in which people are still talking mainly about the same phenomena that have been discussed for a thousand or more years — T Clark
Yes. But my thesis is based on 21st century science, with strange concepts that didn't exist eons ago. Which necessitates the use of novel tech terms, even though it falls into the 2 & 1/2 millennia old category of Metaphysics, (according to my reading of Aristotle). Ironically, Shannon's "Information Theory" deliberately gave a new meaning to an old word. So, when I refer to the original conventional meaning (e.g. meaning in a mind, not digits in a computer) I have to contrast it with the entrenched technological notion. So, for convenience, I have added a growing number of pertinent definitions to the thesis glossary over the years. For example, "meta-physics", if taken literally, should be self-explanatory, And here's one I didn't coin, that I may add eventually just to deny that my thesis implies : Acosmism. (That arcane term was used by 180proof).
PS__a good example of novel philosophical coinages is A.N. Whitehead's Process and Reality. which is on the same basic topic as my thesis. I had a lot of difficulty reading it, because it didn't have a glossary of neologisms, So, I feel your pain. But I persevered.
TPF : Metaphysics Again
Re: TPF : Metaphysics Again
If you want to start a new thread about the use of new words, I am likely to participate, although I will be out of town with no computer for three days. — T Clark
I'm not likely to start a thread on such a broad topic, and one that is outside my limited range of expertise. But I'm happy to discuss specific examples of Neologisms and technical jargon. For instance, my usage of the baggage-laden word "metaphysics", with a revived ancient meaning, is essential to understanding the neologism of "Enformationism". Most discussions on internet forums merely recycle old ideas expressed in conventional terms. But, if you have a novel idea, especially a whole new worldview, it would be self-defeating to use words carrying obsolete meanings.
A neologism is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not yet been fully accepted into mainstream language. Neologisms are often driven by changes in culture and technology.
___Wiki
Philosophy is Meta-Physics :
"As for a super-natural realm, however, can we ever hope to know about a realm not open to the inquiries of science? If it is beyond our physics, then it's metaphysics --- philosophy again."
___Peter Carter, MD
The Single Simple Question that Challenges All Convictions
Note -- The author seems to advocate Secular Humanism, as opposed to conventional religions. His challenging question is "does every event have a cause?" If so, then a trickle of Free Will is lost in the flood of Causation. However, he inadvertently raises the same "get out of jail free" exception that I use to justify my own notion of "FreeWill within Determinism".
I'm not likely to start a thread on such a broad topic, and one that is outside my limited range of expertise. But I'm happy to discuss specific examples of Neologisms and technical jargon. For instance, my usage of the baggage-laden word "metaphysics", with a revived ancient meaning, is essential to understanding the neologism of "Enformationism". Most discussions on internet forums merely recycle old ideas expressed in conventional terms. But, if you have a novel idea, especially a whole new worldview, it would be self-defeating to use words carrying obsolete meanings.
A neologism is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not yet been fully accepted into mainstream language. Neologisms are often driven by changes in culture and technology.
___Wiki
Philosophy is Meta-Physics :
"As for a super-natural realm, however, can we ever hope to know about a realm not open to the inquiries of science? If it is beyond our physics, then it's metaphysics --- philosophy again."
___Peter Carter, MD
The Single Simple Question that Challenges All Convictions
Note -- The author seems to advocate Secular Humanism, as opposed to conventional religions. His challenging question is "does every event have a cause?" If so, then a trickle of Free Will is lost in the flood of Causation. However, he inadvertently raises the same "get out of jail free" exception that I use to justify my own notion of "FreeWill within Determinism".
Re: TPF : Metaphysics Again
That's an uncharitable reading to say the least. I've proposed an alternative / complementary way of 'doing metaphysics' not unlike negative (apophatic) theology is an alternative / complementary to positive (cataphatic) theology. — 180 Proof
I apologize, if I misinterpreted your intention. I didn't intend to the un-charitable, but I was shooting in the dark, so I might have missed what I was aiming at. Obviously, you are referring to a philosophical or theological approach that I am not familiar with. Perhaps, because I have no background or formal training in such esoteric topics. However, I looked-up "apophatic" and now I almost see what you meant by "negative metaphysics". It's trying to describe an ineffable being or concept by listing examples of what it is not. I was vaguely aware that medieval mystics used such reverse poetry to describe the deity they experienced subjectively --- in objective terms that always miss the target, but draw a circle around that empty place.
Apophatic :
The apophatic tradition is often, though not always, allied with the approach of mysticism, which aims at the vision of God, the perception of the divine reality beyond the realm of ordinary perception
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophatic_theology
Wrong. Also, "Religion and Mysticism" refute themselves and globally are uncorroborated by – inconsistent in manifold ways with – both human facticity and the natural world. They are not targets of my speculative concerns. — 180 Proof
OK, you have denoted that which is not of concern to your philosophy. But I'm still not sure what is in the Black Box, whose contents you are describing without opening. If it ain't "Religion and Mysticism" what is it? Is there a common name for it, other than arcane terms like "Apophatic". I understand Terrence Deacon's notion of the "Power of Absence", but in the absence of some positive information, I'm at a loss to imagine that which is not there. I fail to see what "human facticity" has to do with Metaphysics, except in the sense that it is the common human perspective on that which is not Physics. I need you to point in the direction that I should look, in order to see what you are seeing.
Note -- FWIW, I call my Black Box neither Religion nor Mysticism, but merely "philosophy".
Your "thesis" doesn't hold up under either philosophical or scientific scrutiny, sir. And when you're presented with my "disruptive" alternative, you're so busy proselytizing that you uncharitably read my proposal (re: negative ontology ↪180 Proof
) and fail to even question its premises in the context of (western) ontology. — 180 Proof
OK. So you're not seeing what I'm seeing. That's no reason to give-up. That's philosophy, I'm willing to keep shooting in the dark until I finally hit some target, even if I don't know what I'm aiming at. But, what you call "proselytizing" is what I call "explaining what I'm talking about". Maybe you need to do more proselytizing, If you want to bring me into the fold.
they occlude as much as, or more than, they clarify. — 180 Proof
Apparently, we are both occlusive in our 'splaining. I don't know what you are talking about, and you don't know what I'm talking about. But, maybe, if we keep "throwing mud" on the wall, some of it will eventually stick. Teach me.
https://cedesports.org/wp-content/uploa ... 18x300.gif
PS___I have learned the hard way to not assume that posters will click on my links. That's why I usually try to summarize, in their words or my own words, what the link means.
I apologize, if I misinterpreted your intention. I didn't intend to the un-charitable, but I was shooting in the dark, so I might have missed what I was aiming at. Obviously, you are referring to a philosophical or theological approach that I am not familiar with. Perhaps, because I have no background or formal training in such esoteric topics. However, I looked-up "apophatic" and now I almost see what you meant by "negative metaphysics". It's trying to describe an ineffable being or concept by listing examples of what it is not. I was vaguely aware that medieval mystics used such reverse poetry to describe the deity they experienced subjectively --- in objective terms that always miss the target, but draw a circle around that empty place.
Apophatic :
The apophatic tradition is often, though not always, allied with the approach of mysticism, which aims at the vision of God, the perception of the divine reality beyond the realm of ordinary perception
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophatic_theology
Wrong. Also, "Religion and Mysticism" refute themselves and globally are uncorroborated by – inconsistent in manifold ways with – both human facticity and the natural world. They are not targets of my speculative concerns. — 180 Proof
OK, you have denoted that which is not of concern to your philosophy. But I'm still not sure what is in the Black Box, whose contents you are describing without opening. If it ain't "Religion and Mysticism" what is it? Is there a common name for it, other than arcane terms like "Apophatic". I understand Terrence Deacon's notion of the "Power of Absence", but in the absence of some positive information, I'm at a loss to imagine that which is not there. I fail to see what "human facticity" has to do with Metaphysics, except in the sense that it is the common human perspective on that which is not Physics. I need you to point in the direction that I should look, in order to see what you are seeing.
Note -- FWIW, I call my Black Box neither Religion nor Mysticism, but merely "philosophy".
Your "thesis" doesn't hold up under either philosophical or scientific scrutiny, sir. And when you're presented with my "disruptive" alternative, you're so busy proselytizing that you uncharitably read my proposal (re: negative ontology ↪180 Proof
) and fail to even question its premises in the context of (western) ontology. — 180 Proof
OK. So you're not seeing what I'm seeing. That's no reason to give-up. That's philosophy, I'm willing to keep shooting in the dark until I finally hit some target, even if I don't know what I'm aiming at. But, what you call "proselytizing" is what I call "explaining what I'm talking about". Maybe you need to do more proselytizing, If you want to bring me into the fold.
they occlude as much as, or more than, they clarify. — 180 Proof
Apparently, we are both occlusive in our 'splaining. I don't know what you are talking about, and you don't know what I'm talking about. But, maybe, if we keep "throwing mud" on the wall, some of it will eventually stick. Teach me.
https://cedesports.org/wp-content/uploa ... 18x300.gif
PS___I have learned the hard way to not assume that posters will click on my links. That's why I usually try to summarize, in their words or my own words, what the link means.
Re: TPF : Metaphysics Again
The G*D Mind who programmed the universe is still a 'God', even if not infinitely smart. How is it there as the Eternal Basis of All, it thus necessarily having no input? What memory does it have to work with? What relations of concepts would it have to use in order to sort out thoughts? How could it make plans? What source would it use for making a universe out of? What purpose would it have? — PoeticUniverse
Good questions! I don't pretend to know the answer to those un-verifiable metaphysical conundra. All I know is that an Aristotelian First Cause is logically necessary to explain the existence of our contingent cause & effect world. So, I adopt the Aquinian Necessary Being as the axiom of my Information-based worldview. Whatever that non-contingent Entity might be, it serves as the "Eternal Basis of All". Or as Tillch so eloquently phrased it : the Ground of Being --- the eternal foundation of the space-time structure we call Home.
Unfortunately, anything prior to the initial Act of Creation (Big Bang : Birth Pang) is not subject to empirical verification. However, using normal philosophical methods of inference, I can establish a few logically necessary qualities of the Programmer of those initial conditions, and the evolutionary development of emergent features. For example, a primary characteristic of the presumptive FC is the creative power (Potential) to enform a new physical world from nothing but Cosmic Power, Which in my information-centered thesis I call EnFormAction (Meta-Physical Energy ; power to give form to the formless). If that notion sounds far-fetched, it is supported by logical argument and scientific evidence in the Enformationism thesis.
Most cosmologists agree that, for anything to exist in Space-Time, something must be Infinite & Eternal. But they typically think of that "something" as Natural Laws & Energy, which are not things but concepts. Yet, as a philosopher, not bound by the rules of space-time, I can conjecture into the un-bounded void beyond the Big Bang beginning. And I have various names for the eternal nothing that gave birth to something : i.e. everything in our world. And one name for that non-physical non-thing is Enformer : the creative power to convert Potential into Actual.
Most alternatives to a god-like Cause assume (without evidence) that Natural Laws and Constructive Energy have always existed (eternal Potential). And I agree, except that I call the mathematical "laws" of Nature : LOGOS. And the ability to "do work" (cause change) is what I call EnFormAction (the power to cause changes in Form). Moreover, I define "Form", not as a physical shape, but as the mathematical structure of each real thing. That's my interpretation of Plato's posited Source of all real things. If the logic of math & reason has always existed, rather than evolved, you could infer that it must be "infinitely smart", in the sense of encompassing all Possibilities.
By definition, any First Cause must have causal "input" in order to encode the criteria for a new world, in the form of initial conditions (constants, definitions) and rules for interaction (natural laws). That's why I use the metaphor of a Programmer to describe the FC. Our world was "born" with all the genetic information (constants & laws) necessary to compute a universe from a sub-atomic-scale dot of data. So, the data input was the program we call "Nature", which is currently running (evolving) on the self-creating self-organizing "machine" we call our World.
The "memory" (temporary repository or register) for all that calculating (energy exchanges) is Matter, which takes on physical forms as defined by the program criteria. Another theory of cosmic memory is the imprint of physical changes and energy exchanges on the gravitational field (see link below). I don't know much about such things. But, it's usually assumed by scientists and philosophers, that every change in the world leaves a trace (encoded information) behind. Long ago, I read an excellent sci-fi novel that was based on that notion. And that was long before the LIGO observatory detected gravitational waves from distant galaxies.
The "relations of concepts" you question, would be what we call the Logic of Nature, which we know primarily in terms of abstract Mathematics. But we also imagine natural relations in terms of Space & Time, which are metaphysical concepts, not physical things. We perceive such abstractions in terms of metaphors, that only exist as mental images. That's why we can only communicate our ideas about such non-entities in the form of Meta-Physical Metaphors.
How could the presumed Creative Cause "make plans"? Presumably, in the same way human minds create imaginary scenarios, and then plot a course to make it real. The best laid plans of gods and men, oft go awry. Unless, the planner is an omnipotent programmer, with the power to control how the universe gets from Now to Tomorrow, from Input to Output. By inputting criteria into initial conditions and laws, that guide the world to compute an answer to the Programmer's question. I don't know what that question was, but it is the reason we are here in space-time. And the answer to that reason is the "Purpose" of this experiment in evolutionary programming. All I know is that it seems to involve increasing complexity & organization of matter & energy & mind.
In the Real world, each physical effect must be preceded by a physical cause. Except, when the cause is an idea in a mind. That's often called "the power of ideas", or "agency", or "creativity". So, the notion of a mental (meta-physical) Cause is not so far-fetched. Yes, I'm aware of the notion that even creative ideas can be traced back to a chain of physical causes, but what if the First Cause was the metaphorical pool-shooter, standing outside the pool table (physical universe)? That aiming Agency is the "Source" of all information in the world, which is also the source of all forms in the world. Ironically, in the Enformationism thesis, the Cause is also the Effect, in the sense that the Enformer is both transcendent & immanent. It consists of Potential Information (power to enform), which is a shape-shifting force similar to Energy, which is the "source" of Mass and Matter.
The bottom line of all this speculation is that, like the immaterial human mind, the Meta-Physical Mind of the Programmer exists in the form of Creative Power (EnFormAction) : which is both the Enformer and the Enformed, both the Creator and the Creature. A philosophical label for such a Power Input, which is also the Output, is PanEnDeism. Look it up.
EnFormAction :
Ententional Causation. A proposed metaphysical law of the universe that causes random interactions between forces and particles to produce novel & stable arrangements of matter & energy. It’s the creative force (aka : Divine Will) of the axiomatic eternal deity that, for unknown reasons, programmed a Singularity to suddenly burst into our reality from an infinite source of possibility. AKA : The creative power of Evolution; the power to enform; Logos; Change.
http://blog-glossary.enformationism.info/page8.html
LOGOS : abstract mathematical rules of relationships, that we call Logic or Reason. What we call "Mathematics" is simply Symbolic Logic as we imagine it metaphorically. Those rules determine how real things fit together into a holistic Structure.
Causality is an abstraction that indicates how the world progresses. So basic a concept that it is more apt as an explanation of other concepts of progression than as something to be explained by others more basic. The concept is like those of agency and efficacy. For this reason, a leap of intuition may be needed to grasp it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causality
How the Universe Remembers Information :
Nonetheless, physicists are on the hunt for evidence of an observable “memory effect” left behind by gravity that could soon be picked up in a lab.
https://nautil.us/issue/69/patterns/how ... nformation
How is time an abstract concept? :
Time is a abstraction, a filing system used to arrange events and memories into a logical system of cause and effect. Per relativity, space and time are not discrete entities, but a single construct called spacetime.
https://www.britannica.com/science/space-time
Good questions! I don't pretend to know the answer to those un-verifiable metaphysical conundra. All I know is that an Aristotelian First Cause is logically necessary to explain the existence of our contingent cause & effect world. So, I adopt the Aquinian Necessary Being as the axiom of my Information-based worldview. Whatever that non-contingent Entity might be, it serves as the "Eternal Basis of All". Or as Tillch so eloquently phrased it : the Ground of Being --- the eternal foundation of the space-time structure we call Home.
Unfortunately, anything prior to the initial Act of Creation (Big Bang : Birth Pang) is not subject to empirical verification. However, using normal philosophical methods of inference, I can establish a few logically necessary qualities of the Programmer of those initial conditions, and the evolutionary development of emergent features. For example, a primary characteristic of the presumptive FC is the creative power (Potential) to enform a new physical world from nothing but Cosmic Power, Which in my information-centered thesis I call EnFormAction (Meta-Physical Energy ; power to give form to the formless). If that notion sounds far-fetched, it is supported by logical argument and scientific evidence in the Enformationism thesis.
Most cosmologists agree that, for anything to exist in Space-Time, something must be Infinite & Eternal. But they typically think of that "something" as Natural Laws & Energy, which are not things but concepts. Yet, as a philosopher, not bound by the rules of space-time, I can conjecture into the un-bounded void beyond the Big Bang beginning. And I have various names for the eternal nothing that gave birth to something : i.e. everything in our world. And one name for that non-physical non-thing is Enformer : the creative power to convert Potential into Actual.
Most alternatives to a god-like Cause assume (without evidence) that Natural Laws and Constructive Energy have always existed (eternal Potential). And I agree, except that I call the mathematical "laws" of Nature : LOGOS. And the ability to "do work" (cause change) is what I call EnFormAction (the power to cause changes in Form). Moreover, I define "Form", not as a physical shape, but as the mathematical structure of each real thing. That's my interpretation of Plato's posited Source of all real things. If the logic of math & reason has always existed, rather than evolved, you could infer that it must be "infinitely smart", in the sense of encompassing all Possibilities.
By definition, any First Cause must have causal "input" in order to encode the criteria for a new world, in the form of initial conditions (constants, definitions) and rules for interaction (natural laws). That's why I use the metaphor of a Programmer to describe the FC. Our world was "born" with all the genetic information (constants & laws) necessary to compute a universe from a sub-atomic-scale dot of data. So, the data input was the program we call "Nature", which is currently running (evolving) on the self-creating self-organizing "machine" we call our World.
The "memory" (temporary repository or register) for all that calculating (energy exchanges) is Matter, which takes on physical forms as defined by the program criteria. Another theory of cosmic memory is the imprint of physical changes and energy exchanges on the gravitational field (see link below). I don't know much about such things. But, it's usually assumed by scientists and philosophers, that every change in the world leaves a trace (encoded information) behind. Long ago, I read an excellent sci-fi novel that was based on that notion. And that was long before the LIGO observatory detected gravitational waves from distant galaxies.
The "relations of concepts" you question, would be what we call the Logic of Nature, which we know primarily in terms of abstract Mathematics. But we also imagine natural relations in terms of Space & Time, which are metaphysical concepts, not physical things. We perceive such abstractions in terms of metaphors, that only exist as mental images. That's why we can only communicate our ideas about such non-entities in the form of Meta-Physical Metaphors.
How could the presumed Creative Cause "make plans"? Presumably, in the same way human minds create imaginary scenarios, and then plot a course to make it real. The best laid plans of gods and men, oft go awry. Unless, the planner is an omnipotent programmer, with the power to control how the universe gets from Now to Tomorrow, from Input to Output. By inputting criteria into initial conditions and laws, that guide the world to compute an answer to the Programmer's question. I don't know what that question was, but it is the reason we are here in space-time. And the answer to that reason is the "Purpose" of this experiment in evolutionary programming. All I know is that it seems to involve increasing complexity & organization of matter & energy & mind.
In the Real world, each physical effect must be preceded by a physical cause. Except, when the cause is an idea in a mind. That's often called "the power of ideas", or "agency", or "creativity". So, the notion of a mental (meta-physical) Cause is not so far-fetched. Yes, I'm aware of the notion that even creative ideas can be traced back to a chain of physical causes, but what if the First Cause was the metaphorical pool-shooter, standing outside the pool table (physical universe)? That aiming Agency is the "Source" of all information in the world, which is also the source of all forms in the world. Ironically, in the Enformationism thesis, the Cause is also the Effect, in the sense that the Enformer is both transcendent & immanent. It consists of Potential Information (power to enform), which is a shape-shifting force similar to Energy, which is the "source" of Mass and Matter.
The bottom line of all this speculation is that, like the immaterial human mind, the Meta-Physical Mind of the Programmer exists in the form of Creative Power (EnFormAction) : which is both the Enformer and the Enformed, both the Creator and the Creature. A philosophical label for such a Power Input, which is also the Output, is PanEnDeism. Look it up.
EnFormAction :
Ententional Causation. A proposed metaphysical law of the universe that causes random interactions between forces and particles to produce novel & stable arrangements of matter & energy. It’s the creative force (aka : Divine Will) of the axiomatic eternal deity that, for unknown reasons, programmed a Singularity to suddenly burst into our reality from an infinite source of possibility. AKA : The creative power of Evolution; the power to enform; Logos; Change.
http://blog-glossary.enformationism.info/page8.html
LOGOS : abstract mathematical rules of relationships, that we call Logic or Reason. What we call "Mathematics" is simply Symbolic Logic as we imagine it metaphorically. Those rules determine how real things fit together into a holistic Structure.
Causality is an abstraction that indicates how the world progresses. So basic a concept that it is more apt as an explanation of other concepts of progression than as something to be explained by others more basic. The concept is like those of agency and efficacy. For this reason, a leap of intuition may be needed to grasp it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causality
How the Universe Remembers Information :
Nonetheless, physicists are on the hunt for evidence of an observable “memory effect” left behind by gravity that could soon be picked up in a lab.
https://nautil.us/issue/69/patterns/how ... nformation
How is time an abstract concept? :
Time is a abstraction, a filing system used to arrange events and memories into a logical system of cause and effect. Per relativity, space and time are not discrete entities, but a single construct called spacetime.
https://www.britannica.com/science/space-time
Re: TPF : Metaphysics Again
so, yeah, "obviously" you've not familiarized what I've spoon-fed to you. — 180 Proof
Obviously you are not swallowing what I poke at you, and vice-versa. So, what might cause two intelligent people to have a "failure to communicate"? That is the ultimate question for Philosophy. But the most common cause is a clash of worldviews or attitudes, in which words have different meanings, and motives are contradictory. I think our worldviews are not so different, but both of ours seem to be custom-made, so we're comparing apples and oranges.
https://nancyfriedman.com/wp-content/up ... 8/09/0.jpg
Obviously you are not swallowing what I poke at you, and vice-versa. So, what might cause two intelligent people to have a "failure to communicate"? That is the ultimate question for Philosophy. But the most common cause is a clash of worldviews or attitudes, in which words have different meanings, and motives are contradictory. I think our worldviews are not so different, but both of ours seem to be custom-made, so we're comparing apples and oranges.
https://nancyfriedman.com/wp-content/up ... 8/09/0.jpg
Re: TPF : Metaphysics Again
Pro-tip: as much as and whenever possible, for clarity's sake, avoid sumarizing in your "own words". A thesaurus and philosophical dictionary don't bite. — 180 Proof
I get the feeling that you are talking down to me, but not dumbing-it-down enough. I'm not a Pro, merely an amateur cogitator. I have no formal training in Philosophy, and most of my reading has been in hard Science, not fashionable ideologies. So, when I refer to a technical philosophical issue, I have to paraphrase it in my own words, in order to understand it. Teach me as-if I'm a six year old.
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.”
― Albert Einstein
I get the feeling that you are talking down to me, but not dumbing-it-down enough. I'm not a Pro, merely an amateur cogitator. I have no formal training in Philosophy, and most of my reading has been in hard Science, not fashionable ideologies. So, when I refer to a technical philosophical issue, I have to paraphrase it in my own words, in order to understand it. Teach me as-if I'm a six year old.
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.”
― Albert Einstein
Re: TPF : Metaphysics Again
'If we eliminate (negate) the ways the actual world necessarily could not have been or cannot be described, then what remains is every way the actual world – phase space – possibly could have been or can be described.' — 180 Proof
My problem with Sherlock's eliminative method is that, to be as certain as he seemed to be, you must begin negating from a position of Omniscience. Otherwise, you could omit something important from your list of necessities. Remember, the Butterfly Effect is predicated on a few seemingly minor differences in initial conditions. Sherlock's "deductions" from first principles were actually inductions from limited evidence and unprovable assumptions.
For example, presumably an omniscient Creator or Programmer of the actual world, would consider all possible forms, and then actualize only the "best of all possible worlds", as Leibniz claimed. In that case, what we know as Reality is already the result of a cosmic sifting process, but still full of conditional possibilites. That's why statisticians, whose job is to eliminate uncertainty as much as possible, begin by plotting a few known points, and then interpolate a Normal curve, from which they make their best guess predictions. Yet, those carefully aimed forecasts rapidly succumb to randomness over time & space.
Thus, for those of us who are not omniscient, we are faced with the mind-boggling mega-zillions of Possibilities that remain in a world of zillions of Potential combinations of physical & metaphysical interactions. For me, that would be a daunting task. I have no way of knowing all the "ways the actual world could not have been". So, I have to begin my investigation into Reality from a position of limited personal knowledge (plot points). And most of that "knowledge" is general & vague, instead of specific & precise. Consequently, my Normal Curve -- plotted from a few points of positive evidence -- has many degrees of possibility (phase space) in which to go wrong.
Therefore, unlike Sherlock, my attempts to see beyond the Big Bang, would not present a high degree of confidence. So, all I can say is that it works for me right here and right now. But I could be wrong. Absolutely wrong. Which is why I have to qualify my deductions (or inductions) as merely reasonable guesses. And your guess could be as good as mine, as long as the reasoning is not mis-aimed by false premises : initial assumptions. That's why philosophers are not prophets. They can only compare a variety of personal guesses to see what they have in common. On this forum, our range of worldviews is wide, but we are forced to view them in the light of skepticism & critical thinking from different perspectives. That said, I can see some overlap in our personal paradigms, but the non-intersecting parts are still a bit fuzzy.
My problem with Sherlock's eliminative method is that, to be as certain as he seemed to be, you must begin negating from a position of Omniscience. Otherwise, you could omit something important from your list of necessities. Remember, the Butterfly Effect is predicated on a few seemingly minor differences in initial conditions. Sherlock's "deductions" from first principles were actually inductions from limited evidence and unprovable assumptions.
For example, presumably an omniscient Creator or Programmer of the actual world, would consider all possible forms, and then actualize only the "best of all possible worlds", as Leibniz claimed. In that case, what we know as Reality is already the result of a cosmic sifting process, but still full of conditional possibilites. That's why statisticians, whose job is to eliminate uncertainty as much as possible, begin by plotting a few known points, and then interpolate a Normal curve, from which they make their best guess predictions. Yet, those carefully aimed forecasts rapidly succumb to randomness over time & space.
Thus, for those of us who are not omniscient, we are faced with the mind-boggling mega-zillions of Possibilities that remain in a world of zillions of Potential combinations of physical & metaphysical interactions. For me, that would be a daunting task. I have no way of knowing all the "ways the actual world could not have been". So, I have to begin my investigation into Reality from a position of limited personal knowledge (plot points). And most of that "knowledge" is general & vague, instead of specific & precise. Consequently, my Normal Curve -- plotted from a few points of positive evidence -- has many degrees of possibility (phase space) in which to go wrong.
Therefore, unlike Sherlock, my attempts to see beyond the Big Bang, would not present a high degree of confidence. So, all I can say is that it works for me right here and right now. But I could be wrong. Absolutely wrong. Which is why I have to qualify my deductions (or inductions) as merely reasonable guesses. And your guess could be as good as mine, as long as the reasoning is not mis-aimed by false premises : initial assumptions. That's why philosophers are not prophets. They can only compare a variety of personal guesses to see what they have in common. On this forum, our range of worldviews is wide, but we are forced to view them in the light of skepticism & critical thinking from different perspectives. That said, I can see some overlap in our personal paradigms, but the non-intersecting parts are still a bit fuzzy.
Re: TPF : Metaphysics Again
Well, I'm keeping my word, I've made my last attempt to discuss my speculations with you, Gnomon. — 180 Proof
Hey! I didn't mean to offend you with my non-comprehension of your "via negativa" speculations. That approach is just as valid as my "via positiva" for conjectures beyond the scope of empirical science. It just doesn't fit my personal amateur methodology. I'm sure that lots of philosophers, including the Buddha, respond to ineffable topics with negations and koans. Even in my thesis, I admit that negations can carry Information. For example, "Zero" and "Infinity" are words & symbols that stand-in for that which is unknowable, yet meaningful. Apparently, you don't grok my Enformationism worldview either. And that's OK. I'm aware that it's an abstract & holistic concept that's hard to wrap your mind around. Merry Holidays to you!
db496225e93d837751e57036192559e5-1.png
Nassim Nicholas Taleb defines Via Negativa as, “The principle that we know what is wrong with more clarity than what is right, and that knowledge grows by subtraction.
https://coffeeandjunk.com/via-negativa/
Hey! I didn't mean to offend you with my non-comprehension of your "via negativa" speculations. That approach is just as valid as my "via positiva" for conjectures beyond the scope of empirical science. It just doesn't fit my personal amateur methodology. I'm sure that lots of philosophers, including the Buddha, respond to ineffable topics with negations and koans. Even in my thesis, I admit that negations can carry Information. For example, "Zero" and "Infinity" are words & symbols that stand-in for that which is unknowable, yet meaningful. Apparently, you don't grok my Enformationism worldview either. And that's OK. I'm aware that it's an abstract & holistic concept that's hard to wrap your mind around. Merry Holidays to you!
db496225e93d837751e57036192559e5-1.png
Nassim Nicholas Taleb defines Via Negativa as, “The principle that we know what is wrong with more clarity than what is right, and that knowledge grows by subtraction.
https://coffeeandjunk.com/via-negativa/
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