plurality is entirely limited to quantitative predictions alone. 5. The usual criticisms of such holistic explanations are that they are “always wrong”. But such a position is profoundly mistaken, and shows a total lack of understanding of relative truths. They are certainly never the Absolute Truth! But they always contain sufficient objective content to make them wholly justifiable as valid steps towards the Truth. And are such as to allow each improvement to carry them ever closer to what actually pertains in Reality-=as-it-really-is. 6. Plurality in contrast does deal regularly in Absolute Truth. Not, of course, that of Reality itself, but of Mathematics with its Theorems and Proofs. But they are actually ONLY the Truth of Form and NOT of concrete Reality. |
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