Quora Questions on Causation & Determinism

[Gnomon]

How could a dualistic universe be created by one God? Wouldn't there have to be two? Are there any dualtheistic religions?
https://www.quora.com/How-could-a-duali ... -religions


What do you mean by “Dualistic Universe” : (A) body/soul, brain/mind, matter/spirit, or (B) the fundamental binary structure of Nature?

(A) What? One humanoid god to create the material world, and another ghostly deity to create the spiritual world? Ancient Greeks & Gnostics postulated a perfect Master god and an imperfect Demigod. But, if the Master is the boss of the Worker, who would you hold responsible for the world's imperfections? Zoroastrianism and Judaeo/Christian/Muslim religions have dual Good & Evil gods. Yet they optimistically assume that the Good god is somehow superior to the Evil devil, and is destined to win the eternal struggle. Ironically, Satanists are placing their bets on the undergod. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demiurge

(B) The physical world seems to be built out of 1s and 0s, somethings & nothings. Real things are space-time objects that are constructed of uncountable particles blinking on & off (binary existence) between ideal mathematical continuous wave-forms, and real measurable discontinuous particles of matter. Again, why couldn't one ultimate super-natural power create both ideal & real worlds? Multiverse theory seems to imply that the Hot/Cold and Entropy/Enformy duality of Thermodynamics takes the place of dueling deities. But most M’verse believers assume that their infinite regress of worlds-within-worlds is nothing more than the natural world multiplied ad infinitum*. If it has no beginning or end, it must be self-existent. And that sounds like a god by another name. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtles_all_the_way_down


Note : Here are some other thoughts inspired by this ambiguous question :

If the Progenitor (god or multiverse) of our world was powerful enough to create a space-time, matter-energy universe from “scratch”, by definition it must be somehow superior to those physical limitations, i.e. super-natural. Monotheism is different from Henotheism in that the deity is infinite & holistic, not one among many gods. Despite that spiritual definition, Abrahamic monotheists typically imagine their heavenly father in terms of the material world they are familiar with.

As a Mono-deist, I prefer to think of G*D in immaterial mathematical terms. The “scratch” I refer to is neither a lump of matter, nor a bolt of energy. It is instead the abstract power-to-enform, whose “substance” is immaterial Information, like the properties & relationships by which we know the world. In Quantum physics even matter & energy boil down to pure Information. A Quantum Field is not a real place, but an ideal mathematical realm of statistical probability which seems to create particles from “information potential” (1).

Those enformed particles, Quarks : the fundamental building blocks of our real world, are still spooky in that they can't be observed directly, and according to theory exist only in triplets, not as units. Be that as it may, the nonlocal “field” from which real things are born, cannot be defined in terms of natural numbers. It is an “unbroken wholeness” that can only be designated by the super-natural number for infinity (2).

By definition, an undefinable unbounded holistic nonlocal acausal field of *potential *has no essential parts. But, since the world we know is a divisible whole, the Field from which it emerged obviously has the *power* to create finite particles within the boundless scope of mathematical infinity (3). And, as we now know, those fractional “atoms” can add-up to the bounded reality that we call the Natural World, with room left over for an unlimited number of Multiverses.

Like the non-number Zero, the notion of Infinity has always been paradoxical in that we cannot experience an instance via our physical senses. We can only imagine such ideal concepts by comparison to the knowable world. Zero is like 1 minus 1. Infinity is like 1 added to 1 repeatedly without a final summation. Likewise the notion of G*D is an anomaly that we can only understand by analogy to real things and countable objects. That's why we have difficulty conceptualizing the creation of many somethings from nothing – nothing real that is. Eternal potential can be divided infinitely without being diminished in any way.

So, a unitary eternal/infinite G*D could easily create an unlimited array of multiform multiverses from the single “substance” of infinite Potential : the power to create. Hence, there is no need to multiply gods to explain the duality and diversity of our little world.

• 1. Quantum Potential : “concept of a quantum potential leads to the notion of an "unbroken wholeness of the entire universe", proposing that the fundamental new quality introduced by quantum physics is nonlocality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_nonlocality.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_potential
  
  2. Super-natural numbers : Infinity (symbol: ∞) is a concept describing something without any bound or larger than any natural number.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_number.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinity
  
  3. Science and Nonduality : https://www.scienceandnonduality.com/in ... ould-live/

[Gnomon]

Does quantum mechanics imply free will?
https://www.quora.com/Does-quantum-mech ... opic_bio=1

Quantum Mechanics is a mathematical theory of how the world operates on the smallest levels of physical reality. As such, it has nothing to do with abstract philosophical theories of Free Will. However, since the math leaves a big acausal hole in the mechanical system of Cause & Effect, that gap can be filled with speculations on the human mind as a causal agent. I personally have concluded that humans do indeed have a limited range of freedom to act on the world. Not as much as some believe, to work miracles, nor so little as others assume, to mean that humans are zombies driven by Fate-like forces of mindless mechanical evolution. For me, QM provides some empirical justification for what most of us have taken for granted all along.



Matthew David reply, Jul 27, quote :
"If determinism is true, the future is set—and this includes all our future states of mind and our subsequent behavior. And to the extent that the law of cause and effect is subject to indeterminism—quantum or otherwise—we can take no credit for what happens. There is no combination of these truths that seems compatible with the popular notion of free will."
Free Will, Sam Harris

Quantum Theory has modified the classical notion of "determinism" by revealing that the macro-level appearance of unbroken cause & effect chains is an illusion. This new view is similar to the images on a TV screen that appear to be recognizable objects, but which upon closer inspection are found to be little pixels of light flashing on & off. Now we know that, while on the macro level the chain of cause & effect leaves no room for human choices -- that's an apple on the screen -- at the Quantum Field foundation of reality there are indeterminate gaps that are open to almost infinite possibilities -- those red pixels could be portraying a tomato, or a little red wagon.

The mere existence of an acausal state, or formless field, doesn't guarantee us a link in the chain of causation, but it does mean that the future is not absolutely preset. Instead, it allows the possibility for human "states of mind" to influence the future by consciously or subconsciously observing and evaluating quantum states. That "act" (exert energy or force) of "measuring" the quantum gaps seems to create a little piece of reality, where before there was only unreal possibility. Somehow the Choice, targeting a specific gap, causes it to be filled with something that was not foreordained -- or at least not predictable. In that manner the human will can influence the future as a causal agent in physical reality. This is not the "popular notion of free will", but it's better than nothing.

We still don't understand the details of how the mental concept of a future physical state can become a link in the causal chain to make it happen. But now we know that the choices (preferences) that our insignificant little brains make, can at least in mathematical/mechanical principle have consequences out there in the real world. Hence, we can justifiably "take credit for what happens". To that extent, determinism is in the mind of the beholder.

Note : Will = Want = lack; a gap to be filled

[Gnomon]

Who set and order the laws of physics?
https://www.quora.com/answer/requests

09/12/2018
Modern science is based on the assumption that there was no "Who" to command that physical processes behave themselves in an orderly & predictable manner. Instead, an eternal struggle between Order & Disorder (thermodynamics) is essential to the ceaseless cycles of the natural world. In that case, any regularities in natural mechanisms are accidental, like a sequence of heads when flipping coins. However, unless the coin is biased, the next toss should be unpredictable. So a long run of reliable repetition implies that the system is rigged — i.e. non-random.

Physical "laws" are simply observed patterns in natural events — sequences of stable repetitive relationships within dynamic systems — that we can depend on to remain constant as we attempt to assert human control over the vagaries of nature that ignore our preferences. Early philosophers called those implicit rules-of-order "laws", by analogy to the royal mandates of a wise king, which impose order upon an unruly populace. Consequently, regulations in the domain of Nature were attributed to imaginary supernatural agents, who imposed their will on the passive substance of the material world.

Yet, just as human rulers can be both benevolent & tyrannical, Mother Nature can turn from harmonious & nurturing to disorderly & destructive overnight. An ominous whirling tornado suddenly emerges from the midst of ordinary wind & rain, and dashes our precious little lives into rubble. So, the demi-gods in charge of the various departments of Nature were both awesome & fearsome, to be praised & appeased. However, as humans gained a broader understanding of how those agencies are interrelated, they could imagine that a single omnipotent deity could operate the whole system from a central command center.

Over time though, some independent thinkers realized that the “rewards” & “punishments” dealt by natural forces were haphazard rather than aimed, fortuitous instead of providential (1). So, they saw no reason to view those indiscriminate forces as intentional. Eventually, impersonal thermodynamic laws took over the ancient role of capricious gods — who work in mysterious ways — as an explanation for why Nature often seems oblivious or antagonistic to the needs & desires of puny humans. The same balmy sun that feels so good on a fall day, will bake & blister on another day. The delightful breezes that caress our faces, can also whip-up whirlwinds that blow down our houses. The spring rains that nurture our crops, may swell into deluges that wash away our livelihood. Despite impassioned prayers and personal sacrifices, the old gods were not respecters of persons, but arbitrary & impersonal in the administration of their offices.

Ironically, religious worldviews still interpret those ups & downs of life in personal terms of fatherly love & righteous wrath, despite the obvious random distribution of divine providence. By contrast, the scientific paradigm of natural events is completely impersonal and accidental. The former view emphasizes intentional Laws, and ignores their indiscriminate enforcement, while the latter perspective focuses on random events (Entropy), and regards the consistent constants as mere happenstance. Yet in fact, the universe is characterized by *both* Order *and* Disorder. Nature blows both hot and cold. So the immutable law of thermodynamics — like a thermostat — seems to oscillate between upper & lower set-points, in order to keep the life-giving cycles of energy rolling smoothly along.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics has been called the supreme principle of Nature (2). Sadly, it is a disorganizing force; leading toward a cold & dissolute end. So any enduring organization in the world must be attributed to a counter-force to the death & decay of Entropy. Traditional religions have called that seemingly super-natural power by the names of gods. But there is another term, “Enformy” (3), to convey the notion of direction in evolution. That “theory” is not “against” the second law, but complementary. Alone, Entropy would be like rust, eating away at the structure of the world, and Enformy would arrange matter into the inert crystaline rigidity of a diamond. Together, Entropy & Enformy are like Yin & Yang, they balance each other to maintain a dynamic harmony in the symphony of Nature.

Since such organic cooperation, not to mention creative complexity, is not to be expected from an unconstrained Big Bang explosion, I assume that there was law-like Intention (inclination, will, teleology) behind the sudden eruption of something from nothing. You may call that lawgiver “God” — but since a cosmos creating force would be so superior to the human mind, in both power & knowledge, and because it applies its power fairly and dispassionately — the biblical portrayal of a personal-but-flawed humanoid tyrant-in-the-sky seems insulting. So, I tend to use impersonal terms like “Enformer” or “Programmer” or even ambiguous “G*D”. Whatever the “Who” might be, that set & ordered the sublime laws of nature, it could not be a mercurial male king on a heavenly throne, whose wrath is appeased by bloody sacrifices, and who arbitrarily suspends those same laws to impress the natives with his super-powers (4). Instead, s/he is more like a cosmic force of Nature that is above and beyond Good & Evil. IMHO

**1. Indiscrimate providence :**
That ye may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven: for he maketh
his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,
and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
____Matthew 5:45

**2. Nature’s Compensation: Entropy**
“The [second] law that entropy always increases, holds, I think, the supreme position among the laws of Nature. . . . if your theory is found to be against the second law of thermodynamics I can give you no hope; there is nothing for it but to collapse in deepest humiliation.”
― Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington; 20th century astronomer & physicist

**3. Enformy :
**Enformy (energy + information) is a hypothetical, holistic, metaphysical, natural trend or force, that counteracts Entropy & Randomness to produce complexity & progress. "Entropy" and "Enformy" are scientific/technical terms that are analogous to the religious/moralistic terms "Evil" and "Good". So, while those forces are completely natural, the ultimate source of the power behind them may be supernatural, in the sense that the First Cause logically existed before the First Effect : the so-called “Big Bang”.

**4. Miraculous Overkill :**
The Sun, which circled around the flat Earth, stood still to prolong the slaughter of the outnumbered Amorites -- a race of giants -- whose land God's personal army was invading, bent on ethnic cleansing. ___Joshua 10:12