Life, Mind and NIOF principle

[Leonid]

Life, Mind and NIOF principle

Objectivism defines life as “a process of self-sustaining and self-generated action” (Galt speech, AS).

I’d add that life is also a process of self –organization of the matter.

In their book “Biological Self-organization” Camazine et al. (2001: 8) define self-organization:

‘‘As a process in which pattern at the global level of a system emerges solely from numerous interactions among the lower level components of the system. Moreover the rules specifying interactions among the system’s components are executed using only local information, without reference to the global pattern. In short pattern is an emergent property of the system rather than being imposed on the system by an external ordering influence.’’

From this definition one may conclude that if life is self-sustained, self-organized process then it is non-deterministic process, that is-without antecedent cause. Or, as Robert Rosen observed, life doesn’t have efficient cause, this is a process of self-causation. Therefore, any interaction of living entity with its environment is self-initiated, goal-orientated response. (SIGOR)

“Only a living entity can have goals or can originate them. And it is only a living organism that has the capacity for self-generated, goal-directed action. On the physical level, the functions of all living organisms, from the simplest to the most complex—from the nutritive function in the single cell of an amoeba to the blood circulation in the body of a man—are actions generated by the organism itself and directed to a single goal: the maintenance of the organism’s life.”

(Ayn Rand, The Objectivist Ethics,” The Virtue of Selfishness, 16.)

SIGOR exists on any level of biological organization-from viruses to men. It’s manifestation of essential biological feature-the ability to projects goals into the future and to act to achieve them. This is a mechanism of biological self-causation. On the preconscious levels organisms use preprogrammed codes (DNA and others) for this purpose, but on conceptual level the tool is human mind, the only tool of human survival. On conceptual level self-initiated, goal-orientated action becomes volitional-that is by using concepts mind able to make choices about goals or rather purposes. Desire is a goal, projected into the future which is chosen according to Man’s needs. Free will is not an illusion but attribute of Man’s consciousness which is developed from very basic property of living being-the ability to project goals and to initiate an action to achieve them. From other hand, for the same reason a living entity is NOT a mechanism, NOR is mind a computer. .W. Tecumseh Fitch observed i” A crucial difference between a cell (including but not limited to a neuron) and a transistor on a silicon chip is that the former arrangement of matter can autonomously and adaptively modify itself in response to its circumstances, whereas the latter cannot. An everyday example of this biological capacity is provided by the healing response: a damaged organism can often stem the loss of precious bodily fluids, stitch itself up, and (with some scar perhaps) continue living. We all witness this capacity regularly in our own bodies and it is worth stopping for a moment to realize how amazing it is…eukaryotic cells which possess a crucially intrinsic aboutness I dubbed nano-intentionality “ (Nano-intentionality: a defense of intrinsic intentionality, Biology and Philosophy, Media B.V 2007).

It is not difficult to see that Fitch’s nano-intentionality is what I call SIGOR and that what is makes living organisms alive. Mind as any other biological process is self-regulated, self-organized, self-causated entity. It is an attribute of the living entity-human being, and as such it doesn’t have any efficient cause. Actually antecedent causes can be only harmful to the living process and to the mind. The ethical consequence of this biological fact is the principle of non-initiating of force. Human mind is an essence of human existence and cannot be separated from it, as one cannot separate from a plant its ability to turn its leaves to the light. Any attempt of application of antecedent cause, a force, on mind will be a hindrance, will impede its functions or stop it altogether. Initiation of force therefore is an act which prevents man to live qua man or to live at all.

Edited March 28, 2010 by Leonid

[BaalChatzaf]

From this definition one may conclude that if life is self-sustained, self-organized process then it is non-deterministic process, that is-without antecedent cause. Or, as Robert Rosen observed, life doesn't have efficient cause, this is a process of self-causation. Therefore, any interaction of living entity with its environment is self-initiated, goal-orientated response. (SIGOR)

Nay to self-sustaining. Thermodynamics requires an external energy source. Living things are self-organized in a noisy way. Sooner or later the control pathways malfunction and the organism dies. But while it is alive it must get its energy from somewhere else. And even if the system replicated and controlled itself perfectly, its external battery (so to speak) will run down. It is doomed.

Ayn Rand's definition indicates an ignorance of elementary thermodynamics.

Ba'al Chatzaf

Edited March 28, 2010 by BaalChatzaf

[Christopher]

Life certainly pulls its energy from the system, and while life itself is organized, it seems likely that life causes more generalized entropy in the universe than organization that it produces locally. Why do I think this? Because I recall saying the opposite on OL, and I received some good comments that convinced me otherwise.

But then again, the laws of thermodynamics apply to deterministic systems.

[BaalChatzaf]

Life certainly pulls its energy from the system, and while life itself is organized, it seems likely that life causes more generalized entropy in the universe than organization that it produces locally. Why do I think this? Because I recall saying the opposite on OL, and I received some good comments that convinced me otherwise.

But then again, the laws of thermodynamics apply to deterministic systems.

Wrong. they apply to all physical systems, including indeterministic quantum systems. And a machine or system cannot energize itself. That would violate the conservation of energy. There ain't no such thing as a self inflating balloon. And more to the point -- TANSTAAFL, There ain't no such thing as a Free Lunch. (Thank you Robert A. Heinlein).

Ba'al Chatzaf

[Christopher]

Wrong. they apply to all physical systems, including indeterministic quantum systems. And a machine or system cannot energize itself. That would violate the conservation of energy. There ain't no such thing as a self inflating balloon. And more to the point -- TANSTAAFL, There ain't no such thing as a Free Lunch. (Thank you Robert A. Heinlein).

Ba'al Chatzaf

A. Quantum systems are based on rules and are therefore deterministic regardless of the presence of probability spheres

B. Entropy is about organization, not energy. Matter is essentially condensed energy packages, and energy packages are self-energized by definition. You ever seen an electron at rest?

[tjohnson]

Why can't life be deterministic on one level but indeterministic on another, higher level? This argument is always presented as an either/or thing.

[Dragonfly]

A. Quantum systems are based on rules and are therefore deterministic regardless of the presence of probability spheres

"Based on rules" is not the same as deterministic.

[Dragonfly]

Why can't life be deterministic on one level but indeterministic on another, higher level? This argument is always presented as an either/or thing.

Indeed. See for example here and here.

[Christopher]

A. Quantum systems are based on rules and are therefore deterministic regardless of the presence of probability spheres

"Based on rules" is not the same as deterministic.

Well actually...

de·ter·min·ism   /dɪˈtɜrməˌnɪzəm/ Show Spelled[dih-tur-muh-niz-uhm] Show IPA

–noun

1.the doctrine that all facts and events exemplify natural laws.

2.the doctrine that all events, including human choices and decisions, have sufficient causes.

[Dragonfly]

Well actually...

de·ter·min·ism   /dɪˈtɜrməˌnɪzəm/ Show Spelled[dih-tur-muh-niz-uhm] Show IPA

–noun

1.the doctrine that all facts and events exemplify natural laws.

2.the doctrine that all events, including human choices and decisions, have sufficient causes.

These are not scientific definitions. See my previous references or lookup determinism in Wikipedia.

[Christopher]

Well actually...

de·ter·min·ism   /dɪˈtɜrməˌnɪzəm/ Show Spelled[dih-tur-muh-niz-uhm] Show IPA

–noun

1.the doctrine that all facts and events exemplify natural laws.

2.the doctrine that all events, including human choices and decisions, have sufficient causes.

These are not scientific definitions. See my previous references or lookup determinism in Wikipedia.

Predictability is irrelevant to the discussion if that is your definition. What matters to me is free will versus a system based exclusively on rules that guide each step of the cause-effect chain of actions.

[Dragonfly]

Predictability is irrelevant to the discussion if that is your definition.

That is not my definition. I suggest you read first my previous posts on that subject, for example the links I gave earlier. Then I don't have to repeat it all here for the n-th time.

[Christopher]

Predictability is irrelevant to the discussion if that is your definition.

That is not my definition. I suggest you read first my previous posts on that subject, for example the links I gave earlier. Then I don't have to repeat it all here for the n-th time.

Dude, if you were part of the discussion on this thread, I might care about your definition.

[Dragonfly]

Dude, if you were part of the discussion on this thread, I might care about your definition.

Huh? Are you telling us who is or is not part of a discussion? I didn't know that you'd taken over this site. Do you really think that we're interested in your stupid and uninformed claptrap?

[Leonid]

BaalChatzaf :"Nay to self-sustaining. Thermodynamics requires an external energy source. Living things are self-organized in a noisy way. Sooner or later the control pathways malfunction and the organism dies."

First, observe that thermodynamics work in both directions. "Life is universally understood to require a source of free energy and mechanisms with which to harness it. Remarkably, the converse may also be true: the continuous generation of sources of free energy by abiotic processes may have forced life into existence as a means to alleviate the buildup of free energy stresses...life creates transport channels in the chemical domain, employing the more concentrated energy flows associated with molecular re-arrangements...In the absence of life, energy from either source remains to some extent unused because the energy carriers are not easily accessed.George Wald has suggested [1]that achieving repeated inelastic absorption poses a difficult chemical problem, solved only twice in the course of evolution with the emergence of the rhodopsins and the chlorophylls."

(Energy flow and the organization of life by Harold Morowitz Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030 and

Eric Smith Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501 August 7, 2006).

Second, the fact that organisms use external source of energy doesn't mean that they aren't self-sustainable. On the contrary, organism has to initiate goal orientated action in order to obtain this energy: plant turns his leaves toward sun, lioness is hunting, and man uses his mind. In other words, in order to get energy organism has to spend energy first.

Third, I like your "sooner or later" approach. Sooner or later thermodynamics will cause thermal death of Universe. Does it mean that all actions, goals, discussions (like this one) are futile and the only thing which is still making sense is to shut up and die?

[BaalChatzaf]

Third, I like your "sooner or later" approach. Sooner or later thermodynamics will cause thermal death of Universe. Does it mean that all actions, goals, discussions (like this one) are futile and the only thing which is still making sense is to shut up and die?

No. The idea is to make hay and have fun while the sun shines. Do what you can, as you can, when you can until you can't. The long range futility of existence is no excuse for sitting around and moping.

Ba'al Chatzaf

[Leonid]

BaalChatzaf " Do what you can, as you can, when you can until you can't."

That exactly what I mean by self-sustained, self-initiated, goal-orientated action.