From: jimruttshow8596
The concept of absence is a fundamental, yet often overlooked, element in understanding complex systems and phenomena like life and mind [00:06:20]. Despite being implicitly present in most scientific endeavors, absence has not been fully integrated into physical theories or theories of mental experience [00:06:26].
Absence as a Constitutive Element
Absence refers to a range of phenomena, primarily focusing on purposes, meanings, values, and teleology (purpose and direction) [00:06:41]. For example, the meanings of words are not contained within the physical sound, but are about something that is not physically present, forming a “constitutive absence” where the word’s constitution is linked to what it is not [00:07:10].
Indeed, everything about human existence is, in some respect, related to absence [00:07:43]. This includes the possibility of not existing, coming from an absence, and being interested in things that are linked to what is present by virtue of what they are not [00:07:49]. This problem of dealing with what is absent extends to our understanding of consciousness, which is always about something, but what it is about is not the substance of consciousness itself [00:08:37].
The Analogy of Zero
The difficulty in incorporating absence into scientific theories is akin to the historical struggle in the West to accept the concept of zero [00:09:00]. The acceptance of Arabic numerals, which provided a symbol for nothing, was crucial for developing recursive number systems like the decimal system [00:09:09]. Similarly, philosophical problems like Zeno’s paradox, which deals with infinitely small divisions and the inability to reach a target, highlight this historical struggle with absence and infinity [00:09:49]. The resolution of Zeno’s paradox, leading to calculus, involved learning to work with infinitely small divisions by recognizing a converging effect, rather than counting discrete units [00:10:54].
The challenge of explaining mind, consciousness, representation, and purposeful processes that are directed towards something not yet in existence, may stem from a similar difficulty in grappling with the concept of absence [00:11:37].
Absence and Reductionism
From a reductionist perspective, theories that fail to account for absence essentially imply that our actions and intentions, which lead to significant physical occurrences, do not exist [01:12:12]. For instance, the intent to attend a memorial service, though absent as a physical entity, generates considerable physical motion and activity [01:12:45]. Most human actions are directed towards something that doesn’t yet exist, bringing things into the world that are currently absent [01:13:02]. This drive towards what is absent is the essence of life itself, which constantly works to maintain its existence against the natural tendency to break down and disappear [01:13:16].
Constraints
A key concept in this framework is “constraints,” which directly relates to absence [00:29:01]. Constraints were initially encountered in Claude Shannon’s information theory, where they described how a message is formed by constraining the possible variety of signals in a channel [00:30:13]. Michael Polanyi further developed this idea, arguing that living processes are unique because they involve chemistry that prevents certain other chemistries from happening, meaning the organization of life is a result of what is not allowed or is minimized [00:30:44].
Constraints, Form, and Organization
Constraints are defined as what is absent, referring to what is not happening or being allowed [00:31:28]. They are also the inverse of organization or form [00:31:35]. A form, such as a triangle, represents certain variations or features that are not expressed [00:31:40]. Therefore, form can be understood as what wasn’t there or what features were not present [00:32:21]. Symmetry, for example, is a result of things being absent [00:32:27]. This perspective encourages “thinking in the negative” when discussing form [00:32:33].
Any regularity – be it symmetry, a habit, or a waveform – can be described in terms of the negative [00:33:17]. This means there can be an elaborate, almost infinite, hierarchy of regularization, as any state less than full variety or chaos is considered “formed” [00:33:10].
Orthograde and Contra-grade Processes
To describe processes of change, two terms are introduced:
- Orthograde: Processes that happen spontaneously and do not require work or effort [00:34:46]. This includes the increase of entropy, the tendency for things to fall apart, or an object moving at a constant velocity in empty space [00:34:51]. It’s like “going with the flow” [00:35:09].
- Contra-grade: Processes that go “against the flow” and require work [00:35:28]. When two orthograde tendencies are not aligned and act against each other, they become contra-grade to each other, requiring work to change their direction [00:36:26]. This concept extends beyond physical motion to thermodynamic processes (e.g., generating order against entropy) and even mental processes (e.g., maintaining logical consistency in thought, which takes work, compared to spontaneous daydreaming) [00:37:06].
Three Layers of Emergence
The concept of emergence is reframed through three hierarchical layers of dynamics:
Homeodynamics
Homeodynamic processes are fundamentally orthograde [00:39:32]. They tend to happen spontaneously, leading to an increase in entropy or maintaining an unchanging state, such as a system at equilibrium [00:39:46]. While particles within an equilibrium gas are in constant motion, the overall patterns and gradients remain stable [00:40:35]. These are the most pervasive processes in the non-biotic universe [00:46:08].
Morphodynamics
Morphodynamic processes are a higher order of organization that generate order [00:42:26]. They arise from contra-grade interactions between homeodynamic processes that are precisely balanced [00:42:16]. Examples include whirlpools, convection cells, or snow crystals, where energy flowing through a system generates organized patterns [00:41:33]. However, these processes are inherently self-undermining; they dissipate the very gradients that enable their existence, meaning they tend to wear out unless frozen into a stable state [00:20:00]. Morphodynamic processes are rarer than homeodynamic ones [00:46:12].
Teleodynamics
Teleodynamic processes represent an even higher order of emergence, characterized by “end-directedness” or purpose [00:44:30]. They emerge when morphodynamic processes are juxtaposed and balanced in such a way that they counteract each other and prevent their own disappearance [00:43:01]. This allows for the maintenance, reproduction, and repair of order against its natural tendency to break down [00:43:37]. An organism, for instance, engages in processes not just to make form, but to recover lost form or produce new form that doesn’t yet exist, such as in repair or reproduction [00:43:53].
Life is a prime example of a teleodynamic system, constantly working contra-grade to its own tendency to go out of existence [00:45:22]. Though incredibly rare in the cosmos, once they occur, teleodynamic processes can amplify themselves and spread, as seen with life on Earth [00:47:56].
The Autogen Model
The “autogen” model is a thought experiment designed to concretely illustrate teleodynamics [00:48:47]. It proposes a simple system involving two morphodynamic processes:
- Reciprocal Catalysis: Where catalyst A generates catalyst B, which in turn generates more A, leading to a rapid, self-accelerating production of specific molecules [00:50:53]. This process is self-undermining as it quickly uses up raw materials [00:51:50].
- Crystallization (Capsid Formation): Analogous to the formation of a viral protein shell (capsid), where molecules in a supersaturated solution self-assemble into a regular, contained structure [00:53:35]. This process also stops once raw materials are depleted or the structure closes off [00:54:22].
In the autogen model, the catalytic process generates molecules (e.g., “molecule G”) that form the capsid [00:55:34]. Simultaneously, the growing capsid contains the catalysts, preventing them from diffusing away and maintaining their potential for interaction [00:55:08]. This creates a self-reinforcing, co-localized system [00:56:42]. If broken, the dispersed catalysts immediately begin forming more catalysts and capsids, leading to self-repair [00:57:04].
This system demonstrates how two morphodynamic processes can balance each other, preventing each other from disappearing and maintaining their relationship [00:57:24]. Each process produces constraints that support and preserve the other, collectively generating a higher-order constraint: the constraint of their relationship to each other [00:57:38]. What is passed on in such a system is not necessarily the specific chemistry, but the system of constraints – how something absent can reproduce itself [00:59:10]. This points to information as what is being passed on, specifically information about how to maintain the ability to generate information yet again [00:59:47].
Information and Absence
Information, in this context, is deeply intertwined with constraints and absence [01:03:00].
- Shannon Information: Claude Shannon’s information theory focuses on the engineering problem of transmitting messages over a medium, measuring how much information can be carried by comparing the possible variety of signals with the variety actually received, based on constraints on that signal [01:03:33]. It does not refer to meaning or usefulness, but to the amount of constraints [01:05:02].
- Boltzmann Entropy: Shannon’s concept of entropy (maximum possible variety) relates to physical entropy at equilibrium [01:08:29]. Information is always physical, embodied in a medium. Noise in signal transmission is due to the Boltzmann effects of the physical medium’s entropy degrading over time, losing constraints [01:09:01].
- Bateson’s “Difference that Makes a Difference”: Gregory Bateson posited information as a “difference that makes a difference” [01:12:34]. This applies to physical processes like a thermostat, where a temperature difference causes a chain of physical reactions [01:12:50]. However, in English, “making a difference” also implies “mattering” [01:13:54]. Something “matters” if it is necessary for a system (specifically, a living or teleodynamic system) to persist [01:14:10].
Teleodynamic systems distinguish the world into “self” and “other,” categorizing things as supportive or non-supportive, dangerous or non-dangerous [01:14:40]. This ability to discern normative features (good/bad, right/wrong) only arises in systems with a future-orientedness and a self-other distinction [01:15:01]. To interpret something, a teleodynamic process is required that can have a self-other relationship and is organized around constraint and absence [01:15:39]. This allows the system to recognize that a constraint (like a snow crystal’s structure) can be “about” something else (the work that produced it) [01:16:01].
Sentience and Consciousness
The autogen model introduces a fundamental form of “sentience,” where the system is organized to be differentially reactive to its environment in a way that maintains itself and increases its probability of reproduction [01:19:56]. This sensitivity to the environment, distinguishing between “good for me” and “bad for me,” arises from the teleodynamic nature of the system [01:20:29]. This is a transition from mere chemistry to “normative chemistry” [01:22:57].
Consciousness, in this view, is a higher level of emergence beyond simple vegetative sentience [01:22:25]. It requires a system that can create models of the world, representing alternatives and possibilities [01:26:22]. Brains are seen as “micro-teleodynamic processes” nested within a larger teleodynamic process (the body) [01:31:27]. Every neuron is teleodynamic, striving to maintain itself while interacting with other neurons, and the entire neural network also possesses a teleodynamic structure [01:33:29].
Mental phenomena, such as feeling and cognition, are not static states but dynamic processes [01:42:36]. A “representation” in the nervous system is a dynamical form, a kind of “morphodynamics” or a “melody” of activity, rather than a set of switch settings [01:43:56]. This dynamic form is generated by metabolic work, driving against the spontaneous “neurological noise” of the brain [01:44:11].
Attention and the Hard Problem
Attention is an act of work, an effort involving a contra-grade feature [01:40:05]. When something forces attention (e.g., pain) or when one consciously redirects thought, it involves doing work against spontaneous processes [01:41:49]. This perspective suggests rethinking the nervous system in non-computational terms, as computers do not feel or maintain themselves [01:40:50].
The “hard problem” of consciousness, as articulated by David Chalmers, posits that no matter how much we learn about the brain’s physical mechanisms, we never seem to bridge the gap to understanding subjective experience [01:51:21]. This is likened to Zeno’s paradox: the more details we gather, the further we seem from the target of explanation [01:52:27].
However, just as Zeno’s paradox was resolved by rethinking zero/absence, the hard problem may be resolved by recognizing that absences matter [01:54:16]. The feeling of being, the subjective experience, arises from dynamics defined by constraints and their synergistic linking [01:55:58]. We are not the physical stuff that constantly changes, but a dynamical system of constraints that maintains itself in existence [01:56:21]. Being is “doing,” and doing is “work” – the constrained dissipation of energy [01:57:01]. This work generates new constraints, which enable new kinds of work, in a recursive loop [01:57:27]. This is the essence of emergence, where new, fundamentally different absences come into existence from old ones [01:58:40]. Our experience is rooted in being these dynamic absences [01:59:00].