Incorporating Meaning into Fundamental Physicsbdj10/Documents/Spain-2017.pdf · Incorporating...

IncorporatingMeaningintoFundamentalPhysics

BrianD.Josephson

Mind–MatterUnificationProject

DepartmentofPhysics

UniversityofCambridge

1

http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~bdj10

INCORPORATINGMEANINGINTOFUNDAMENTALPHYSICSFrontiersofFundamentalPhysics15

Incompletenessofpresentdayphysics

Presentdayphysicsisseriouslyincompletebecauseitignoresmeaning.

Leavingmeaning outofaccountinourunderstandingofnatureislikeleavingatoms outofconsideration,ornottakingintoaccountthelatticewhentryingtounderstandcrystals:aproperunderstandingofphysicsatafundamentallevelisnotpossiblewithoutincludingit.

Physicsdoesnotcurrentlyunderstandthesubtletiesofthecooperativeprocessesleadingtothebuildingofcomplexorganised structures onthebasisofmechanismsinvolvingmeaning.Realityresemblesanorchestrateddance,morethanitdoessomethingconstrainedbytherigidequationsthatarethenorminthephysicsparadigm.

Thekeytotakingmeaningintoaccountistoincludeinanalysestheconceptofsign (asinPeirce’ssemiotics,knownasbiosemioticsinthe contextofbiology).Thishasthepotentialforaradicaladvanceinscience.

INCORPORATINGMEANINGINTOFUNDAMENTALPHYSICS 2FrontiersofFundamentalPhysics15

Signsvs.information

Signsaremorethaninformationandcooperationinvolvesmorethansimplyinteraction.‘Signsservetomediatebetweeninformationasawholeandtheneedsoftheorganism.Thisisexactlywhatdistinguisheslivingsystemsfromnon-livingones:thepresenceintheformerofsemioticinteractionmechanisms,whichhavenocounterpartinthelatter’(adaptedfromHoffmeyer).


Examplesoftheutilityofsigns

• Swimmingbacteria,whereacomplexmechanisminterpretsspecificinformationinsuchawaythatthebacteriacanaccessfood.

• Languageassystem:thespeakerproducesinformationrelatedtoagoal,followedbyitsinterpretation bythelistener,resultinginthegoalbeingachieved.

• Suchasystemactsasscaffolding,uponwhichcanbeconstructedaworldofmeaningfulactivity(semiosphere).


Moreonincompletenessofphysics

Physicsandbiologyinvolveradicallydifferentsituations(Dyson).Physicistsliketodealwithregularitiesthatcanbefittedtoaformula,butbiologyislessregular.Itdealsmorewithprocesses(e.g.specificchemicalreactions)andorganisation (e.g.catalysis)thanwithprecisenumbers.

Inphysics,onlywhatcanbequantified isdeemedworthyofattention.IgnoringmeaninghasdrivenQMtotheerroneousconclusionthattheorycanaddressonlystatisticaloutcomes.

Bohr:observationsinphysicsaretosomeextentcomplementarytothosemadeinbiology(quantityvs.process),implyingthatphysicsexperimentscandestroybiologicalinformation.


Basichypothesis

Theprocessesstudiedinphysicstoday,basedonquantummechanics,derivefromanunderlyingbiological substrate,withpropertiesofmindaswellasmatter.

Biologyismorefundamental!

Inbiology,componentsystems‘fallintoplace’throughsemioticprocesses,justasindividualconstituentsfallintoplacethroughinteractionsinregularphysicalsystemssuchasferromagnets.Regularphysicslacksappropriatetoolstoinvestigatesuchprocesses,sofailstotakeintoaccounttheirimportantinfluence.


Thepiecesofthepuzzle

INCORPORATINGMEANINGINTOFUNDAMENTALPHYSICS 7

semiotics

theoryofsigns(Peirce)

biosemiotics:structure⬌ process

Scaffolding⬌ semiosphere(Hoffmeyer)

physics

EntanglementofmatterandmeaningConstructive‘intra-actions’

(Barad)

LocusofcontrolInstability,edgeofchaos,gestalts

(Hankey)

Transactionsinvolvingpossibilities(Kastner)

intuition

CircularTheory(Yardley)OppositionaldynamicsCirclesandCirclingTriadicorganisation

FrontiersofFundamentalPhysics15

Barad:activematter

Strangebehaviour inthethequantumdomainresemblessomefamiliarbehaviour inthehumandomain.Barad’sbasicpictureinvolvesagencies thatcooperatethrough‘intra-actions’toproducemanifest phenomena.How?Withspecialised apparatus,suchcooperationcanconstrainpossibilities,withmanifestconsequences.Familiarexample:‘collapseofthewavefunction’.Moredramaticcase:thewayinterferencepatternsthathavebeendestroyedbya‘whichway’observationcanberecreatedbyerasingtheinformationthathasbeenregisteredintheobservation.Conclusion:undersomeconditions,matterisabletoshaperealityinpreciseways,similartowhathappenswithlife.Henceitisclaimedbysomethat‘Matterfeels,converses,suffers,desires,yearnsandremembers’(interviewwithAdamKleinmann).


Levelsofsemioticbehaviour

Reciprocallyinterrelatedunitsinsemiosis:

Sign⬌ object

System⬌ process

Scaffolding⬌ semiosphere


Asprevious:‘signsservetomediatebetweeninformationasawholeandtheneedsoftheorganism.Thisisexactlywhatdistinguisheslivingsystemsfromnon-livingones:thepresenceintheformerofsemioticinteractionmechanisms,whichhavenocounterpartinthelatter’.Signusagedevelopswithinasystemaspartofthedevelopmentofaprocess:

Signsandsystems


processsystem

e.g.aspecificlanguage


Signsandtheirobjects

Signsandobjectsarerelatedbyinterpretation andproduction:


objectsign

interpretation

production

Theseconnectionsdevelopasasystemdevelops,andplayanessentialroleintheexecutionofaprocess.


Instability,signsandedgeofchaos

AlexHankey,inComplexity-BiologyBasedInformationStructures...


Entity‘echoesback’andcanserveasanidentifierforthewholeprocess.Modifyingfeedbackcanplaceasystematthe‘edgeofchaos’foroptimalevolution:‘thistermisusedtodenoteatransitionspacebetweenorderanddisorder,aregionofboundedinstabilitythatengendersaconstantdynamicinterplaybetweenorderanddisorder’.

entityBehaviour offeedbackloop: Codeduality


Communities:scaffoldingandsemiosphere

Acollectionofentitiesmaysharethesamecodesystem(i.e.thesamesignmayrelatetoequivalentobjectsforallmembersofthecollection),andthesamecommunicativeprotocol.

Thuscomesintoexistenceaworldofsharedmeaning(asemiosphere).

Thesharedmechanismsthatdevelopinacommunityunderliethissharedmeaning, andconstituteascaffolding thatsupportsallitsactivities.

(detailsinHoffmeyer,semioticscaffolding)



Mankind,thesymbolicspecies(Deacon)

Signsareofthreetypes:iconic,indexicalandsymbolic.

Thesymbolic useofsignsinvolvesthesystematicuseofsignsinsituationswherethecorrespondingobjectsmaybeabsent,aspecificallyhumanprocessassociatedwithitsownspecialised organising mechanisms,e.g.workinginconjunctionwithlong-termmemory.


Fromdescriptionstophysicsviamaths

Theanalysisofbehaviour iscomplicatedbecauseperformanceoveraperiodisobtainedbyiterating shorter-timescalesteps.

Considerdrivingacar:thedrivercontrolsjustthreeparameters:theangleofthesteeringwheel,andthedepressionsofthebrakeandaccelerator.

Assumethesetobedeterminedbysomecomputationf(relevantinput); thentrajectoryovertimewillbegotbyiteratingtheinfluenceoff thatobtainsovershortperiods.Thenf isconstrainedbytherequirementthatthistrajectorybeconsistentwithdemandssuchasmakingprogress,andnotsufferingacollision.

Thusfisseentobeasolutiontoawell-definedproblem,andlearningisamatteroffindingsolutionstothisproblemoverarangeofsituations.


Exampleofapplicationofmaths (Osborne1995)


Computersimulationofbalance

The Logical Structure of theCognitive Mechanisms Guiding

Psychological Development

by George OsborneWolfson College

Cambridge

https://philarchive.org/rec/OSBTLS-2


Programstructure


Outputofprogram


Whenprogressandpoliticscollide

Despitethisworkmeetingtheapprovaloftwoseniormembersofthetheorygroup,thedepartmentconsidereditinappropriate,andpressurised thestudentintodiscontinuingthework.

Thisillustratedwell‘Theremarkablehostilitysometimesencounteredbythosewhoventureintounconventionalareas’(fromtheabstractofmyhistoricalreviewCoupledsuperconductorsandbeyond, atarXiv:1206.5850).


Steppingstones

‘Newemergentscaffoldingdevices(unknowingly)functionlikesteppingstonesinariver,leadingevolutionaryprocessesforwardonestepatatimeand— onaverage— fartherawayfromthebankateachstep’(Hoffmeyer)

Signsservetomediatebetweeninformationasawholeandtheneedsoftheorganism:newtypesofsignarerelevantatdifferentstagesandcanensureafurtherstepofprogress— butthesignsneedtoberelevantones.


f1 f2 f3


1976paperon‘onestepatatime’

MultistageacquisitionofIntelligentBehaviourB.D.JosephsonandH.M.Hauser

Kybernetes,10,11-15(1981)

http://cogprints.org/813/

Human skills areacquired notbyasingleuniform process,butinaseries ofstages.We have investigated suchasequential process bytaking asanillustrative example the gameof tabletennis.The aims ineach stage of learningarequalitatively different,andwe showindetailhow knowledge gained duringone stage provides essential information for subsequent stages.


Steppingstonemechanismconstraints

Thesteppingstoneconceptrequiresthefollowing,inorderforsuchamechanismtobeabletomanifest:

• Steppingstonesmustexist

• Steppingfromonetotheothermustbeachievable(S.Kauffman’s‘adjacentpossible’)

• Processneedstobeattheedgeofchaossocanalternatebetweenstabilityandchange


Languageillustration

Itisaconfusingsituation:weknowaboutpartsandhowpartsfittogether,butthereisnoclearpictureofthewholeasweexpectinfundamentalphysics.Languageinparticularillustratesthesituation.Itinvolvesahighlycomplexsystem,whichcanexpressdeepideas,andsomehow‘justworks’.Thismustbebecausefromtimetotimepartsgetaddedontothescaffolding,andmayberetainedwhentheyfitinwellwithexistingstateofaffairs.

Thesteppingstonepicturedemonstratestherelevanceofhistory:howthingsaretodaydependsonstepsthatweretakeninthepast,eachofwhch stepsledinduecoursetoregainedstabilitythatcouldformthebasisforreliablenewdevelopments.

Mathematicsmayapplylocally,butthehistorydependenceofagivensystemmeansthatnoformulaforbehaviour atanygiventimeispossible.


Doesthismatterforphysics?

Whetheritmattersdependsonwhetherthiskindofthinghappensatafundamentallevel,asinBarad’spicture,ortheorthodoxstatisticalpictureisallthatispossible.Howcanthebiosemiotic analysisbeappliedatthisfundamentallevel?Yardleyproposesthefollowing:‘Anentityisalwayspartofaprocess,aprocessalwayspartofasystem,whichisalwayspartofanentity,processandsystem,adinfinitum’.

The‘adinfinitum’,ifvalid,hastheimmediateimplicationthatbiologydoesnotstopwithregularphysicsandchemistry:similarphenomenahappenatallscales,afeaturecommontoanumberofsystems.


Oppositionaldynamics

AkeyroleinYardley’sanalysisisplayedby‘oppositionaldynamics’,or‘twoactingasone’,particularformsofwhichwehavealreadymetunderthename‘reciprocallyinterrelatedunits’:

Sign⬌ object

System⬌ process


Incirculartheorythereismore:

Mind⬌Matter


Pairingandreproduction

Simplepatternscoexistwithcomplexonesinanapproximationtoequilibrium.Itisaconstrainedprocesswherepartscanneverthelessmovetogetheronthebasisofintercommunication(cf.Barad).

Linkagebetweentwoparts,sayXandY,canaccountforreproduction:


X Y X


Relationshipsandscaffolding

AthirdelementZisinvolvedinrelatingXandY,andcandevelopintoacomplexscaffolding-typeorderingmechanism.Initssimplestform,Zisacombinationxy,andxandyindividuallypairwithXandY,determiningtheirrelationship.


Thispictureisasingleentityindicatingtherelationbetweentwo,rocksandcar.Withlanguage,phrasesdosomethingsimilar.


Howitstarts

Onlyaverybasicstructureisneededtostartallofthisoff,avoidingthecomplexitiesoftheoriginsofconventionallife.Oneentity(circle)separatesintotwo(line),whileathirdentity,playingtheroleofmind,encodestherelationshipsbetweenanytwo,andformsthestartofacommunitythatcanorganise matter.

Akeyinsight:‘anyideaisconnectedtoacounter-idea(anopposite,oritsobject),orelsetheideacannotexist’,characterising whatavalidideamustconsistof.


Triadsandcontexts


contextlinkedtosymbol

Idea(mind)

unfoldingofidea(matter)

Manyideasmayapplytoasinglecontext,regulatedasaunitbya‘foundationalcomputer’pithatbringsalltheideastogether.‘Piproducesstabilityandreliabilityforreality,which,inandofitself,is,markedly,unstableandunreliable’.


Mind,theuniverseandeverything

Inthispicturetherecanexist‘globalscaffolding’,correspondingtoasemiosphere orsphereofactionconsistingofthetotalityofactivity.

Mind⬌Matter

Thisfieldofmind couldbetheoriginofthecosmos,oflife,andthedirectionofevolution.

‘Thereisasymbolicmaninmindwhichistheideaofmanwhichhadtobepresentsomewherehidden(imaginary,anidea)beforemancouldappear’.

Inotherwords,evolutionledtomanbecausetheendpointoftheprocessalreadyexistedasanideathatcoulddirectwhathappenedduringevolution.


Linkswithphysics

TheideathatbiologyextendstoallscaleslegitimisesBarad’sapproach,andmotivatestheattempttolinkthiswithquantumphysics.

• QMdescribesthelinearaspectofnatureinvolvingvibrations.

• Observersbuildupstructurethroughapparatusthathasevolvedtodealwiththis,basedonfilteringandinterference.Cuttingaunitintotwoconstitutesmeasurement,withonepartendingupwithamarkcorrelatedwiththestateoftheother.Apparatusandpartarecorrelated(fromBarad’sMeetingtheUniverseHalfway:theEntanglementofMatterandMeaning).


Homeopathy

Iincludethisslideasaresultofaplea,byPeterAdams,authorof‘Homeopathy:GoodScience’,whoremarksthat‘Thecampaignagainsthomeopathyisgatheringforce’,simplytonotethatthisapproachsupportsBenveniste’s ideaofbiologicalsignal(seeFromhighdilutionstodigitalbiology:thephysicalnatureofthebiologicalsignalbyYolène Thomas).

Theideaisjustthatinbiologyweknowthatsignalsareusedtodenoteparticularconcepts(e.g.criesofanimals),andwatermightbeusedasacarrierforsuchsignals,withbiologicallyactivemoleculesbeingtheirsource.Dilutionwouldeliminatethemolecules,butnotthesignals.


Conclusions

Physicswasdrivenintoitscurrentpositionbyamaterialisticethictowhichallmembersoftheclubwerecompelledtosubscribe.Thekindofalternativediscussedhereismuchmoreappealing.

BiosemioticstookthePeirce’sconceptofsignandappliedittobiology,introducingduringtheprocessanumberofradicallynewconceptswhichhavethepotentialtorevolutionise science.Suchconceptscanbeformulatedmathematically,makingthemrelevanttophysics,includingfundamentalphysicsiftheideathatbiologicalfunctionhappensatallscalesiscorrect.


Acknowledgements

ThankstoIlexa YardleyandAlexHankeyfordeepdiscussions.


(andatothephysicsdepartment).

Andthankstotheaudienceforyourattention!



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