I'm starting this thread as a place to discuss ideas in David M. Wolf's book, Philosophy That Works. I'm primarily interested in his concept of Enformation, which seems to be similar to my own notion of EnFormAction. We can also discuss more general philosophical topics that are raised in the book. I have invited Mr. Wolf to participate.
My book review is at this URL on the Blog : http://bothandblog2.enformationism.info/page18.html
Enformation & EnFormAction
Re: Enformation & EnFormAction
This is an excerpt from an email to David M. Wolf, author of Philosophy That Works. He coined the term Enformation to indicate the intimate relationship between physical Energy and metaphysical Information :
I'm a retired architect with no training in philosophy. But I have always jotted notes about ideas that I was trying to wrap my mind around. During the Great Recession, when I had too much free time, I created the Enformationism website to organize some notions I had been playing with since I became aware of the dual functions of Shannon's Information theory. The general idea, as an alternative to Materialism, was triggered by a remark from a physicist, that quantum "particles" were less like lumps of matter, and more like immaterial mathematical patterns of information.
Some of the terms you used in developing your Enformation concept, were similar to those I discussed in my own concept of EnFormAction : Entropy, Fuzzy Logic, BEING, the ONE, holos (Holism), Life (enforms itself), True/False (BothAnd), Gravity (enforming force), enformative power (Enformy), Seeming (appearance), etc. However, where you seemed to be content with a philosophical application of the Enformation notion, I went on to "muddy the waters" by exploring its implications for Science and Religion and Cosmology.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the Enformationism thesis is the axiom of a Creator or Programmer who encoded the Big Bang Singularity with a program that progresses toward some ultimate resolution. Most scientists, and a few modern philosophers, are uneasy about attributing directional progress to the meandering path of evolution (see Progressophobia below). For many modern thinkers "progress" is a dirty word, because it smacks of divine destiny. But my image of G*D is more like Brahman than Jehovah, a general creative principle instead of a humanoid ruler. This kind of deity doesn't do anything in particular, but everything in general. Hence, the universe is not pre-destined, but more like an experiment.
I'm also an introvert, which may explain why I spend a lot of time interacting with a computer, instead of people. And that could also be why I lack the knack for narrative, and for discursive dialog, making my writing rather tedious and technical. Although the concepts in my thesis have been "carefully thought out", the thinking has been done mostly in isolation. Other than a few forums, I have had very few correspondents to "toss around" ideas with. Without informed critics, weird ideas can be self-reinforcing.
Anyway, in my blog, I'm just putting my ideas out there for any stray browsers that accidentally happen upon it. As someone once said about poetry, "there are more people writing it than reading it". Thanks for responding to my invitation to compare notes.
Note : the Enformationism website hasn't been updated in several years.
Introduction : http://enformationism.info/page4.html
Thesis Summation : http://enformationism.info/page25.html
Latest Blog post, Progressophobia : http://bothandblog2.enformationism.info/page9.html
I'm a retired architect with no training in philosophy. But I have always jotted notes about ideas that I was trying to wrap my mind around. During the Great Recession, when I had too much free time, I created the Enformationism website to organize some notions I had been playing with since I became aware of the dual functions of Shannon's Information theory. The general idea, as an alternative to Materialism, was triggered by a remark from a physicist, that quantum "particles" were less like lumps of matter, and more like immaterial mathematical patterns of information.
Some of the terms you used in developing your Enformation concept, were similar to those I discussed in my own concept of EnFormAction : Entropy, Fuzzy Logic, BEING, the ONE, holos (Holism), Life (enforms itself), True/False (BothAnd), Gravity (enforming force), enformative power (Enformy), Seeming (appearance), etc. However, where you seemed to be content with a philosophical application of the Enformation notion, I went on to "muddy the waters" by exploring its implications for Science and Religion and Cosmology.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the Enformationism thesis is the axiom of a Creator or Programmer who encoded the Big Bang Singularity with a program that progresses toward some ultimate resolution. Most scientists, and a few modern philosophers, are uneasy about attributing directional progress to the meandering path of evolution (see Progressophobia below). For many modern thinkers "progress" is a dirty word, because it smacks of divine destiny. But my image of G*D is more like Brahman than Jehovah, a general creative principle instead of a humanoid ruler. This kind of deity doesn't do anything in particular, but everything in general. Hence, the universe is not pre-destined, but more like an experiment.
I'm also an introvert, which may explain why I spend a lot of time interacting with a computer, instead of people. And that could also be why I lack the knack for narrative, and for discursive dialog, making my writing rather tedious and technical. Although the concepts in my thesis have been "carefully thought out", the thinking has been done mostly in isolation. Other than a few forums, I have had very few correspondents to "toss around" ideas with. Without informed critics, weird ideas can be self-reinforcing.
Anyway, in my blog, I'm just putting my ideas out there for any stray browsers that accidentally happen upon it. As someone once said about poetry, "there are more people writing it than reading it". Thanks for responding to my invitation to compare notes.
Note : the Enformationism website hasn't been updated in several years.
Introduction : http://enformationism.info/page4.html
Thesis Summation : http://enformationism.info/page25.html
Latest Blog post, Progressophobia : http://bothandblog2.enformationism.info/page9.html
Re: Enformation & EnFormAction
This is an excerpt from an email to David Wolf regarding the parallels between his coined word "Enformation" and my own novel terminology "EnFormAction" :
Thanks for the feedback on a variety of topics loosely related to the Enformation concept. Yes, I do think my Enformationism worldview is a type of Idealism. But it's not the kind that denies mundane reality. Instead, in keeping with the BothAnd principle, it accepts that material Reality is what we perceive through our physical senses, and that immaterial Ideality is what we conceive via our metaphysical sense of Reason : the ability to add two & two to discover something more than those parts. Enformationism is a kind of Holism, a summing of real things in order to learn about the general pattern or prototype (Form) that is reflected in a collection of specific instances. For example, G*D is defined as the whole of which we all (humans, animals, universe) are constituent parts. But the whole is more than the parts, it's the structure that binds them together, and information is the glue.
For most scientists, research into Ideal concepts is indeed best restricted to the feckless philosophical realm of metaphysics. But, Shannon showed that modern technology can transform old-fashioned knowledge & meaning into a variety of physical forms, such as pulses of electricity, and it can even be extracted from the condensed energy we call “matter”. Although he was not concerned with the metaphysical aspects of his discovery, several prominent scientists have since concluded that everything in the world is built upon a foundation of Information, even more fundamental than Energy or Matter.
From those developments, I concluded that Plato was not a crackpot when he imagined a perfect super-world of ideal Forms. And I was intrigued by the possibility that those perfect archetypes might be equivalent to ideas in the mind of God. So, I have proceeded to “read information into the universe”, rather than to stick with the pre-Shannon assumption that it's only a “human thing”. Nowadays, Information is everywhere. For example, physicist Max Tegmark believes that our material universe is actually a mathematical construct. And human culture is made of Memes.
My references to G*D may sound spiritual, but I must clarify that it's not the same as the old-fashioned Spiritualism that grew out of Christianity. Instead, I think of Information as a modern scientific replacement for the ancient notion of Spirit, Soul, Chi, or Prana. Those early attempts to understand how invisible forces function were good guesses, but we now know a lot more about how the world works; in great detail, as opposed to vague pre-scientific conjectures. So, for me, “G*D” and “Sp*rit” are merely updates of outdated concepts, for the purpose of communication with those who are not up to date with the jargon of cutting edge science.
I grew up in a fundamentalist protestant Christian sect, but upon reaching majority, I had figured-out that its sole source of information about God, the Bible, was not a divine manuscript, but a work of ordinary fallible men. Still, the fear of eternal torment in an either/or afterlife had been instilled in me with my Mother's milk. So it took years before I was self-assured enough to make a complete break with my religion. After college, I attended the local Unity church, partly for fellowship, partly to meet girls, but mostly to see if I could salvage some connection with God, that didn't depend on blind faith in human books and institutions. Unfortunately, I found the Unity church to be a bit too open-minded, with members free to believe in whatever New Age notions appealed to them [see PS].
Although the New Age & Eastern & Gnostic worldviews have much to recommend them, I am too much of a rationalist & empiricist to swallow metaphysical fictions without some reproducible evidence to support them. If they are not able to withstand skeptical scrutiny, their beliefs are no more believable than those of scripture-based Christianity or Islam or Mormonism. After years of observation, I have found no plausible evidence for the confusing variety of paranormal & psychic notions. So, the only ancient worldviews that come close to meeting my criteria are non-religious philosophies, such as Stoicism and Buddhism.
It seems that my high standards for belief have left me with little to believe in. Consequently, my Enformationism worldview is not a stable comfortable belief system, but an unsure ongoing search for understanding. Yet, as an amateur philosopher, I remain “willing to listen and talk to others” of various persuasions, as I continue to gather evidence for & against my own open-ended worldview. Unfortunately, as an introvert, I rarely attend social events like Plato's Symposium, where a dialectic of ideas can be experienced, along with food & wine & fellowship. Instead, my socializing is mostly done anonymously on internet forums (e.g. Quora), which seem to mostly recycle the same old philosophical questions raised by Socrates. But occasionally some novel form arises, such as Chris Langan's Cognitive Theoretic Model of the Universe (CTMU), that may lead to new insights . . . or not.
Thanks again for the correspondence. If you want to discuss the ramifications of the Enformation notion further, we can continue on the BothAnd Forum*. I may post excerpts of these emails, to get things started. E you later. ____John
PS__I need an element of necessity for my beliefs. That's why I don't like the occult aspect of most religions. If there are aspects of the world that are hidden from human senses & rational faculties, and revealed only via direct revelation to a select few prophets and psychics, then we are at the mercy of mundane con-men who rely on faith instead of facts. In the Enformationism worldview, Nature is an open book, and the only thing hidden from human minds is the axiomatic creator (or First Cause) of our reality, and whatever purpose prompted the realization of a natural world. With those exceptions, everything Real or Ideal should be accessible to inquiring minds.
Thanks for the feedback on a variety of topics loosely related to the Enformation concept. Yes, I do think my Enformationism worldview is a type of Idealism. But it's not the kind that denies mundane reality. Instead, in keeping with the BothAnd principle, it accepts that material Reality is what we perceive through our physical senses, and that immaterial Ideality is what we conceive via our metaphysical sense of Reason : the ability to add two & two to discover something more than those parts. Enformationism is a kind of Holism, a summing of real things in order to learn about the general pattern or prototype (Form) that is reflected in a collection of specific instances. For example, G*D is defined as the whole of which we all (humans, animals, universe) are constituent parts. But the whole is more than the parts, it's the structure that binds them together, and information is the glue.
For most scientists, research into Ideal concepts is indeed best restricted to the feckless philosophical realm of metaphysics. But, Shannon showed that modern technology can transform old-fashioned knowledge & meaning into a variety of physical forms, such as pulses of electricity, and it can even be extracted from the condensed energy we call “matter”. Although he was not concerned with the metaphysical aspects of his discovery, several prominent scientists have since concluded that everything in the world is built upon a foundation of Information, even more fundamental than Energy or Matter.
From those developments, I concluded that Plato was not a crackpot when he imagined a perfect super-world of ideal Forms. And I was intrigued by the possibility that those perfect archetypes might be equivalent to ideas in the mind of God. So, I have proceeded to “read information into the universe”, rather than to stick with the pre-Shannon assumption that it's only a “human thing”. Nowadays, Information is everywhere. For example, physicist Max Tegmark believes that our material universe is actually a mathematical construct. And human culture is made of Memes.
My references to G*D may sound spiritual, but I must clarify that it's not the same as the old-fashioned Spiritualism that grew out of Christianity. Instead, I think of Information as a modern scientific replacement for the ancient notion of Spirit, Soul, Chi, or Prana. Those early attempts to understand how invisible forces function were good guesses, but we now know a lot more about how the world works; in great detail, as opposed to vague pre-scientific conjectures. So, for me, “G*D” and “Sp*rit” are merely updates of outdated concepts, for the purpose of communication with those who are not up to date with the jargon of cutting edge science.
I grew up in a fundamentalist protestant Christian sect, but upon reaching majority, I had figured-out that its sole source of information about God, the Bible, was not a divine manuscript, but a work of ordinary fallible men. Still, the fear of eternal torment in an either/or afterlife had been instilled in me with my Mother's milk. So it took years before I was self-assured enough to make a complete break with my religion. After college, I attended the local Unity church, partly for fellowship, partly to meet girls, but mostly to see if I could salvage some connection with God, that didn't depend on blind faith in human books and institutions. Unfortunately, I found the Unity church to be a bit too open-minded, with members free to believe in whatever New Age notions appealed to them [see PS].
Although the New Age & Eastern & Gnostic worldviews have much to recommend them, I am too much of a rationalist & empiricist to swallow metaphysical fictions without some reproducible evidence to support them. If they are not able to withstand skeptical scrutiny, their beliefs are no more believable than those of scripture-based Christianity or Islam or Mormonism. After years of observation, I have found no plausible evidence for the confusing variety of paranormal & psychic notions. So, the only ancient worldviews that come close to meeting my criteria are non-religious philosophies, such as Stoicism and Buddhism.
It seems that my high standards for belief have left me with little to believe in. Consequently, my Enformationism worldview is not a stable comfortable belief system, but an unsure ongoing search for understanding. Yet, as an amateur philosopher, I remain “willing to listen and talk to others” of various persuasions, as I continue to gather evidence for & against my own open-ended worldview. Unfortunately, as an introvert, I rarely attend social events like Plato's Symposium, where a dialectic of ideas can be experienced, along with food & wine & fellowship. Instead, my socializing is mostly done anonymously on internet forums (e.g. Quora), which seem to mostly recycle the same old philosophical questions raised by Socrates. But occasionally some novel form arises, such as Chris Langan's Cognitive Theoretic Model of the Universe (CTMU), that may lead to new insights . . . or not.
Thanks again for the correspondence. If you want to discuss the ramifications of the Enformation notion further, we can continue on the BothAnd Forum*. I may post excerpts of these emails, to get things started. E you later. ____John
PS__I need an element of necessity for my beliefs. That's why I don't like the occult aspect of most religions. If there are aspects of the world that are hidden from human senses & rational faculties, and revealed only via direct revelation to a select few prophets and psychics, then we are at the mercy of mundane con-men who rely on faith instead of facts. In the Enformationism worldview, Nature is an open book, and the only thing hidden from human minds is the axiomatic creator (or First Cause) of our reality, and whatever purpose prompted the realization of a natural world. With those exceptions, everything Real or Ideal should be accessible to inquiring minds.
Re: Enformation & EnFormAction
This is an excerpt from an email to David Wolf regarding some of his concerns about my expanded scope of the basic Enformation concept :
Quote : "But why then introduce a neologism like ‘enformation’?"
At first I spelled the name of my proposed 21st century worldview as "Informationism". But I soon found that spelling was already in use, with a different meaning from my intention. So, I changed it to "Enformationism", partly to indicate its connection to Energy & Entropy. But as the concept developed, it became more specific, and farther from the traditional or Shannon understanding of what Information is and does. That's why my website and blog have extensive glossaries to clarify the intended meanings of my terminology, and to distinguish them from unintended associations. Like you, I was forced into it.
If I had stuck with the dictionary spelling, I'd also be stuck with the pre-21st century connotations of either Mind Stuff or Computer Stuff; Soft Ideas or Hard Data. So my neologism of EnFormAction is intended to emphasize the BothAnd nature of universal information. For example, quantum fields are manifested in both hard particles and soft waves, which are contextual forms of mathematical information. For me, EnFormAction is no more of a metaphor than Energy or Entropy. It describes a real phenomenon in the physical world, equivalent to the mysterious force the ancients called "spirit" & "mind" & "soul", and what Bergson called "elan vital". Scientists don't know what Energy "is", only what it "does". The novel Enformation concept is an attempt to shed light on that dark gap in our knowledge.
Here's a few of my abridged glossary definitions. Do they sound like the conventional meaning of Information? Of course, due to religious & scientific preconceptions, they may only further "confuse readers".
<< Information : In Shannon’s theory, Information is a measure of order, as opposed to Entropy, measuring disorder. In my theory, the Big Bang was an act of creation, when Cosmos (order, structure) was imposed upon Chaos (disorder, randomness). Hence, the hypothetical Creator/Deity is described as the Enformer. Chaos is a static state of infinite Potential (generic power), and Cosmos is a dynamic evolution of Actualized possibilities. As imagined by Plato, eternal ideal Forms (concepts, designs) are instantiated as temporal real Things (objects, processes). Hence, information is the spiritual essence of a material thing, the meaning of an action.>>
<< Enformationism : A personal philosophical worldview based on the notion that the universe is essentially a process of en-formation, of creation. According to Shannon’s theory, matter & energy are forms of Information. My theory is a BothAnd cross between Idealism and Materialism.>>
<< EnFormAction : 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. It's the creative power of Evolution; the power to enform; the act of enforming.>>
Quote : "But why then introduce a neologism like ‘enformation’?"
At first I spelled the name of my proposed 21st century worldview as "Informationism". But I soon found that spelling was already in use, with a different meaning from my intention. So, I changed it to "Enformationism", partly to indicate its connection to Energy & Entropy. But as the concept developed, it became more specific, and farther from the traditional or Shannon understanding of what Information is and does. That's why my website and blog have extensive glossaries to clarify the intended meanings of my terminology, and to distinguish them from unintended associations. Like you, I was forced into it.
If I had stuck with the dictionary spelling, I'd also be stuck with the pre-21st century connotations of either Mind Stuff or Computer Stuff; Soft Ideas or Hard Data. So my neologism of EnFormAction is intended to emphasize the BothAnd nature of universal information. For example, quantum fields are manifested in both hard particles and soft waves, which are contextual forms of mathematical information. For me, EnFormAction is no more of a metaphor than Energy or Entropy. It describes a real phenomenon in the physical world, equivalent to the mysterious force the ancients called "spirit" & "mind" & "soul", and what Bergson called "elan vital". Scientists don't know what Energy "is", only what it "does". The novel Enformation concept is an attempt to shed light on that dark gap in our knowledge.
Here's a few of my abridged glossary definitions. Do they sound like the conventional meaning of Information? Of course, due to religious & scientific preconceptions, they may only further "confuse readers".
<< Information : In Shannon’s theory, Information is a measure of order, as opposed to Entropy, measuring disorder. In my theory, the Big Bang was an act of creation, when Cosmos (order, structure) was imposed upon Chaos (disorder, randomness). Hence, the hypothetical Creator/Deity is described as the Enformer. Chaos is a static state of infinite Potential (generic power), and Cosmos is a dynamic evolution of Actualized possibilities. As imagined by Plato, eternal ideal Forms (concepts, designs) are instantiated as temporal real Things (objects, processes). Hence, information is the spiritual essence of a material thing, the meaning of an action.>>
<< Enformationism : A personal philosophical worldview based on the notion that the universe is essentially a process of en-formation, of creation. According to Shannon’s theory, matter & energy are forms of Information. My theory is a BothAnd cross between Idealism and Materialism.>>
<< EnFormAction : 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. It's the creative power of Evolution; the power to enform; the act of enforming.>>
Re: Enformation & EnFormAction
This is an excerpt from an email to David Wolf in response to some of his reservations about using his metaphysical metaphor of Enformation as-if it was a real-world phenomenon instead of just a philosophical device for argumentation :
Quote : "I said ‘information’ as obtaining in the real world would be a metaphor."
For most scientists, Information is as real, and unreal, as mathematics. Most of them treat it as inert stuff to be manipulated by humans like matter. But when spelled with an "e", enformation denotes an active force, more like energy. That's why I spelled it EnFormAction, to emphasize the dynamic, causative, creative aspects of the power to enform. It's both the hardware and the software of reality.
When I realized that the physical world not only was made of Information, in the form of Matter, but actually created by Enformation, in the form of Energy & Laws, I concluded that some kind of universal Mind must be involved. That's why my personal worldview requires the axiom of a god-like source of all Information and Enformation. That deity is still a hypothesis, but it is the glue that holds all other parts of the Enformationism thesis together.
That super-natural notion is indeed un-real and metaphorical for most scientists, but philosophers like Spinoza, and physicists like Paul Davies, seem to find it reasonable as a holistic, non-reductive explanation for Reality.
Quote : "I said ‘information’ as obtaining in the real world would be a metaphor."
For most scientists, Information is as real, and unreal, as mathematics. Most of them treat it as inert stuff to be manipulated by humans like matter. But when spelled with an "e", enformation denotes an active force, more like energy. That's why I spelled it EnFormAction, to emphasize the dynamic, causative, creative aspects of the power to enform. It's both the hardware and the software of reality.
When I realized that the physical world not only was made of Information, in the form of Matter, but actually created by Enformation, in the form of Energy & Laws, I concluded that some kind of universal Mind must be involved. That's why my personal worldview requires the axiom of a god-like source of all Information and Enformation. That deity is still a hypothesis, but it is the glue that holds all other parts of the Enformationism thesis together.
That super-natural notion is indeed un-real and metaphorical for most scientists, but philosophers like Spinoza, and physicists like Paul Davies, seem to find it reasonable as a holistic, non-reductive explanation for Reality.
Re: Enformation & EnFormAction
This is an excerpt from an email to David Wolf in response to some of his concerns about mixing philosophical metaphors with scientific facts :
Quote : "If you choose to find information in the universe"
I'm not the one that "chose" to find information in the physical universe. Before Claude Shannon, the common language word "information" referred only to the content of minds; to subjective knowledge. But then, the technical term was applied to functional biological codes, such as the chemical geometry of biological DNA, and to the meaningful coded content of non-biological systems, like computers. Eventually, it was equated by physicists with Energy and with sub-atomic particles. I have essays that discuss these usages, and give references, if you are interested in the technical details. Physics of Information, Quantum Information, etc : http://space.mit.edu/home/tegmark/technical.html
Quote : "But as a matter of analytical philosophy we don’t ordinarily use the word ‘information’ that way"
Again, its not just me making up stories with information as the hero. For example, check out the Information Philosopher at : http://www.informationphilosopher.com/introduction/
Quote : "I relied on a physics that does imply ‘information’ as applied to real things or systems is a metaphor"
Maybe you were just ahead of your time. Early applications of Information Theory were indeed tentatively proposed as metaphors, in part because, if taken literally & physically, it would imply that Consciousness is a fundamental element of the universe. A no-no for atheists. For example, in quantum mechanics : https://janszafranski.wordpress.com/201 ... mechanics/
Note : When I refer to any concept beyond the scope of space-time, I have no choice but to use metaphors and references that are known to the man on the street, such as "G*D", and "Divine Will".
Quote : "There is a considerable metaphysical leap involved in asserting that information is found in universe."
That's true. It's the same kind of metaphysical leap that prompted Copernicus and Galileo to propose abstract mathematical mechanisms as the organizing principles of the solar system, in opposition to the conventional wisdom that gods or angels were pushing the stars around. I'm merely taking the well-informed speculations of credentialed physicists and cosmologists to the next logical level : it's all mathematics, as in Logos : the term for a principle of order and knowledge.
Quote : "simply because we lack an accepted word to do the work I designed ‘enformation’ to do. "
That's exactly why I coined the term "Enformy". Because there was no accepted jargon to indicate the positive aspect of Thermodynamics, except the crude negation "negentropy". My coinage accentuates the positive.
Quote : "What is an EnFormAction?"
Any event, cause, or change in physics or in mind is an act of en-formation. Here are a couple of alternative definitions :
EnFormAction :Literally, the act of enforming --- to fashion, to create, to cause.
1. Metaphorically, the Will of God flowing through the world
to cause evolutionary change in a teleological direction.
2. Immaterial Information is almost always defined in terms
of its physical context or material container.
(e.g. mathematical DNA code in chemical form)
3. Raw En-Form-Action has few, if any, definable
perceivable qualities. By itself, Information is colorless,
odorless, and formless. Unlike colorless, odorless,
and formless water though, Information
gives physical form to whatever is defined by it.
4. Like DNA, Information shapes things via
internal rather than external constraints. Like
the Laws of Physics, Information is the motivating
& constraining force of physical reality.
Like Energy, Information is the universal active
agent of the cosmos. Like Spinoza's God,
Information appears to be the single substance
of the whole World.
5. Information is the divine Promethean power
of transformation. Information is Generic
in the sense of generating all forms from
a formless pool of possibility : the Platonic Forms.
EnFormAction : the creative power to enform; to cause transformations from one form to another.
1.As the generic power of creation (Big Bang, Singularity), it turns eternal Potential into temporal Actual, it transforms Platonic Forms into physical Things.
2. As physical energy (Causation), it is the power to cause changes in material structure.
3. As condensed energy (Matter), it is light speed vibrations slowed down to more stable states.
4. As animating energy (elan vital, Chi), it is the power to cause complex matter to self-move.
5. As mental energy (Consciousness; knowing), it is the power to store & process incoming information as meaning relative to self.
6. As self-awareness (Self-consciousness; Will-Power), it is the power to make intentional changes to self and environment.
7. As the holistic expression of the human Self (Soul), it is the essence or pattern that defines you as a person (Chi, Spirit).
NOTE : Also see Blog2 post, What is EnFormAction?
http://bothandblog2.enformationism.info/page29.html
Quote : "If you choose to find information in the universe"
I'm not the one that "chose" to find information in the physical universe. Before Claude Shannon, the common language word "information" referred only to the content of minds; to subjective knowledge. But then, the technical term was applied to functional biological codes, such as the chemical geometry of biological DNA, and to the meaningful coded content of non-biological systems, like computers. Eventually, it was equated by physicists with Energy and with sub-atomic particles. I have essays that discuss these usages, and give references, if you are interested in the technical details. Physics of Information, Quantum Information, etc : http://space.mit.edu/home/tegmark/technical.html
Quote : "But as a matter of analytical philosophy we don’t ordinarily use the word ‘information’ that way"
Again, its not just me making up stories with information as the hero. For example, check out the Information Philosopher at : http://www.informationphilosopher.com/introduction/
Quote : "I relied on a physics that does imply ‘information’ as applied to real things or systems is a metaphor"
Maybe you were just ahead of your time. Early applications of Information Theory were indeed tentatively proposed as metaphors, in part because, if taken literally & physically, it would imply that Consciousness is a fundamental element of the universe. A no-no for atheists. For example, in quantum mechanics : https://janszafranski.wordpress.com/201 ... mechanics/
Note : When I refer to any concept beyond the scope of space-time, I have no choice but to use metaphors and references that are known to the man on the street, such as "G*D", and "Divine Will".
Quote : "There is a considerable metaphysical leap involved in asserting that information is found in universe."
That's true. It's the same kind of metaphysical leap that prompted Copernicus and Galileo to propose abstract mathematical mechanisms as the organizing principles of the solar system, in opposition to the conventional wisdom that gods or angels were pushing the stars around. I'm merely taking the well-informed speculations of credentialed physicists and cosmologists to the next logical level : it's all mathematics, as in Logos : the term for a principle of order and knowledge.
Quote : "simply because we lack an accepted word to do the work I designed ‘enformation’ to do. "
That's exactly why I coined the term "Enformy". Because there was no accepted jargon to indicate the positive aspect of Thermodynamics, except the crude negation "negentropy". My coinage accentuates the positive.
Quote : "What is an EnFormAction?"
Any event, cause, or change in physics or in mind is an act of en-formation. Here are a couple of alternative definitions :
EnFormAction :Literally, the act of enforming --- to fashion, to create, to cause.
1. Metaphorically, the Will of God flowing through the world
to cause evolutionary change in a teleological direction.
2. Immaterial Information is almost always defined in terms
of its physical context or material container.
(e.g. mathematical DNA code in chemical form)
3. Raw En-Form-Action has few, if any, definable
perceivable qualities. By itself, Information is colorless,
odorless, and formless. Unlike colorless, odorless,
and formless water though, Information
gives physical form to whatever is defined by it.
4. Like DNA, Information shapes things via
internal rather than external constraints. Like
the Laws of Physics, Information is the motivating
& constraining force of physical reality.
Like Energy, Information is the universal active
agent of the cosmos. Like Spinoza's God,
Information appears to be the single substance
of the whole World.
5. Information is the divine Promethean power
of transformation. Information is Generic
in the sense of generating all forms from
a formless pool of possibility : the Platonic Forms.
EnFormAction : the creative power to enform; to cause transformations from one form to another.
1.As the generic power of creation (Big Bang, Singularity), it turns eternal Potential into temporal Actual, it transforms Platonic Forms into physical Things.
2. As physical energy (Causation), it is the power to cause changes in material structure.
3. As condensed energy (Matter), it is light speed vibrations slowed down to more stable states.
4. As animating energy (elan vital, Chi), it is the power to cause complex matter to self-move.
5. As mental energy (Consciousness; knowing), it is the power to store & process incoming information as meaning relative to self.
6. As self-awareness (Self-consciousness; Will-Power), it is the power to make intentional changes to self and environment.
7. As the holistic expression of the human Self (Soul), it is the essence or pattern that defines you as a person (Chi, Spirit).
NOTE : Also see Blog2 post, What is EnFormAction?
http://bothandblog2.enformationism.info/page29.html
Re: Enformation & EnFormAction
This is another excerpt from the ongoing email correspondence with David Wolf regarding the "reality" of Information in the physical world. He questions my assertion that Information is both metaphysical Qualia and physical Quanta. In the updated edition of his book, Philosophy That Works, he stopped using his own novel coinage "Enformation", and substituted Plato's ancient notion of ideal "Forms", which is treated more like an as-if metaphor than a realistic hypothesis :
"FORM" is simply the most general term for the notion that modern philosophers call "Information". I suspect that, in your new edition, you were uneasy about your metaphysical concept encroaching on the turf of physics, so you retreated to the tried & true Platonic myth of an imaginary realm, just for the sake of argument. But in the 21st century, Information is no longer imaginary, it's the substance of reality. Perhaps you were more prescient than you gave yourself credit for.
Of course, materialists are not yet convinced. But for those who can accommodate both Platonic Idealism and Empirical Realism within the same mind, it all makes sense. If you believe that metaphysical Qualia -- such as Pain, Taste, Love, Justice -- are aspects of your reality, not just the Quantitative things that scientists study, then you are a BothAnder.
Of course, Qualia are "merely" subjective, but as Kant argued, the immaterial ideas in your subjective consciousness are as close as you will ever come to objective Reality, ding an sich. Chalmers calls it "the hard problem of consciousness", but Qualia are easier to understand from the perspective of Enformation. A grain of sand is a physical form, but your concept of sand is a metaphysical Form. All the objective grains of sand in the world are not worth the subjective sense of "what it's like to be you".
News flash! EnFormAction is the new Enformation, which was an update of ancient Form.
Added analogy : Which is more "real" to you, your shiny new Car, or the Transportation that it provides? The car is real & quantifiable. You can touch it and look at it, but did you pay big bucks for a metallic sculpture to sit in your driveway, or did you work many hours to purchase the intangible Mobility that a car provides? For most of us, the answer is BothAnd. Transportation & Mobility are qualities that are valuable & meaningful to humans, even though they are not real things, but merely ideas about what things can do for us. Qualia are Mental, not Physical, but like immaterial Time & Space, they are essential features of human reality.
"FORM" is simply the most general term for the notion that modern philosophers call "Information". I suspect that, in your new edition, you were uneasy about your metaphysical concept encroaching on the turf of physics, so you retreated to the tried & true Platonic myth of an imaginary realm, just for the sake of argument. But in the 21st century, Information is no longer imaginary, it's the substance of reality. Perhaps you were more prescient than you gave yourself credit for.
Of course, materialists are not yet convinced. But for those who can accommodate both Platonic Idealism and Empirical Realism within the same mind, it all makes sense. If you believe that metaphysical Qualia -- such as Pain, Taste, Love, Justice -- are aspects of your reality, not just the Quantitative things that scientists study, then you are a BothAnder.
Of course, Qualia are "merely" subjective, but as Kant argued, the immaterial ideas in your subjective consciousness are as close as you will ever come to objective Reality, ding an sich. Chalmers calls it "the hard problem of consciousness", but Qualia are easier to understand from the perspective of Enformation. A grain of sand is a physical form, but your concept of sand is a metaphysical Form. All the objective grains of sand in the world are not worth the subjective sense of "what it's like to be you".
News flash! EnFormAction is the new Enformation, which was an update of ancient Form.
Added analogy : Which is more "real" to you, your shiny new Car, or the Transportation that it provides? The car is real & quantifiable. You can touch it and look at it, but did you pay big bucks for a metallic sculpture to sit in your driveway, or did you work many hours to purchase the intangible Mobility that a car provides? For most of us, the answer is BothAnd. Transportation & Mobility are qualities that are valuable & meaningful to humans, even though they are not real things, but merely ideas about what things can do for us. Qualia are Mental, not Physical, but like immaterial Time & Space, they are essential features of human reality.
Re: Enformation & EnFormAction
This is another reply to David Wolf's responses to my emails discussing the parallels between his concept of "Enformation", and my notion of "EnFormAction". He seems to think that my thesis is more like New Age spiritualism than 21st century science, when I think of it as a scientific update of ancient spiritualistic beliefs. Enformationism is neither Materialism, nor Spiritualism, but BothAnd. :
"Sleeping Wolf"
Perhaps the Enformation/FORM concept has evolved since the Wolf went into hibernation. One vector has veered off toward pseudo-science, while the other has remained closer to empirical science.
"in a holographic universe, consciousness pervades all matter"
The Holographic Principle emerged from String Theory, to explain how a multidimensional hyper-reality could be perceived by humans in only three dimensions. Since then, many theorists have expanded that concept into a variety of strange speculations on the mathematical information that we perceive as real things. For example : Chris Langan's << CTMU, short for Cognitive Theoretic Model of the Universe. . . . Technically, it is a theory of mathematical metaphysics. . . . the CTMU embodies a logical form of self-similarity analogous to the so-called “holographic principle” as later developed in connection with string theory.>> I don't know about you, but I am not qualified to read, let alone judge the veracity of such hyperbolic theories.
"Remote Viewing"
I have been following the "paranormal" research on such fantastic notions for most of my adult life. After over 60 years of academic & private research, paranormal memes are now the new normal in sci-fi novels & movies, and New Age publications. But I haven't seen a single practical application of whatever knowledge they have compiled. In the same time span, applications of Quantum Theory have become essential to most of our cutting edge technology, especially smart phones. Until "remote viewing" and "psychokinesis", and a plethora of psychic phenomena develop into something more useful than magic tricks, I'll invest my time & money in "normal" science. My own theory has no practical applications. It's merely a personal model of how the world works. If you want to change the world, I recommend following the pragmatic methods of modern Science.
"THE TAO OF PHYSICS"
Years ago, I read several of Fritjof Capra's books, blending theoretical physics with Eastern metaphysics, with great interest. But I've come to think that most mashups of that type have focused too much on sexy New Agey "consciousness" and not enough on mundane scientific "information". In my own blend of Eastern & Western theories, I call the fundamental unit of reality "Enformation". And only in the last few million years has that primordial creative potential produced what we humans know as "self-consciousness". Therefore, entangled photons are not conscious in any meaningful sense, but they are enformational in that they exchange energy, not knowledge.
This is the primary distinction that I see between Enformationism, and such physics/metaphysics mashups as Deepak Chopra's alternative Ayurvedic worldview. His theories use similar terminology to mine, but he comes to some far-out conclusions. For example : << Seeing the human body as being undergirded by a "quantum mechanical body" composed not of matter but of energy and information, he believes that "human aging is fluid and changeable; it can speed up, slow down, stop for a time, and even reverse itself," as determined by one's state of mind.>> Again, when I see practical applications of such faith-based mind-over-matter beliefs, I'll start reversing my own aging.
"Sleeping Wolf"
Perhaps the Enformation/FORM concept has evolved since the Wolf went into hibernation. One vector has veered off toward pseudo-science, while the other has remained closer to empirical science.
"in a holographic universe, consciousness pervades all matter"
The Holographic Principle emerged from String Theory, to explain how a multidimensional hyper-reality could be perceived by humans in only three dimensions. Since then, many theorists have expanded that concept into a variety of strange speculations on the mathematical information that we perceive as real things. For example : Chris Langan's << CTMU, short for Cognitive Theoretic Model of the Universe. . . . Technically, it is a theory of mathematical metaphysics. . . . the CTMU embodies a logical form of self-similarity analogous to the so-called “holographic principle” as later developed in connection with string theory.>> I don't know about you, but I am not qualified to read, let alone judge the veracity of such hyperbolic theories.
"Remote Viewing"
I have been following the "paranormal" research on such fantastic notions for most of my adult life. After over 60 years of academic & private research, paranormal memes are now the new normal in sci-fi novels & movies, and New Age publications. But I haven't seen a single practical application of whatever knowledge they have compiled. In the same time span, applications of Quantum Theory have become essential to most of our cutting edge technology, especially smart phones. Until "remote viewing" and "psychokinesis", and a plethora of psychic phenomena develop into something more useful than magic tricks, I'll invest my time & money in "normal" science. My own theory has no practical applications. It's merely a personal model of how the world works. If you want to change the world, I recommend following the pragmatic methods of modern Science.
"THE TAO OF PHYSICS"
Years ago, I read several of Fritjof Capra's books, blending theoretical physics with Eastern metaphysics, with great interest. But I've come to think that most mashups of that type have focused too much on sexy New Agey "consciousness" and not enough on mundane scientific "information". In my own blend of Eastern & Western theories, I call the fundamental unit of reality "Enformation". And only in the last few million years has that primordial creative potential produced what we humans know as "self-consciousness". Therefore, entangled photons are not conscious in any meaningful sense, but they are enformational in that they exchange energy, not knowledge.
This is the primary distinction that I see between Enformationism, and such physics/metaphysics mashups as Deepak Chopra's alternative Ayurvedic worldview. His theories use similar terminology to mine, but he comes to some far-out conclusions. For example : << Seeing the human body as being undergirded by a "quantum mechanical body" composed not of matter but of energy and information, he believes that "human aging is fluid and changeable; it can speed up, slow down, stop for a time, and even reverse itself," as determined by one's state of mind.>> Again, when I see practical applications of such faith-based mind-over-matter beliefs, I'll start reversing my own aging.
Re: Enformation & EnFormAction
This is another excerpt from an email to philosopher/writer David Wolf in our ongoing discussion of the concept of Enformation/EnFormAction.
Quote : "There is a considerable metaphysical leap involved in asserting that information is found in universe."
Yes, but it's a leap of Reason, not of Faith. The notion that Information can be both physical and metaphysical has been accepted by a wide range of serious scientists. But metaphysics is non-empirical, and allows a lot of room for speculation and improvisation. My own theory uses "Information" to mean the original generic creative power of evolution, and Consciousness emerged only recently at high levels of complexity in form.
Unfortunately, some proponents go too far in their equation of Information with Consciousness. Deepak Chopra is a well-known consciousness connoisseur, a disciple of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation, and a believer in a variety of mind-over-matter tricks. In my view though, consciousness is a highly evolved form of fundamental information. So, while photons & electrons are tiny lumps of Information (i.e. energy), they are not conscious in any meaningful sense of the word.
A.N. Whitehead came close to that same error of attributing consciousness to the smallest elements of matter. He called his "actual entities", "occasions of experience". But he seemed to avoid outright assertions that subatomic particles have experiences in the same way that humans do. It was simply a metaphor for inputs of energy that change the form or behavior of particles. << We diverge from Descartes by holding that what he has described as primary attributes of physical bodies, are really the forms of internal relationships between actual occasions. Such a change of thought is the shift from materialism to Organic Realism, as a basic idea of physical science.>> — Process and Reality, 1929, p. 471.
Those "internal relationships" are what I would call mathematical ratios. "Ratio" is the root of "Reason", but it's a long way from abstract geometry to human thinking and feeling. So, while my thesis treads the gray area between empirical science and theoretical philosophy, I think it avoids straying into romantic pseudoscience. Instead, I prefer to call it a Leap of Logic.
Quote : "There is a considerable metaphysical leap involved in asserting that information is found in universe."
Yes, but it's a leap of Reason, not of Faith. The notion that Information can be both physical and metaphysical has been accepted by a wide range of serious scientists. But metaphysics is non-empirical, and allows a lot of room for speculation and improvisation. My own theory uses "Information" to mean the original generic creative power of evolution, and Consciousness emerged only recently at high levels of complexity in form.
Unfortunately, some proponents go too far in their equation of Information with Consciousness. Deepak Chopra is a well-known consciousness connoisseur, a disciple of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation, and a believer in a variety of mind-over-matter tricks. In my view though, consciousness is a highly evolved form of fundamental information. So, while photons & electrons are tiny lumps of Information (i.e. energy), they are not conscious in any meaningful sense of the word.
A.N. Whitehead came close to that same error of attributing consciousness to the smallest elements of matter. He called his "actual entities", "occasions of experience". But he seemed to avoid outright assertions that subatomic particles have experiences in the same way that humans do. It was simply a metaphor for inputs of energy that change the form or behavior of particles. << We diverge from Descartes by holding that what he has described as primary attributes of physical bodies, are really the forms of internal relationships between actual occasions. Such a change of thought is the shift from materialism to Organic Realism, as a basic idea of physical science.>> — Process and Reality, 1929, p. 471.
Those "internal relationships" are what I would call mathematical ratios. "Ratio" is the root of "Reason", but it's a long way from abstract geometry to human thinking and feeling. So, while my thesis treads the gray area between empirical science and theoretical philosophy, I think it avoids straying into romantic pseudoscience. Instead, I prefer to call it a Leap of Logic.
Re: Enformation & EnFormAction
This is another version of the previous post, focusing more on the Leap of Logic notion than on the confusion of generic Information with human consciousness :
Here's more to think about in regard to the reality of Enformation :
Quote : "There is a considerable metaphysical leap involved in asserting that information is found in universe."
Yes, but it's a leap of Reason, not of Faith. Below is a response to a similar expression of skepticism on an old Freethinker forum. I wrote it several years ago in response to an assertion that I had made a leap of faith from scientific evidence to pseudoscientific speculation. The skeptic also seemed to think that Quantum science resorts to fanciful metaphors to describe features of sub-atomic physics that are not apparent on the macro level of perception. That's true of course, but those physicists are not simply making up just-so stories to entertain their audience. They are seriously trying to interpret their mathematical calculations in terms that are meaningful to non-mathematicians. The "wave/particle paradox", particle "entanglement", and "non-locality" are counter-intuitive concepts. The "uncertainty principle" and "probability position" do not compute for the man on the street.
So they use concrete metaphors from our common experience to describe abstract aspects of reality that are not accessible by our physical senses. For example, photons are not actually particles of matter, but they sometimes act as-if they are discrete lumps of solid stuff, and in other situations they act as-if they are waves of fluid stuff in empty space. Fortunately, our sixth sense of Reason allows us to "see" invisible mathematical patterns in physical behaviors at the smallest scales of reality. But then we have to convert metaphysical numbers & ratios into meaningful physical images, that our empirical brains can work with. Unfortunately, the act of interpretation sometimes allows our imagination to fill-in missing information with the interpreter's biases.
Are numbers "found in the universe"? If so, show me where they are, without using metaphors of tangible things. My contention is that they don't exist as physical "objects", but as subjective metaphysical information about what we imagine as objects. Numbers are ideal Platonic Forms, that we relate to actual instances in the real world. But Quantum physics asks us to believe that numbers & probabilities are more fundamental than grains of sand & sand castles.
LEAP OF LOGIC
The key conjecture of the Enformationism thesis
is the hypothesis that matter and energy—even space
and gravity—are ultimately composed of immaterial
Information.
1. That premise is derived primarily from
metaphoric/mathematical descriptions of subatomic
particles as “probability clouds” and of
energy as “immaterial waves propagating thru empty
space”. Such poetic analogies seem to make
real-world sense only in the light of Information
Theory: the study of non-physical ratios,
relationships, patterns, and probabilities.
2. The core concept of the thesis is that matter and energy
are not the basic constituents of ultimate
Reality, but Being and Reason: i.e. existence
and consciousness. *
3. If this untested axiom proves to be false,
then Enformationism is just a myth
and a worthless waste of words. But, if it can
be shown to be plausible, it could open new
avenues of scientific research, revealing religion**
from a whole new perspective.
* Logos : Greek term meaning “word”, “reason”, “proportion”. It was used by philosophers in a technical sense to mean a cosmic principle of order and knowledge. In the Enformationism thesis, Logos may be used interchangeably with EnFormAction. As the driving force of Evolution, Logos is the cause of all organization, and of all meaningful patterns in the world. It’s not a physical force though, but a metaphysical cause that can only be perceived by Reason, not senses or instruments.
** It has been said that “God” explains everything in general, but nothing in particular. Perhaps “EnFormAction” will be able to explain “God” in the particulars of physical (material) and metaphysical (mathematical) aspects of reality.
Here's more to think about in regard to the reality of Enformation :
Quote : "There is a considerable metaphysical leap involved in asserting that information is found in universe."
Yes, but it's a leap of Reason, not of Faith. Below is a response to a similar expression of skepticism on an old Freethinker forum. I wrote it several years ago in response to an assertion that I had made a leap of faith from scientific evidence to pseudoscientific speculation. The skeptic also seemed to think that Quantum science resorts to fanciful metaphors to describe features of sub-atomic physics that are not apparent on the macro level of perception. That's true of course, but those physicists are not simply making up just-so stories to entertain their audience. They are seriously trying to interpret their mathematical calculations in terms that are meaningful to non-mathematicians. The "wave/particle paradox", particle "entanglement", and "non-locality" are counter-intuitive concepts. The "uncertainty principle" and "probability position" do not compute for the man on the street.
So they use concrete metaphors from our common experience to describe abstract aspects of reality that are not accessible by our physical senses. For example, photons are not actually particles of matter, but they sometimes act as-if they are discrete lumps of solid stuff, and in other situations they act as-if they are waves of fluid stuff in empty space. Fortunately, our sixth sense of Reason allows us to "see" invisible mathematical patterns in physical behaviors at the smallest scales of reality. But then we have to convert metaphysical numbers & ratios into meaningful physical images, that our empirical brains can work with. Unfortunately, the act of interpretation sometimes allows our imagination to fill-in missing information with the interpreter's biases.
Are numbers "found in the universe"? If so, show me where they are, without using metaphors of tangible things. My contention is that they don't exist as physical "objects", but as subjective metaphysical information about what we imagine as objects. Numbers are ideal Platonic Forms, that we relate to actual instances in the real world. But Quantum physics asks us to believe that numbers & probabilities are more fundamental than grains of sand & sand castles.
LEAP OF LOGIC
The key conjecture of the Enformationism thesis
is the hypothesis that matter and energy—even space
and gravity—are ultimately composed of immaterial
Information.
1. That premise is derived primarily from
metaphoric/mathematical descriptions of subatomic
particles as “probability clouds” and of
energy as “immaterial waves propagating thru empty
space”. Such poetic analogies seem to make
real-world sense only in the light of Information
Theory: the study of non-physical ratios,
relationships, patterns, and probabilities.
2. The core concept of the thesis is that matter and energy
are not the basic constituents of ultimate
Reality, but Being and Reason: i.e. existence
and consciousness. *
3. If this untested axiom proves to be false,
then Enformationism is just a myth
and a worthless waste of words. But, if it can
be shown to be plausible, it could open new
avenues of scientific research, revealing religion**
from a whole new perspective.
* Logos : Greek term meaning “word”, “reason”, “proportion”. It was used by philosophers in a technical sense to mean a cosmic principle of order and knowledge. In the Enformationism thesis, Logos may be used interchangeably with EnFormAction. As the driving force of Evolution, Logos is the cause of all organization, and of all meaningful patterns in the world. It’s not a physical force though, but a metaphysical cause that can only be perceived by Reason, not senses or instruments.
** It has been said that “God” explains everything in general, but nothing in particular. Perhaps “EnFormAction” will be able to explain “God” in the particulars of physical (material) and metaphysical (mathematical) aspects of reality.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 55 guests