Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia;  Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.

   Post 107.  March 08, 2020 continued . . .

  The God Problem

   Realization of Potential

 Even though Bloom’s “ur” patterns function in evolution like computer algorithms12 and logical operators governing each step in the process of creating a world, he doesn’t like the political implications. “Many of these pattern hunters called Ur patterns ‘natural laws’. . . . It’s the metaphor for a kinglike God commanding a cosmos into being. . . . But we are not hunting down the mind of a creator God. We are hunting down the secret of a cosmos that creates itself.” Which is exactly what my own Enformationism thesis was aiming at. So, I have adopted various alternative metaphors, such as “Programmer”. But even that notion has god-like implications. Instead of divine “commandments” though, a computer programmer establishes the basic “logic” of the program, and “if/then” instructions for making algorithmic decisions. Consequently, for all practical purposes, the software developer for a computer game or office application is equivalent to a god for his creation. Therefore, I reluctantly gave in to inevitability, and coined the term “G*D” to differentiate my god-model from traditional religious myths.

However, Bloom is smart enough to realize that simply avoiding the issue of ultimate creation will not work. “Is the repetition of simple rules in new mediums really enough to explain how a cosmos pulls itself together in new patterns of relationship, new patterns of organization, new patterns of sociality?” Apparently not, so he looks at the standard atheistic metaphor of tumbling dice or a crap shoot. “The cosmos behaves like a termite accidentally building an edifice.” Yet such creative behavior is no accident13. The bugs are obviously somehow programmed to behave as-if they are pyramid builders whose labors are goal directed. But who was the architect with a plan? So, he tries another analogy : eternal abstract Forms that dictate functions. “Plato claimed that the abstract forms, the underlying patterns of the sort that geometry revealed, were more real than your touchable, squeezable, everyday things.” They are the “deep structures” that Bloom calls “axioms”. And the innate reality-governing rules of Geometry are essentially Ratios, from which we derive “reason” and “rationality”. So, even abstract mathematics seems to have a property that we normally reserve for logical intentional humans.

Moreover, this pattern-making world seems to be motivated to create novelty. “The seeming itch of patterns like the wave to be. To manifest themselves in reality.” And “mindless” evolution operates as-if it has an ultimate goal. Referring to the metaphor of the universe as an emerging embryo, Bloom quotes a biologist : “Development proceeds inexorably from the general to the special.” It’s a “morphogenetic” (form creating) system. And Hans Driesch coined a name for that tendency to transform possibilities into realities : Entelechy14. Although it was intended only to be a scientific term, it implied the philosophical concept of Teleology15. Ironically, Bloom quotes Dreisch again : “history unfolds in a seemingly purposeful way . . . driven by unifying causality.” Apparently, Bloom assumes that “where there is smoke there’s fire”, so “seeming” and “as-if” are important enough to warrant further investigation. Even though he doesn’t like the supernatural inference that ancient cultures explained in metaphors of human kings issuing edicts as life or death mandates.

                   Post 107 continued . . . click Next

Order
out of
Chaos

“Form itself seems hungry to emerge from possibility space.”
___Howard Bloom

Erasmus Darwin :
“a new alternative to the Bible’s tale of Genesis. A story that began with a big bang, an explosion in which “the whole of Chaos . . . exploded at the same time”.

12. Algorithm :
   “a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.”

13. Order Out of Chaos :
   This is the motto of 33rd degree masons, and was recognized by ancient Gnostics. Modern mathe-maticians have learned that any order that emerges from chaotic systems, was potentially inherent in the system. My creation myth is similar to the Platonic myth of Creation from Chaos.

14. Entelechy :
   “The realization of potential. . . . The supposed vital principle that guides the development and functioning of an organism or other system or organization.”

15. Teleology :
   “The explanation of phenomena in terms of the purpose they serve rather than of the cause by which they arise. . . .The doctrine of design and purpose in the material world.”

The God Problem

How a Godless Cosmos Creates

Howard Bloom

Psychology; Sociology; Political Science

The Problem of Existence