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Order Out of Chaos? (Part 3) Addendum
| SERIES: Order Out of Chaos? AUTHOR: Jim Schofield |
STRANDS: MATHEMATICS / PHILOSOPHY / EMERGENCE |
ABSTRACT: These papers attempt a pair of objectives. First, they see the need to deal with the claims of Mathematical Chaos (and its derivatives and developments) as are now very frequently put forward as THE means of understanding what are termed as Emergences. And second, they must attempt to re-direct our attention away from Randomness (All at once, equally) and Plurality (The Whole and the Part) to a new, more-real and indeed holistic approach, which will give all our scientific attention to a study of the nature and dynamics of the real qualitative changes, that reach positively revolutionary climaxes in actual Emergences – characterised most crucially by the most important one of all, and that which is the true measure of all such Events – the Origin of Life on Earth. These papers commenced in 2008, and do NOT represent where the author’s current position is, but they were nonetheless an essential preparation for meaningful delivery of subsequent research, and hence an appropriate introduction for those new to these ideas. The author has recently written a brief introduction to the series along with two addendum papers, which do indicate in which direction this work is now proceeding. The fullest now consists of:- Order Out of Chaos: Introduction (see Blog) I Order Out of Chaos: Emergent Change II Order Out of Chaos: The Elements of Change III Order Out of Chaos: Addendum IV Order Out of Chaos: Holistic Change These will commence in this current issue and continue over the following issues. Thereafter, further Papers on the same topic will regularly follow. |
SYNOPSIS: 1. We must certainly NOT deal with Mathematical Chaos, but with the actual, concrete and causative factors, if we are tackling Emergent Change. But the dangerous assumptions of Plurality manage to worm their way into our attempts to do even this. That method causes us to search for relative dominances to explain both within Level relations, but ALSO any Level changing processes too. 2. Yet, none of the relatively overt and extractable relations from a given Level play ANY role in the emergence from that Level, either in the demise of the old Level, or in the first appearance of the new Level. We must abandon the pluralistic assumption of all relations being ever-present, and changing only in dominance to bring about all possible changes. 3. A sound alternative must dump such eternal relations for both the demise that occurs, and any creations within critical situations. Significant qualitative changes actually create brand new factors and relations, and these processes ONLY occur within Emergences. The usual dominant relations within a stable Level can never do this! Indeed, it is only the demise of the old, Level-Maintaining relations that opens up the way for wholly new ones to appear and start to become established. 4. Indeed, such within-Level relations don’t even “drive” Reality in those circumstances as is often assumed, but merely describe them! We must see an Emergence as initially a cataclysmic dissociation of the old system, followed by a creative series of attempts to establish a completely new stability. And, we must be clear; these could never appear within an established Level! 5. It requires the unfettered and historically NEW maelstrom of processes for wholly new things to emerge. And the new entities, properties and relations cannot ever be explained in terms of pre-existing, before-the-Emergence relations. They play absolutely NO role in the qualities generated within an Emergence. 6. But even these are only temporary constructs. Within the middle phase of an Emergence many proto-Levels are partly erected, yet all, except the last, will totally fail. This final and succeeding Level persists because it also includes sufficient maintaining and change-opposing elements to solidify the Level and thus terminate the whole emergent process. 7. A full description of the current Theory of Emergences (by this author) cannot be shoe-horned into this short paper, but it is available and will make a much stronger case than has been possible here. |
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