Hi Gary:
Previously you agreed that this summarized your thesis:
> > "The universe is made up of energy and matter and that is all, nothing
> > else but this. What makes for the rich diversity of existence is
> > structure. . . . I believe that Quality is the Internal aspect and cause
>> of the diverse configuration of structure Externally and Internally of all
>> energy and matter in the Universe on all levels. I believe that mind and
>> spirit are the internal experience and the internal attributes of the
>> external arrangements of energy and matter."
Your thesis raises the question about the role of Information in causing
patterns and structure to evolve. You have asserted, "I believe that
Quality is the ... cause of the diverse configuration of structure ..." But
many scientists (and nonscientists) would agree with the following
excerpt from 'Grammatical Man: Information, Entropy, Language and
Life' by Jeremy Campbell. In the theory he describes, it is Information
that gives "shape to the shapeless:"
"It was not until the 1940s that information was defined as a new
scientific term, and this definition was quite new, unlike any in the
standard dictionaries. Yet the concept of information, by being defined
precisely enough to satisfy mathematicians and telecommunications
engineers, became increasingly fascinating to nonscientists. The view
arose of information as an active agent, something that does not just sit
there passively but 'informs' the material world, much as the messages
of the genes instruct the machinery of the cell to build an organism, or
the signals from a radio transmitter guide the intricate path of a vehicle
on its journey through space.
"Thus information emerged as a universal principle at work in the world,
giving shape to the shapeless, specifying the peculiar character of living
forms and even helping to determine, by means of special codes, the
patterns of human thought. In this way, information spans the disparate
fields of space-age computers and classical physics, molecular biology
and human communication, the evolution of language and the evolution
of man.
"Evidently nature can no longer be seen as matter and energy alone.
Nor can all her secrets be unlocked with the keys of chemistry and
physics, brilliantly successful as these two branches of science have
been. A third component is needed for any explanation of the world that
claims to be complete. To the powerful theories of chemistry and
physics must be added a late arrival: a theory of information. Nature
must be interpreted as matter, energy, and information."
Comment: The only difference I can see between Information and
Quality as far as being forces that create patterns or structures is that
the Information Theory avoids any consideration of values. I wonder what
you think about Information vs. Quality as an explanation for evolving
patterns? Obviously you and the author of the passage above both
agree that more is required to explain the world than just energy and
matter. But if Information does the job of combining elements into
structures and is the "cause the diverse configuration of structure," who
needs Quality?
Platt
P.S. IMO, your explanation of the 4 levels as "a map of ethics" is right
on target.
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