I raised this pov of logic (reason or rationality when applied) because I saw a piece that correlates training reason with muscle training. If logic is categorical similar to a sense then treat it metaphorically as such, I think. Improving one’s senses is a little different than training a muscle and is a more direct simile. Then there is the question of what is logic sensing? Sight perceives what we call light, so logic is perceiving ‘the order’ of things? The eventual line of thinking starts questioning the relationship of logic to intuition. I advocate the honing of intuition, but it is identical in process to improving one’s reason. The gist being that intuition picks up on the same object that logic eventually describes, like the part of vision which detects movement in the field that is only detailed once the focal point is moved upon it.
As for vitalism, the life I speak of is to extend one’s understanding of biological life—a self-directing organism—to see stars as having the same potential. The behavior of stars, and the universal structure is constrained in the imagination to be subject to the laws of physics and the metaphor for a star in this frame is a fire, which is lit and burns according to predictable rules regarding combustion. The alternative is to imagine that the stars are the dogs, upon which the earth is a flea, and we are mites upon it. Why does this matter? I suppose it is just one of those world-view things which I think dictates how people feel about their existence. “We live in a dead universe subject to laws external to our being” predicates a view which sees external authority as natural and dismisses the vitality within all points which manifest this ‘life’. I think the metaphor for the universe is closely tied to the ethos of the culture, so I raised this question.
I’m not sure what you mean by “self-directing”. As I see it, “life” is yet another physical process, like “combustion” or “crystallization” or “nuclear fusion”. Life is probably a more complex process than these other ones, but it’s not categorically different from them. An amoeba’s motion is directed, to be sure, but so is the motion of a falling rock.
An amoeba acts on its environment where a rock behaves according to extrernal force. Life also has the characteristic of reproduction which is not how processes like combustion or fusion begin or continue. There are attempts to create both biological life from naught and AI research has a goal which could be characterized as making something that is alive vs a dead machine—a conscious robot not a car. I recognize that life is chemical processes, but I, and I think the sciences are divided this way, a categorical difference between chemistry and biology. My position is that physics and chemistry, eg, do not study a driving component of reality—that which drives life. If biological life is to be called >>complexity of basic chemical processes then what drives the level of complexity to increase?
Is there a thread or some place where your position on life is expounded upon? If life is to be framed as a complex process on a spectrum of processes I could understand, provided the definition of complexity is made and the spectrum reflects observations. In fact, spectrums seem to me to be more fitting maps than categories, but I am unaware of a spectrum that defines complexity to encompass both combustion and life.
An amoeba acts on its environment where a rock behaves according to extrernal force.
The rock acts on its environment as well. For example, it could hold up other rocks. Once the rock falls, it can dislodge more rocks, or strike sparks. If it falls into a river or a stream, the rock could alter its course… etc., etc. Living organisms can affect their environments in different ways, but I see this as a difference in degree, not in kind.
Life also has the characteristic of reproduction which is not how processes like combustion or fusion begin or continue.
Why is this important ? All kinds of physical processes proceed in different ways; for example, combustion can release a massive amount of heat in a short period of time, whereas life cannot. So what ?
...as making something that is alive vs a dead machine—a conscious robot not a car.
Are we talking about life, or consciousness ? Trees are alive, but they are not conscious. Of course, I personally believe that consciousness is just another physical process, so maybe it doesn’t matter.
My position is that physics and chemistry, eg, do not study a driving component of reality—that which drives life.
Technically they do not, biology does that (by building upon the discoveries of physics and chemistry), but I’m not sure why you think this is important.
then what drives the level of complexity to increase ?
I don’t think that complexity of living organisms always increases.
Is there a thread or some place where your position on life is expounded upon?
Well, you could start with those parts of the Sequences that deal with Reductionism . I don’t agree with everything in the Sequences, but that still seems like a good start.
As for vitalism, the life I speak of is to extend one’s understanding of biological life—a self-directing organism—to see stars as having the same potential.
I don’t believe that even biological life is self-directing. Additionally, I don’t understand how extending one’s understanding of biological life to everything can even happen. If you expand the concept of life to include everything then the concept of life becomes meaningless. Personally, whether the universe is alive, or not, it’s all the same to me.
The behavior of stars, and the universal structure is constrained in the imagination to be subject to the laws of physics and the metaphor for a star in this frame is a fire, which is lit and burns according to predictable rules regarding combustion.
When you say that this behavior is “constrained in the imagination”, you’re not trying to imply that we’re controlling or maintaining those constraints with our thoughts in any way, are you? That doesn’t make sense because I am not telekinetic. How would you know that what you’re saying is even true, as opposed to some neat sounding thing that you made up with no evidence? What shows that your claims are true?
The alternative is to imagine that the stars are the dogs, upon which the earth is a flea, and we are mites upon it. Why does this matter? I suppose it is just one of those world-view things which I think dictates how people feel about their existence.
If this is just an abstract metaphor, I’ve been confused. If so, I would have liked you to label it differently.
I don’t understand why vitalism would make the universe seem like a better place to live. I’m also reluctant to label anything true for purposes other than its truth. Even if vitalism would make the universe seem like a better place to live, if our universe is not alive, then it doesn’t make sense to believe in it. Belief is not a choice. If you acknowledge that the universe isn’t alive then you lose the ability to believe that the universe is alive, unless you’re okay with just blatantly contradicting yourself.
“We live in a dead universe subject to laws external to our being” predicates a view which sees external authority as natural and dismisses the vitality within all points which manifest this ‘life’. I think the metaphor for the universe is closely tied to the ethos of the culture, so I raised this question.
I don’t understand why you think determinism is bad. I like it. It’s useful, and seems true.
You say that your view says that life is the source of the way things behave. Other than the label and the mysteriousness of its connotations, what distinguishes this from determinism? If it’s not determinism, then aren’t you just contending that randomness is the cause of all events? That seems unlikely to me, but even if it is the case, why would viewing people as controlled by “life” and mysterious randomness be a better worldview than determinism? I prefer predictability, as it’s a prerequisite for meaning and context, as well as pragmatically awesome.
Thanks for the welcome.
I raised this pov of logic (reason or rationality when applied) because I saw a piece that correlates training reason with muscle training. If logic is categorical similar to a sense then treat it metaphorically as such, I think. Improving one’s senses is a little different than training a muscle and is a more direct simile. Then there is the question of what is logic sensing? Sight perceives what we call light, so logic is perceiving ‘the order’ of things? The eventual line of thinking starts questioning the relationship of logic to intuition. I advocate the honing of intuition, but it is identical in process to improving one’s reason. The gist being that intuition picks up on the same object that logic eventually describes, like the part of vision which detects movement in the field that is only detailed once the focal point is moved upon it.
As for vitalism, the life I speak of is to extend one’s understanding of biological life—a self-directing organism—to see stars as having the same potential. The behavior of stars, and the universal structure is constrained in the imagination to be subject to the laws of physics and the metaphor for a star in this frame is a fire, which is lit and burns according to predictable rules regarding combustion. The alternative is to imagine that the stars are the dogs, upon which the earth is a flea, and we are mites upon it. Why does this matter? I suppose it is just one of those world-view things which I think dictates how people feel about their existence. “We live in a dead universe subject to laws external to our being” predicates a view which sees external authority as natural and dismisses the vitality within all points which manifest this ‘life’. I think the metaphor for the universe is closely tied to the ethos of the culture, so I raised this question.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply.
I’m not sure what you mean by “self-directing”. As I see it, “life” is yet another physical process, like “combustion” or “crystallization” or “nuclear fusion”. Life is probably a more complex process than these other ones, but it’s not categorically different from them. An amoeba’s motion is directed, to be sure, but so is the motion of a falling rock.
An amoeba acts on its environment where a rock behaves according to extrernal force. Life also has the characteristic of reproduction which is not how processes like combustion or fusion begin or continue. There are attempts to create both biological life from naught and AI research has a goal which could be characterized as making something that is alive vs a dead machine—a conscious robot not a car. I recognize that life is chemical processes, but I, and I think the sciences are divided this way, a categorical difference between chemistry and biology. My position is that physics and chemistry, eg, do not study a driving component of reality—that which drives life. If biological life is to be called >>complexity of basic chemical processes then what drives the level of complexity to increase?
Is there a thread or some place where your position on life is expounded upon? If life is to be framed as a complex process on a spectrum of processes I could understand, provided the definition of complexity is made and the spectrum reflects observations. In fact, spectrums seem to me to be more fitting maps than categories, but I am unaware of a spectrum that defines complexity to encompass both combustion and life.
The rock acts on its environment as well. For example, it could hold up other rocks. Once the rock falls, it can dislodge more rocks, or strike sparks. If it falls into a river or a stream, the rock could alter its course… etc., etc. Living organisms can affect their environments in different ways, but I see this as a difference in degree, not in kind.
Why is this important ? All kinds of physical processes proceed in different ways; for example, combustion can release a massive amount of heat in a short period of time, whereas life cannot. So what ?
Are we talking about life, or consciousness ? Trees are alive, but they are not conscious. Of course, I personally believe that consciousness is just another physical process, so maybe it doesn’t matter.
Technically they do not, biology does that (by building upon the discoveries of physics and chemistry), but I’m not sure why you think this is important.
I don’t think that complexity of living organisms always increases.
Well, you could start with those parts of the Sequences that deal with Reductionism . I don’t agree with everything in the Sequences, but that still seems like a good start.
I don’t believe that even biological life is self-directing. Additionally, I don’t understand how extending one’s understanding of biological life to everything can even happen. If you expand the concept of life to include everything then the concept of life becomes meaningless. Personally, whether the universe is alive, or not, it’s all the same to me.
When you say that this behavior is “constrained in the imagination”, you’re not trying to imply that we’re controlling or maintaining those constraints with our thoughts in any way, are you? That doesn’t make sense because I am not telekinetic. How would you know that what you’re saying is even true, as opposed to some neat sounding thing that you made up with no evidence? What shows that your claims are true?
If this is just an abstract metaphor, I’ve been confused. If so, I would have liked you to label it differently.
I don’t understand why vitalism would make the universe seem like a better place to live. I’m also reluctant to label anything true for purposes other than its truth. Even if vitalism would make the universe seem like a better place to live, if our universe is not alive, then it doesn’t make sense to believe in it. Belief is not a choice. If you acknowledge that the universe isn’t alive then you lose the ability to believe that the universe is alive, unless you’re okay with just blatantly contradicting yourself.
I don’t understand why you think determinism is bad. I like it. It’s useful, and seems true.
You say that your view says that life is the source of the way things behave. Other than the label and the mysteriousness of its connotations, what distinguishes this from determinism? If it’s not determinism, then aren’t you just contending that randomness is the cause of all events? That seems unlikely to me, but even if it is the case, why would viewing people as controlled by “life” and mysterious randomness be a better worldview than determinism? I prefer predictability, as it’s a prerequisite for meaning and context, as well as pragmatically awesome.
I really do strongly suggest that you read some of these: http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Sequences#Major_Sequences
You seem to be confusing your feelings with arguments, at some points in your comments.