Author: Gerd Doeben-Henisch
Changelog: Jan 17, 2025 – Jan 28, 2025
Email: info@uffmm.org
TRANSLATION: The following text is a translation from a German version into English. For the translation I am using the software @chatGPT4o with manual modifications.
CONTENT TREE
This text is part of the TOPIC Philosophy of Science.
CONTEXT
This is a direct continuation of the preceding dialogues since December 25, 2024 (see entries numbered 177 – 182).
INTRODUCTION
Ultimately, the path to today’s text leads from the first entries in the Philosophy Blog of the author (initially in 2007, then from 2009 onward) through all subsequent posts to the present day. The guiding theme, “Philosophy Now: In Search of a New Image of Humanity”, aptly reflects what has transpired. The posts on Philosophy blog document a search for those “images of the world and ourselves” that best illuminate the structures characterizing our existence over time on this planet, in this universe. For a long time, it was unclear whether an answer could be found. The many disparate images of humanity and the world seemed too fragmented: in art, in religious worldviews, in economics, in the natural sciences, in the humanities, and even in philosophy itself, which considers itself the “most fundamental perspective” from which to view and analyze the world.
It should not go unmentioned that among the many other blogs the author has filled with texts over the years, at least two more are worth noting:
First, there is the blog “Integrated Engineering and the Human Factor”, which began in 2003 with the publication of the author’s lectures. Over time, it became increasingly focused on specific topics closely aligned with computer science, engineering, and the philosophy of science—especially the relationship between humans and machines, including artificial intelligence.
Second, there is the blog “Citizen Science 2.0”. Launched in 2021, it explored the transition from “traditional citizen science” to “Citizen Science 2.0” in connection with an expanded concept of “empirical theory” into a “sustainable empirical theory”. The development of this theoretical concept ran parallel to the creation of an innovative software tool called oksimo, which allows users to describe complete sustainable theories in plain text (in any language) and simulate these theories at the push of a button. This new “view of things” emerged from applying the “Integrated Engineering and the Human Factor” theory to municipal processes in which citizens seek to understand and plan their world collaboratively.
While these three blogs with their different themes always seemed to be somehow interconnected, it was only in the past two years—since spring 2023—that these topics increasingly converged. This convergence revealed a single, overarching perspective in which all themes found a new “conceptual home”, where nothing seems insignificant, and a process is emerging with a force and richness that surpasses anything previously known in human history.
This expansive new perspective will be described in more detail below.
WHAT IS LIFE? First Steps.
There is a well-known saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” However, as the following example will show, when dealing with a highly complex subject, a single image is not enough. Still, it may provide the reader with an initial “framework” that can serve as a reference point, allowing the unimaginably complex concept of “life” to take shape in its first outlines. Have a look to the image at the beginning of this text.
The Complete Picture Consists of Four ‘Elements,’ Each Representing a ‘Logo’ and a Corresponding ‘Theme’:
- “Life@Work. It’s All Inclusive”
This primarily represents biological life on planet Earth. However, as the discussion progresses will proceed, it will become clear that biological life cannot be separated from the other areas. The deeper we delve into the phenomenon of life, the more evident it becomes that everything forms a “dynamic unity” that is ultimately breathtaking. - “SW@WORK. Expand Our Thinking”
This intentionally does not refer to AI but rather to Software (SW), as all AI is, at its core, an “algorithm”—a piece of software capable of controlling “standardized machines” (computers). The fact that the “behavior of such standardized machines” can appear very human or intelligent to users (such as us humans) does not change the reality that this externally observable behavior is internally based on very simple computational operations. These operations lack almost everything that characterizes biological systems.
Nevertheless, living beings can use such standardized machines in various ways to “extend their own capabilities.” It may even be argued that known life forms—particularly the species Homo sapiens—will likely be unable to face emerging futures without leveraging this technology. Conversely, these standardized machines alone will not survive any future, not even remotely. - “EARTH@WORK. Cradle of Humankind”
This represents planet Earth and everything we know about it. The existence of this planet was, in fact, a prerequisite for the development of biological life as we know it. Only in recent years have we begun to understand how known “biological life” (Nature 2) could “emerge” from “non-biological life” (Nature 1).
On deeper analysis, one can recognize not only the commonality in the material used but also the “novel extensions” that distinguish the biological from the non-biological. Rather than turning this “novelty” into a dichotomy—as traditional human thought has often done (e.g., “matter” versus “mind”)—it can be understood as a “manifestation” of something more “fundamental,” an “emergence” of new properties that point to characteristics inherent in the “foundation of everything”—namely, energy. These characteristics only become apparent with the formation of increasingly complex structures.
This new interpretation is inspired by insights from modern physics, particularly quantum physics in conjunction with astrophysics. It suggests a broader interpretation of Einstein’s classical formula e=mc² than is typically considered (summarized as Plus(e=mc²)). - “PHILOSOPHY@WORK. Everything is Object”
This represents the perspective through which the author of this text attempts to bring the complexity of the experienced world (external and internal) “into language” using the expressions of a particular language—here, the English language. The seemingly simple phrase “to bring something into language” belies the inherent complexity of this task.
It will therefore be necessary to more precisely describe the act of “bringing something into language” to make transparent why the following content is communicated in the way that it is.
LITERATURE NOTE
(Last change: Jan 28, 2025)
Up to the above text (including its continuations), I have read many hundreds of articles and books, and of course, I continue reading all the time. 🙂
In doing so, I came across Fritjof Capra’s book again, The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems, completed in 1996 and published in 1997 by Anchor Books, a division of Random House, New York. In 2025, this book is (29)28 years old. And when you look at today’s worldview, this book still seems “revolutionary.” While “light texts” today spread like wildfire through social media, texts that require thoughtful engagement encounter an “invisible wall” that prevents these ideas from penetrating us.
This is not new in human history; on the contrary, it seems as if we, as humans, have a “built-in inertia mechanism” for the new, at least when “mental effort” is demanded of us. This has always been the great opportunity for “populists,” and it doesn’t seem to be any different today…
Continuation
For a continuation see HERE.
