TPF : Emergence, Physical vs Metaphysical

[Gnomon]

Yes, they will! It will ever be your burden to deal with that then until you can provide convincing empirical evidence to support your hypothesis. — universeness

You will find lots of empirical evidence to support my thesis in the links to articles by professional scientists. But, only the Enformationism thesis will provide the logical connections between bits & pieces of physical evidence and professional opinions that add-up to the conclusion that the physical world has "at bottom . . . an immaterial source and explanation". That may sound like "nonsense" to you. But I'll let you argue with a prominent physicist about the scientific details of his thesis : an information-centric participatory universe.

It from bit symbolizes the idea that every item of the physical world has at bottom...an immaterial source and explanation...that all things physical are information-theoretic in origin and that this is a participatory universe.
___John Archibald Wheeler, quantum physics pioneer

“Recent decades have taught us that physics is a magic window. It shows us the illusion that lies behind reality—and the reality that lies behind illusion. Its scope is immensely greater than we one realized. We are no longer satisfied with insights only into particles, or fields of force, or geometry, or even space and time. Today we demand of physics some understanding of existence itself.”
― John Archibald Wheeler, Quantum Theory and Measurement

[Gnomon]

I always try to avoid ossifying when it comes to my viewpoints. I am sure you do the same.
Well if you have such significant support from the scientific community then I am sure I will hear a lot more about Enformationism and your BothAnd proposals. From sources other than its author. — universeness

Yes. Most belief systems are conservative, and don't change with every shift of the wind. Old paradigms give way to new worldviews only as old believers die out. That's why I don't expect many physical scientists to accept the new way of understanding the world. But I provide links to the few pioneers that do -- all you have to do is click.

Regarding information theory, Mathematicians & Theoretical physicists are quicker to see the broader implications of Information theory than Experimental Physicists and Chemists. Even Einstein, as a theoretician, was loathe to accept the uncertain statistical basis of Quantum Theory : "God doesn't throw dice". So I just patiently chip away at one philosophy forum, to see if theoretical thinkers are quicker to see the value of fundamental causal Information, than pragmatic doers. Acceptance of new paradigms usually take generations to become "settled science". At this stage, very few members of the "scientific community" are aware of a post-Shannon interpretation of Information. But if you want "sources other than the author" just follow the links.

Since I have no academic or professional qualifications, I'd have to possess a monumental ego to expect anyone to take my amateur opinions as truths. That's why I provide plenty of links to professional opinions for those willing to click & comprehend. I'm just hoping that a few will grok the cosmic scale of the new Information paradigm. The negative feedback from this forum allows me to stay humble & flexible, and to "avoid ossifying" the initial insight of Enformationism. About 15 years ago, an article by a quantum physicist was trying to explain why sub-atomic physics seemed to be so weird & counterintuitive compared to the neat orderly intuitive classical physics of Newton. At one point, he exclaimed "it's all information!". Thus my personal philosophical quest began : to understand the invisible structure (Form) of Reality.

Paradigm Shift :
“A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”
― Max Planck, Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers

Paradigm Power :
Those belief systems or paradigms are quite simply, the way in which we see the world. As such they constitute our reality. All of our actions, our personal life choices, our professional and our medical practice decisions are heavily influenced and at times, strongly directed by our personal paradigms.
https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/def ... 72&print=1

How Paradigms Fall : a general assessment, not specifically about the Information paradigm
***Thomas Kuhn’s iconic work The Structure of Scientific Revolution . . . talk about the patterns that occur when a paradigm shift is about to happen. . . . When paradigms begin to show initial signs of failing or shifting, there are usually some very loud supporters of certain ideologies who do not want to see that the world is changing. . . . “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win, ” . . . . Over the past 3.8 billion years Nature has demonstrated patterns that emerge when it is ready to let go of a form that no longer serves the higher purpose of the system. . . . Just like Nature, human systems are required to evolve and transform in order to survive.
https://kathleenallen.net/how-paradigms-fall/

Quantum Weirdness :
Many of the QT pioneers (e.g. Neils Bohr), inadvertently gained a reputation for mysticism, due to some of their attempts to explain its strangeness, to Western eyes, in terms of metaphors borrowed from Eastern philosophy. So, although it is now labeled as “the most successful theory ever formulated”, it still predicts behaviors that seem more magical than mechanical.
http://bothandblog7.enformationism.info/page43.html

[Gnomon]

No mockery intended Gnomon, but your words here are a little messianic and sacrificial sounding. Always be on your guard against any seedlings of a Christ complex. — universeness

Ha! No messianic salvation intended. Just philosophical enlightenment. And one of my many messiahs is physicist Paul Davies.

However, my straightforward presentation of a novel scientific & philosophical concept has been affected by aggressive attacks & mockery on this forum over the last few years. I've been forced into a defensive position in response to binary polemics (good vs evil) defending a strongly-held but un-named belief system. Since Enformationism is intended to be a non-religious philosophical update to the worldview of Materialism/Physicalism, I must assume that the emotional responses to an alternative worldview are motivated by what Christians refer to as the humanistic religion of Scientism. If that's your belief system, I apologize for stepping on your toes.

Ironically, Christians would probably refer to my position as "humanistic", since it offers no divine intervention to direct the world toward a Heavenly home or an earthly Utopia. Instead, it's all up to us humans to learn from trial & error, the error of our ways, and the way (Tao) of the world.

PS__My personal worldview has some similarities to holistic oriental philosophies -- Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc. -- but is not beholden to their religious doctrines.
PPS__Thanks for moderating your mockery. Some posters are not so tactful in their ridicule of rival "religions".

Taoism Salvation :
Unlike Confucianism, Taoism is a salvation religion which seeks to guide its believers beyond this transitory life to a happy eternity. There is a belief in an original state of bliss, followed by the fallen state. And there is reliance on supernatural powers for help and protection.
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.10 ... -22904-8_7

Scientism :
The main difference between science and scientism is that science is the study of nature and behaviour of natural things and knowledge obtained through them while scientism is the view that only science can render truth about the world and reality.
https://pediaa.com/what-is-the-differen ... scientism/
Note -- "only science" means that theoretical Philosophy is not accepted as a path to Truth.

[Gnomon]

You haven't. I don't consider you a crank. It can be very tough indeed to try to occupy any 'middle ground' between two diametrically opposed groups. I do have a scientism, in that I champion science over theism or any supernatural posits, completely. I wear that definition of 'scientism,' with as much joy as any halelujah chorus. — universeness

Thanks for the vote of confidence. But, some on this forum have accused me of overweening ego for promoting a new paradigm based on the emerging science of Information. ↪180 Proof likes to say I'm "making sh*t up", although my modest contribution to the emergent information-centric worldview is to make-up some neologisms to convey the unconventional (post-Shannon) concepts that emerge from the new understanding of the ubiquitous role of Information in the universe : including both Mind & Matter. For example, what I call "EnFormAction" (energy + laws) is just a new name for the causal "phenomenon at the root of things"*1.

Perhaps my role is more like Darwin's Bulldog, Thomas Huxley, who didn't "make-up" the theory of Evolution, but promoted it among his incredulous peers in science. In fact, even Darwin's theory was an assemblage of ideas that were already "in the air" so to speak*2. Even his own father, Erasmus, seems to have coined the technical term "Evolution" to describe his own concept of descent from a common ancestor. It would be hard for me to designate the "Darwin" of Enformationism, because dozens of scientists & philosophers have contributed to the knowledge-base. But my go-to guy is physicist Paul Davies, who has written a long string of books on various information-centric ideas, including The Mind of God : The Scientific Basis for a Rational World. A philosophical promoter is The Information Philosopher*3, who has also never heard of Enformationism.

My problem with Scientism is that it typically denigrates not just irrational Religions, but also rational-but-non-empirical Philosophy itself. Philosophical posts on TPF --- that don't conform to the ancient belief system of Materialism/Atomism as canonized in 17th century classical physics --- are shouted-down as religion-in-disguise. Yet Enformationism is compatible with Physics, Chemistry, & Biology up to the point of explaining the emergence of Life, Mind, & Memes. In 1973, Theodosius Dobzhansky asserted "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution". Now, 50 years later, Gnomon goes on record to say that "nothing in Evolution makes sense except in the light of Information". Is that a case of overweening ego? Judge for yourself *4.


*1. quote from Caleb Scharf in The Ascent of Information, who has never heard of Enformationism .

*2. Evolution : Charles Darwin is commonly cited as the person who “discovered” evolution. But, the historical record shows that roughly seventy different individuals published work on the topic of evolution between 1748 and 1859, the year that Darwin published On the Origin of Species.
https://hmnh.harvard.edu/event/who-discovered-evolution

*3. Information philosophy is a dualist philosophy, both materialist and idealist. It is a correspondence theory, explaining how immaterial ideas represent material objects.
https://www.informationphilosopher.com/

*4. The EnFormAction Hypothesis : Emergent Evolution
Without understanding how the process of en-formation works, the emergence of Mathematical Physics & self-organizing Life & metaphysical Mind must be taken on Faith, as miraculous bootstrap (self-starting) events.
https://bothandblog3.enformationism.info/page23.html.

[Gnomon]

Looking on past the links you provided above. I did notice that Gnomon does not respond to many of your questions. He is welcome to reconsider, that and respond to the points you made, if he wants to. — universeness

FYI. I have explained many times before why I ceased responding to ↪180 Proof's "inconvenient questions". It's primarily because his snarky responses, besides irrelevant, are mostly abusive instead of reasonable.

If you want to see some of my indirect answers to his rarely relevant ridicule, just check-out my replies to ↪Agent Smith, who has inadvertently become the middle-man mediator between combatants. It's a who-hit-who-first abusive relationship, which I long ago decided to divorce from.

[Gnomon]

I think I will just drop this issue now as I am probably not helping improve the impasse between you both. I was just trying to reduce the barrier between you both, that's all. You both seem to be reasonable folks to me. — universeness

Thanks for the effort, but you are not likely to resolve "the impasse", because for ↪180 Proof it seems to be an ideological war of Good vs Evil (Scientism vs Spiritualism???). I assume that attitude is partly due to his belief that most-if-not-all philosophers up until the 17th century -- most of whom included G*D in their world models -- were simply practicing irrational Religion in words instead of deeds. (Please don't take this characterization-out-of-context literally)

I have enjoyed the opportunity to respond to your non-abusive questioning. The exercise helps me to refine my own emerging philosophical worldview. But you still seem to miss the this-worldly focus of Enformationism, due to its "contamination" with a speculative god-concept. Ironically, like Spinoza's "god of the philosophers", I'm not making any factual claims about super-natural beings. Unless, that is, you categorize Energy (invisible causal power) and Information (creative power to enform) as supernatural concepts. I don't expect to make converts on this open forum, but merely to freely exchange philosophical ideas, no matter how far out.

180 finds it easy to pick & squish the low-hanging fruit of an uncredentialed unpublished amateur philosopher, whose ideas are "unworthy", simply because they are not in the mainstream of holy Science. "No credentials, no credence". But that's an odd attitude for a forum of amateur philosophers, most of whom also have no credentials in Science -- or Philosophy. As long as he views Creativity*1 as a taboo supernatural power, the core concept of Enformationism (Energy = natural power to enform & transform = EnFormAction = the cause of Emergence) will be anathema (something or someone that one vehemently dislikes). But I'm cool with that, as long as we maintain a respectful distance.

*1. Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed literary work, or a painting).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity


Screenshot-211.jpg

[Gnomon]

Hi Gnomon, my ontology centers around non-physical things such as time, space, certain forms of energy, logic, number, and information. Some of my philosophy resembles yours, and i'm curious to know what your thoughts are on where information comes from? How is it created at the most fundamental level? or what allows it to be possible (a sub-structure perhaps)? — punos

Some posters on this forum will reject your notion of "non-physical", partly because they associate that label with "spiritual", and partly because their Materialism/Physicalism worldview lumps all the things you mentioned under the heading of Physics. That's also why some of the pioneers of Quantum Theory were labeled as "mystics" when they borrowed some holistic Oriental terminology to help understand the non-reductive & counter-intuitive & non-classical weirdness of the sub-atomic realm. So, be aware that "non-physical" may be interpreted as meaning "meta-physical", which to some is about spiritual gods & ghosts, instead of about immaterial ideas & concepts : not Reality, but Ideality. It's about theoretical Philosophy, not empirical Science.

Energy is indeed physical in the sense that it is the primary concern of physicists. But it's not a material object, and has no atomic structure. Instead Energy*1 is the process of Causation that produces changes in material objects. But some treat that process metaphorically as-if it is a flowing stream of fluid energy-stuff. In the book I'm currently reading, The Ascent of Information, astro-biologist Caleb Scharf says : "Many of us have gotten used to thinking of the closely related properties of energy and entropy as tangible things. In truth, they are really just concepts that help predict or explain why matter behaves the way it does". So those who imagine Energy as a "tangible thing" (physical fluid?) are taking the symbolic figure-of-speech metaphor literally. And that's a common conceptual problem in philosophical dialog.

Scharf goes on to be more explicit about "non-physical" Energy*2 : "But it's hard to point at any phenomenon in nature and say, 'that is energy'. A photon is not energy. . . . . It's one reason physicists always wince when a science fiction tale mentions anything being made of 'pure energy', because that's just wrong". However, you may be thinking of "non-physical" Energy as an abstraction equivalent to "pure energy". And such abstractions include Mathematical ratios such as those of Thermodynamics. Also, in my personal worldview of Enformationism, I equate Energy with Generic Information : the power to enform, or to change forms.


*1. What is Energy? :
But, what is Energy or Force anyway? For scientific purposes, it is a general property (Causation) of the universe as a system, which causes changes in material substances. Some religions also view Spiritual Energy (Life Force or Soul) as a universal property, that manifests in changes not only to physical bodies, but also in non-physical minds. So which is it? Sadly, these are not physical, but metaphysical queries. Hence, any answers we propose can never be proven true or false by means of empirical evidence. In the Quora quotes below, Neuroscientist Rosseinsky, indicates that we can construct logical explanations, given specific premises, for both possibilities, but we can't prove that one is a fact and the other a fantasy. Each may be valid within its own purview. That's why I prefer to make a key distinction between mundane Reality and sublime Ideality.
https://bothandblog.enformationism.info/page26.html

*2. Energy is Information in action :
Energy is the relationship between information regimes. That is, energy is manifested, at any level, between structures, processes and systems of information in all of its forms, and all entities in this universe is composed of information.
https://physics.stackexchange.com/quest ... in-physics
Note -- given time, I could link to many opinions of scientists who equate Information & Energy. But some posters will think that notion is either irrelevant or heretical to their belief system.

i'm curious to know what your thoughts are on where information comes from? How is it created at the most fundamental level? or what allows it to be possible (a sub-structure perhaps)? — punos


Where does Information come from? It's like Energy, which physicists now define as inherent in empty space : vacuum energy. Likewise, the source of Information/Energy has been inherent in the non-physical Potential*3 of virtual energy Fields (empty space) from the beginning of space-time. How that non-physical creative power got embedded in the physical world is not a scientific question. Yet some imaginative physicists have speculated on various unproveable scenarios : including an infinite regression of Big Bangs, or an unbounded Universe of Many Worlds. Your guess is as good as mine. But I too have speculated on the origins of both Energy & Matter*4. The BothAnd Blog goes into some deep detail to support those non-scientific conjectures.


*3. Potential & Actual :
Potential is unactualized power to cause change; to enform. It's not real, and it's non-physical. Yet the Field Theory of physics assumes (imagines without physical evidence) that empty space contains unactualized Energy that can emerge from not-yet-real Virtual Particles. I agree, but I refer to that hypothesis as a meta-physical concept.

*4. Infinite Un-bounded Potential :
Langan calls the source of being, the UnBound Telesis, meaning something like an infinite intentionality, or eternal Will. UBT sounds equivalent to my notion of eternal Chaos, an infinite unformed pool of potential, which like Plato's ideal Forms can become realized into physical things or processes. But, Actualization requires Causation, which is an act of creation. My own term for the old Greek concept of “the ground of being” is simply BEING : the power to exist. So that's another way to describe G*D functionally without defining the deity phenomenologically.
https://www.bothandblog.enformationism.info/page48.html

[Gnomon]

Here's food for thought: Cold isn't really a thing, as much of a thing as heat is and darkness is also not really a thing, as much of a thing as light is. Is Enformy a thing, or are you making the same mistake as the Hindus (zero) made as according to the Greeks who asked "how can nothing be something?" — Agent Smith

True. "Cold" only has meaning relative to Hot, so it exists meta-physically as a relationship concept in the mind. Yet, "Hot" is also a non-thing, with only a relative existence, as measured in artificial degrees. Enformy is not a thing, it's a causal process like Evolution, except with a positive meaning, relative to inquiring humans. Unlike "Hot" you can't sense Enformy physically, you can only infer it Rationally. Both concepts, Enformy & Evolution, exist meta-physically like Zero*1 : the imaginary concept of Nothingness.

However, "Zero" has a parallel in Terrence Deacon's Absence*2, the metaphysics of incompleteness. Again, Absence is not a physical thing, but the meta-physical Potential for something. And Potential only has meaning relative to Actual. Deacon's Absential is only Nothing in a physical sense, which for Materialists is all there is -- no place for non-things . But for Philosophers, Potential has always been the solution to mysterious Emergences*3, which is what we call the occasion when some new properties or qualities are manifested from something old : i.e. Holism. Absence, in the sense of Incompleteness, implies Teleology/Teleonomy, which is a pulling force from a future metaphysical state (the goal or end or telos or Final Cause of a process).

All of those no-thing concepts are absent from the Physicalist*3 worldview. Which is why some anti-metaphysical posters on this forum are like the ancient Greeks & Hindus, in denying the reality of Zero. Yet again, it's nothing but a mental philosophical concept : an idea, lacking all the substance of Matter. But then, ideas are the essential substance & subject of Philosophy. n'est ce pas?

PS__I apologize for getting carried away with references to Emergence below*3 *4 *5.

*1. Zero : The Biography of a Dangerous Idea :
Zero is the fascinating story of a number banned by the ancient Greeks and worshipped by ancient Indians
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero:_The ... erous_Idea

*2. Absence :
Deacon's 2011 work Incomplete Nature has a strong triadic structure, inspired perhaps by an important influence from semiotics—the philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce's triad of icon, index, and symbol. Deacon's triad levels represent the material, the ideal, and the pragmatic. The first two levels reflect the ancient philosophical dualism of materialism and idealism, or body and mind, respectively. The major transition from the nonliving to the living - the problem of abiogenesis, and the introduction of telos in the universe - happens in Deacon's third level. . . .
Appreciating Deacon's argument is easier with a little history. Claude Shannon's information theory produced an expression for the potential information that can be carried in a communication channel. It is the mathematical negative of Boltzmann's formula for entropy.
https://www.informationphilosopher.com/ ... ts/deacon/

*3. Mystery of Emergence :
Strong Emergence as a Defense of Non-Reductive Physicalism
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4545239

4*. Emergence :
"Emergent behaviors, like games, are all about living within the boundaries defined by rules, but also using that space to create something greater than the sum of its parts" __by Steven Johnson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence ... d_Software

*5. The Emergence of Everything :
"Because of the Pauli principle [exclusion], matter is informatic, and something akin to mind has already entered the universe" __Harold Morowitz, biophysicist
Note-- "informatic" = imparting information

[Gnomon]

Where do you think your enformation, etc posits, takes us, FROM the current position, as established by Jim Al-Khalili's video above. — universeness

In recent years, I've seen several videos by Al Khalili on YouTube -- including this one -- and find them very informative (pardon!). I have to leave soon, so I only watched a few minutes of this video. A significant point was noted right away : "invisible information". The general thrust of the video seems to be similar to the book I'm currently reading : The Ascent of Information, by Caleb Scharf. He refers to the ubiquity of Information in the physical, mental, & technological universe as the*1. Dataome (holistic concept similar to Genome).

Both Scharf and Al Kalili are scientists, and focus primarily on the practical Technological products (looms & computers) of understanding that abstract Information is more fundamental than concrete Matter, and can be manipulated meta-physically by the human mind. For my own personal purposes though, I am focusing on the impractical Philosophical aspects of universal Information, especially its causal powers in the form of Energy & Entropy*2. Not any particular causal event, but the general invisible force behind all change in the universe. This "force" is responsible for what we call Natural Evolution, which is characterized by creative Emergence of novelty. Yet, aimless randomness creates only Entropy, while Natural Selection (teleonomic Choice) creates the "order" (stable & beautiful patterns of inter-relationships) that Al Khalili finds so wonderful.

I'm not sure if Jim would agree, but I also view Information as "immaterial" in its invisible mental forms of Concepts, Ideas, Feelings, etc. All of those are interrelated patterns that could be reduced to abstract mathematical ratios, by omitting the personal meanings as Shannon did. Meanings exist only in the individual human mind -- in the self-Consciousness that has "miraculously" emerged from a seemingly mechanical series of operations on matter. Unfortunately, those memes (units of memory) can only be exported from intangible minds by transforming them into conventional physical symbols. That ability to transform from Mind to Matter and back, is the key power of Generic Information*3. And that telenomic understanding of Evolution may "take us" in a new direction from the useful-but-short-sighted and out-dated paradigms of Materialism and Reductionism.

I have to go. But if you have specific questions, raised by the video, I'll be glad to respond as I get time.


*1. In the final chapter of his book, Scharf finally reveals the motivation for his interpretation of the philosophical importance of Information : "The greater mystery is that the universe is actually capable of self-comprehension".

*2. I coined the term EnFormAction to encapsulate the directional (teleonomic) causation of Evolution. The act of enforming creates novelty out of directionless randomness. For example, that's what happens when Quantum superposition (disorganized randomness) suddenly "collapses" into an organized physical particle of matter.

*3. Introduction to Enformationism :
“A philosophical worldview grounded on the 20th century discovery that Information, rather than Matter, is the fundamental substance of everything in the universe.”
https://bothandblog6.enformationism.info/page80.html
Note -- If that blog post is too long for you, here's a shorter version :
https://bothandblog3.enformationism.info/page24.html

[Gnomon]

Do you disagree that empirical science must be the final arbiter of theoretical philosophy? — universeness

Yes. Empirical Science may be the final arbiter of pragmatic Empirical questions, but theoretical Philosophy is still arbitrating questions that remain unanswered by classical scientific methods*1. A century later, the practical significance of sub-atomic physics remains debatable. Yes, the get-er-done engineers have developed technologies for manipulating invisible particles of stuff. But physicists are still debating the common-sense meaning of such non-sense as Superposition and Quantum Leaps. Philosophy is not about Matter, but Meaning.

Those spooky questions*2 remain under the purview of Theoretical Physics*3, which is essentially a narrow specialty of Philosophy. Einstein was not a mystic or religious believer, but he resorted to philosophical & poetic metaphors to convey unsettled ideas about physical facts. Ironically, some posters on this philosophical forum seem to believe that such ideas as Emergence can be finally settled by empirical methods.

PS__Just as Steven Jay Gould separated Religion & Science into non-overlapping magisteria, Philosophy & Science are not competitors in the same arena.

*1. Physics vs Metaphysics :
Physics is defined, in its simplest form, as the study of matter and energy and how those two interact, while metaphysics deals with the ideas that don’t abide by scientific logic and theories.
https://allthedifferences.com/metaphysics-vs-physics/

*2. Quantum Questions :
Here is a collection of writings that bridges the gap between science and religion. Quantum Questions collects the mystical writings of each of the major physicists involved in the discovery of quantum physics and relativity, including Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and Max Planck.
https://www.shambhala.com/quantum-questions-1226.html

*3. What’s behind a science vs. philosophy fight? :
In fact, most of the scientists I know are strictly theoretical. They don’t dirty their hands with experimental testing. ___Rebecca Newberger Goldstein
https://bigthink.com/hard-science/why-a ... ing-again/