Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia; Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.
Desiderata And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
Post 60.December 19, 2018continued . . .
The EnFormAction Hypothesis
Ententional Evolution
Now all we have to do is figure out how a Cosmic Coder could create such a practical problem-solving program, and run it in real-time (Space-Time). For that purpose, the imagined final goal (Design Intent) would have to be transcribed into a logic & language specifically designed for world creation (Physics). In order to produce both matter & minds, it would have to include some mental functions (Metaphysics). And of course, a motive force (Will) to propel the computations from Enter to End. That’s why the multi-talented master code of EnFormAction is a jack-of-all-trades. By analogy, it’s both mathematical machine code (1s & 0s) ─ from which real world matter & energy may be computed in terms of statistical probabilities7 ─ and the virtual machine8 (Space) the code runs on. It includes both the basic rules of logic (Laws), and any necessary initial conditions (Limits) for defining the context of the problem. The runtime execution (Time) of the program is what we call Evolution, which works its way upward through progressive stages of causation and emergence. Hence, EnFormAction is entention in action.
In terms of Metaphysics, EnFormAction can also be construed as G*D’s Providence. It’s the generative power, and the enforming force that has transformed the raw potential of the Singularity into a Big Bang of actuality, and thence into the evolving world of Nature and Culture, of Things and Minds. Instead of twiddling with the dials (laws, constraints, values) of Nature’s smoothly humming machine though, to insert arbitrary deus ex machina miracles into the output, The Great Programmer providentially included an algorithm specifically designed to produce Life, then Mind, and eventually Culture, by which living thinking creatures can direct Nature toward their own ends ─ via technology, not magic. That algorithm of Consciousness is also called “Information”, which is defined as the answer to a question that resolves some uncertainty. A binary space-time positive-negative universe is essentially incomplete and uncertain, so it must constantly compute its own meaning, by incorporating feedback from its own context. Due to its web of inter-relationships, such a holistic self-reflective system is more than the sum of its elements9. It features novel emergent properties after each phase trans-formation. We middle-phase humans may never know the final answer to the computation though, or may not comprehend it. In the Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the answer to “God, the Universe, and Everything” was “42”. . . . . WTF?
EnFormAction theory takes a leap of imagination, to envision a more holistic interpretation of the evidence, both empirical and philosophical. Contrary to the Neo-Darwinian theory of Evolution, EFA implies a distinct direction for causation, toward the top rung in the hierarchy of Emergence, as denoted by the arrow of Time. Pure Randomness would just go around in circles. But selection (Entention) works like the ratchet in a clock-work to hold the latest cycle at a useful, and ultimately meaningful, stable state : a Phase Transition, or a step on the ladder of Being. Darwinian Evolution is going nowhere, but EnFormAction is going out-there. Maybe, after the next cosmic phase emerges (perhaps to Trans-Humanism), we’ll have some idea where the final destination is. Til then, we’ll just have to have faith in the nerdy Programmer of our cosmic adventure. And hope S/he has good ententions.
End of Post 60
7. Energy Odds : A massless photon is a carrier of energy, but It’s only potential energy until the waveform collapses, upon impact with another particle. The charge sign of positive (+) or negative (-) indicates what will happen upon impact.
8. Virtual Machine : Both abstract code and a software simulated environment for the code to run within. Some eminent scientists now postulate that the “real” world is an illusion created by the operations of a virtual world of pure information.
9. Holistic Hierarchy : Each phase of cosmic emergence creates a new holistic system with unique properties. But the Cosmos is a nested system of systems that interpenetrate and interact to some degree. The Quantum Field is a world unto itself with weird phenomena, such as entanglement, not found in the classical real world. The Physical Phase has only mechanical properties, but from it emerged the Organic Phase with mental qualities. And future Cosmic Phases may produce marvelous features that would seem like magic to us in mid-level stages of development. This is not a prophecy, but merely a projection of current trends. All of these developments may be like some oriental notions of G*D coming to know He/rself.
Both
And
Material
&
Spiritual
Physical
&
Metaphysical
Space
&
Time
Nouns
&
Verbs
Things
&
Acts
Now
&
Future
EnFormAction is a cosmic concept encompassing all aspects of reality
Teleological EnFormAction
It’s a dynamic process, not a static thing; always in the midst of becoming; never lingering in the Now, but moving on to the Next.
POTENTIAL to ACTUALIZE FUTURE not yet NOW IDEAL not yet REAL VIRTUAL not yet ACTUAL POSSIBLE not yet CERTAIN FORM not yet THING DESIGN not yet BUILT INTENTION not yet EXECUTED PURPOSE not yet REACHED WILL not yet FULFILLED MOTIVE not yet ENFORCED
EnFormAction is another word for Change & Causation, but with emphasis on the ententional mental implications of Information theory that were ignored by Shannon.
Enformationism, with its cosmic & holistic notions of creators, gods, divine wills, teleological emergences, and vital forces, may sound like New Age philosophy, but it completely removes any notions of human magic from this space-time world, and places it in the realm of divinity and infinity. The only magic in reality is stage magic of smoke & mirrors.