From: jimruttshow8596
The discussion explores the nature of emergence and complexity within biological systems and the broader cosmos, contrasting it with traditional, mechanistic views of reality.
Understanding Emergence
Complexity science, a field roughly 35 years old, studies emergent phenomena [00:28:36]. Emergence describes how lower-level interactions produce a higher-level phenomenon that is not easily predictable from the nature of the lower-level components [00:28:46]. For example, imagining a human being from a tub of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen is a “gigantic leap of imagination” [00:29:01]. Similarly, the fluid and slippery nature of water emerges from the structure of hydrogen and oxygen molecules [00:33:27].
A key distinction is made between a complicated system and a complex system [00:26:58]. While complicated human-engineered devices like nuclear power plants or airplanes can be decomposed into understandable components and reassembled, a biological cell cannot [00:26:27]. A cell is an “unbelievably complicated series of processes” where DNA defines “relatively low level components,” and the interaction of these components emerges to produce the cell’s behavior [00:26:41].
The Role of Scale
The concept of scale is crucial in understanding complex systems [00:31:43]. While the nature of matter at the atomic or molecular level might be murky, aggregate behaviors at larger scales become more predictable [00:31:51]. The idea of emergence suggests that a new layer of interactions is produced, where the specific details of the lower level may no longer be significant [00:32:16]. For instance, the exact nature of an atom or electron doesn’t significantly affect how organic chemicals interact when they are emergent aggregates [00:32:25].
Complexity in Life
Life, as a complex system, demonstrates unique attributes:
- Speed of Development Things that might take billions of years in inanimate systems can occur in seconds or less within living organisms [00:30:01].
- Responsiveness Living entities are far more responsive to circumstances than inanimate substances [00:30:16].
While there is a massive difference in degree between animate and inanimate systems, there isn’t a hard line, which suggests that consciousness might not be confined to living things but could be a constituent of the cosmos [00:30:43].
Life’s Unpredictability and Purpose
Biological systems, including cells, rely on a degree of “disorder” or “chaos” for their functioning, such as low-probability energetic events causing reactions [00:09:28]. This contrasts with the idea of “true randomness,” which is considered an asymptotic element that can only be approached but never fully achieved [00:08:04].
The concept of “purpose” in life is important, though it should not be confused with a “predetermined plan” from an external engineer [00:37:56]. Instead, it suggests a “tendency in the universe” towards greater complexity and beauty, which is hard to understand without some idea of purpose [00:39:09].
This purpose can be thought of as an “infinite game” where the process itself is the purpose, rather than a finite game with a defined, external goal [00:39:52]. This distinguishes between “intrinsic purposes” and “extrinsic purposes” [00:40:26]. For example, the purpose of a deer is not merely to propagate its genes, but rather “just being the lion is the purpose of a lion” [00:43:52]. Animals fulfill something that is itself an end, a goal, a purpose within the wider field of life and the cosmos [00:52:07].
The universe’s capacity for emergence is evident in the existence of complex life forms [00:52:24]. This doesn’t imply an external design or a “white deer” in mind, but rather that the “possibility of something was not ruled out” by existence [00:54:23]. This highlights the “potential” within the cosmos, which is considered to have extraordinary value, perhaps even more than what is actualized [00:54:58]. There does seem to be a “drive towards increased complexity in life” [00:56:51].