Emergence of Mind

From: jimruttshow8596

The emergence of mind from matter is a central theme in Terrence Deacon’s 2011 book, Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter [00:04:31]. Deacon, a professor of anthropology and neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley, investigates how human cognition evolved and addresses the problem of explaining emergent phenomena like the origin of life, language, and conscious experience generated by brains [00:03:02]. His work is described as a careful and deeply constructed argument, accessible to non-specialists with effort [00:19:19].

The Role of Absence

A key idea in Deacon’s argument is the concept of absence [00:06:08]. He posits that absence, though often implicit, has not been fully integrated into physical or mental theories [00:06:26]. He distinguishes between various forms of absence, particularly those related to purposes, meanings, values, and philosophical teleology (purpose and direction) [00:06:41]. For example, the meaning of spoken words is not inherent in the sound but refers to something not physically present [00:07:12]. This is termed “constitutive absence,” where the constitution of a word is linked to what it is not [00:07:33].

Deacon parallels this difficulty with the historical Western struggle to accept the concept of zero, which only became possible with the adoption of Arabic numerals [00:09:03]. The inability to handle absence also dogged early philosophy, exemplified by Zeno’s paradox, which was eventually resolved by calculus and the understanding of infinitely small divisions [00:09:50]. He suggests that the problem of mind, representation, and purposive processes stems from this difficulty in dealing with absences [00:11:37]. Living processes, by their very nature, are oriented toward an absent future, constantly working to maintain their existence against the tendency to break down [00:13:02].

Life and Thermodynamics

Deacon explores how life relates to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that disorder (entropy) tends to increase in the universe [00:14:01]. Living processes appear to defy this law locally by maintaining order [00:15:03]. However, this maintenance requires constant work, which generates more entropy in the wider environment, similar to a refrigerator generating heat to stay cold [00:15:30].

He distinguishes between “self-organizing processes” (like whirlpools or convection cells) and living processes [00:17:24]. Self-organizing processes, while generating order, also speed up the dissipation of the energy gradients that make them possible, thus being self-undermining [00:18:01]. The key to life, according to Deacon, is not just generating order but preventing it from disappearing, which requires an additional step beyond simple self-organization [00:19:01].

Hierarchies of Emergence

To explain the different levels of emergence, Deacon introduces new terminology:

• Orthograde and Contra-grade [00:33:58]: These terms describe directions of change. “Orthograde” refers to processes that happen spontaneously, like the natural increase of entropy or an object moving at a constant velocity without external work [00:34:51]. “Contra-grade” refers to processes that go against the spontaneous flow, requiring work or effort [00:35:17]. Thinking logically, for instance, is contra-grade compared to daydreaming [00:37:45]. When two orthograde tendencies are not aligned and do work on each other, they become contra-grade [00:36:26].

• Homeodynamics [00:39:32]: These are orthograde processes that either increase entropy or remain in a stable, unchanging state (like equilibrium), where overall patterns stay the same despite constant particle motion [00:40:07]. These are pervasive in the non-biotic physical world [00:46:08].

• Morphodynamics [00:42:09]: These are order-generating processes resulting from contra-grade interactions between homeodynamic processes that are precisely balanced [00:42:16]. Examples include whirlpools, convection cells, and snow crystals [00:41:38]. They converge towards regularization (morphology) but are self-destructive as they dissipate the gradients that make them possible [00:42:37]. Morphodynamic processes are rarer than homeodynamic ones [00:46:12].

• Teleodynamics [00:43:02]: This is a higher-order form of emergence, where two or more morphodynamic processes are juxtaposed and balanced in such a way that they maintain and reproduce the order that tends to break down [00:44:00]. Teleodynamic processes are end-directed towards something absent (like future existence or repair), actively regenerating lost or non-existent forms [00:43:43]. They are uniquely capable of amplifying themselves, spreading once they occur, unlike morphodynamic processes which tend to wear out [00:47:49]. This is the essence of what life is about [00:45:22].

Autogen as a Model for Teleodynamics

To concretize the abstract notion of teleodynamics, Deacon proposes the “autogen” as an empirically testable thought experiment [00:48:47]. An autogen is a system where two morphodynamic processes mutually support and constrain each other:

1. Reciprocal Catalysis: An autocatalytic process where catalyst A produces catalyst B, which in turn produces more A, leading to a rapid, self-organizing (morphodynamic) increase in their concentration [00:50:51]. This process is self-undermining as it quickly uses up raw materials [00:51:52].
2. Crystallization/Capsid Formation: Molecules in a supersaturated solution tend to stick together, forming regular structures like crystals or, in the case of viruses, protein shells called capsids [00:53:16]. This is also a morphodynamic process, but it stops growing once raw materials are depleted or the structure closes itself off [00:54:13].

In the autogen model, the catalytic process generates the molecules needed for capsid formation, maintaining the growth rate [00:55:13]. Simultaneously, the capsid formation constrains the diffusion of the catalysts, keeping them co-localized and maintaining their interaction potential [00:55:56]. This creates a self-reproducing, self-repairing system (like a virus) where the constituents are generated and contained by each other [00:56:49]. If broken, the dispersed catalysts and capsid precursors can regenerate the whole system, demonstrating how an absence (the missing intact structure) can reproduce itself through the maintenance of specific constraints [00:57:12]. This mechanism explains how information (which is about constraints and absences) can be passed on [00:59:47].

Information and Normativity

Deacon discusses information by comparing Claude Shannon’s “information theory” (measuring how much message can be transmitted based on variety and constraints) with Ludwig Boltzmann’s entropy (physical degradation of a medium) [01:03:31]. Shannon’s information is physical, stored as constraints in a medium, but it lacks meaning or usefulness [01:05:02]. Physical entropy (Boltzmann entropy) causes noise, interfering with information transmission [01:09:01].

He then introduces Gregory Bateson’s idea of information as “a difference that makes a difference” [01:13:38]. Deacon interprets this not just as causing change, but as mattering [01:14:01]. Something “matters” if it’s necessary for a system’s continued existence, self-maintenance, or future generation [01:14:10]. Teleodynamic systems inherently distinguish between self and other, and what is supportive vs. non-supportive, dangerous vs. not dangerous [01:14:40]. This gives rise to a “normative character,” where things are implicitly good or bad, right or wrong, useful or unuseful for the system’s persistence [01:15:03]. Thus, to interpret information (to have it be about something), a teleodynamic process with a self-other distinction is required [01:15:39].

Sentience and Consciousness

Deacon defines sentience in its simplest form as a system being “differentially reactive” to its environment in a way that maintains itself [01:20:08]. The autogen provides a minimal example: its physical structure could be sensitive to environmental precursor molecules, becoming more fragile in supportive environments, allowing it to “break apart” and reproduce only where resources are abundant [01:18:41]. This basic sensitivity divides the world into “good for me” and “bad for me,” introducing a normative chemistry [01:20:30].

He distinguishes between:

• Vegetative Sentience: Simple differential reactivity, seen in plants (e.g., roots growing towards water, leaves towards light) [01:21:27].
• Subjective Sentience: The more complex sentience associated with brains, which involves a full representation or model of environmental possibilities and alternatives [01:22:13].

Deacon argues that understanding consciousness requires first understanding sentience at its simplest level [01:24:04]. Brains evolve in motile animals that need to predict future environments, leading to the development of a centralized nervous system at the head end for information processing [01:29:23]. The nervous system itself is a nested teleodynamic process: individual neurons are teleodynamic (maintaining themselves), and the network of neurons collectively forms a higher-order teleodynamic system that maintains the body [01:31:25]. This “teleodynamics of teleodynamics” enables the interpretation of the world, distinguishing self from other and good from bad [01:32:48].

Feeling is primary to cognition, being about “work” or a contra-grade relationship where spontaneous tendencies are disturbed [01:35:36]. Attention, for instance, is a work process that takes effort, involving the nervous system initiating work to resolve opposing tendencies [01:39:25]. Mental representations are not static states but “dynamical forms” or “music-like” morphodynamic activities in the brain, constantly balancing new inputs with existing self-maintenance processes [01:43:56]. The function of consciousness is often to make things unconscious [01:47:12]; by resolving contradictions and integrating information, the brain pushes processes to an automatic, non-conscious level, reserving the limited bandwidth of consciousness for novel or unresolved challenges [01:49:23].

The Hard Problem Reconsidered

Deacon addresses David Chalmers’ “hard problem” of consciousness, which asks why physical brain activity produces subjective experience (qualia) [01:51:21]. This problem suggests that increasing scientific detail about neurons and synapses doesn’t bring us closer to understanding subjective feeling [01:51:59], mirroring Zeno’s paradox [01:52:22]. Chalmers’ argument, like Descartes’ dualism, implies an unbridgeable gap between physical and mental realms [01:53:11].

Deacon’s work proposes that the “hard problem” arises from focusing on the wrong aspect: the physical stuff rather than the absences [01:55:02]. He asserts that “absences matter” and are the only thing that makes a difference in this context [01:55:40]. The mind is not the physical matter (which constantly changes in the body) but a “dynamical system of constraints” that maintains its own existence [01:56:39]. Life, and mind, is about “doing” (work) [01:57:05], which involves constraining energy dissipation to generate new constraints. This iterative process of generating new constraints and new kinds of work is the essence of emergence [01:57:36]. Thus, human cognition and morality are not merely “hidden” but have emerged as fundamentally new absences from old ones [01:58:37]. The very essence of what we are lies in these emergent absences [01:59:00].