Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia; Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.
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Glossary Hints :
Glossary terms are indicated in the blog text by the dark blue color : BothAnd
A click on the linked term will take you to the glossary definition.
For more information on technical terms, go to the indicated links, both internal and external
GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMINOLOGY
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Magic :
Magic, Mystic, Gnostic, Psychic,and Paranormal are terms that presume a source of power & knowledge inaccessible by Science, Religion, or Philosophy. A modern form of that ancient idea is "The Force" in the Star Wars movies, portrayed in hybrid physical/spiritual terms as a sort of Quantum Field. This latent power can be accessed only by people with innate talents or specialized training. Their "powers" are manifested as mind-over-matter Psychokinesis, or Mind-reading, or Mind-control. In practice though, the magical arts are a form of con-game, using psychological tricks & visual illusions that are impressive to gullible people. [ see Mysticism ]
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Materialism :
Opposed to Spiritualism. Materialism as a philosophy is held by those who maintain that existence is explainable solely in material terms, with no accounting of spirit or consciousness. Individuals who hold to this belief see the universe as a huge device held together by pieces of matter functioning in subjection to naturalistic laws. Since materialism denies all concepts of Special Creation, it relies on the Theory of Evolution to explain itself, making beliefs in materialism and evolution interdependent. [ see Enformationism ]
https://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/materialism.htm
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Meta-physics :
The branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, substance and attribute, fact and value.
1. Often dismissed by materialists as idle speculation on topics not amenable to empirical proof.
2. Aristotle divided his treatise on science into two parts. The world as-known-via-the-senses was labeled “physics” - what we call "Science" today. And the world as-known-by-the-mind, by reason, was labeled “metaphysics” - what we now call "Philosophy" .
3. Plato called the unseen world that hides behind the physical façade: “Ideal” as opposed to Real. For him, Ideal “forms” (concepts)
were prior-to the Real “substance” (matter).
4. Physics refers to the things we perceive with the eye of the body. Meta-physics refers to the things we conceive with the eye of the
mind. Meta-physics includes the properties, and qualities, and functions that make a thing what it is. Matter is just the clay from which a thing is made. Meta-physics is the design (form, purpose); physics is the product (shape, action). The act of creation brings an ideal design into actual existence. The design concept is the “formal” cause of the thing designed.
5. I use a hyphen in the spelling to indicate that I am not talking about Ghosts and Magic, but about Ontology (science of being).
[ see blog post 51 for Special Metaphysics ]
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“M” terminology continued . . .
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Intelligent Evolution :
This essay lays-out my hypothesis of how the Creator of the Enformationism worldview programmed a physical universe that could in-effect create itself from scratch. By that, I don't mean from absolutely nothing, but from a metaphorical seed or egg of cosmic mathematical potential that cosmologists call the Singularity. From that point of beginning, Evolution began, not with a literal bang, but with a magical "voila!" of instant inflation. Since then, our world has been emerging from potential to actual more-or-less as scientists have documented. [ link Intelligent Evolution essay ] [ link IE Glossary ]
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Logos :
Greek term meaning “word”, “reason”, “proportion”. It was used by philosophers in a technical sense to mean a cosmic principle of order and knowledge. In ancient Greek philosophy and theology, Logos was the divine Reason implicit in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning.
Notes on Meta-Physics :
Physics is the science of material Things & Forces. Things are Objects (nouns)
Metaphysics is the science of immaterial Non-Things such as Ideas, Concepts, Processes, & Universals. Non-things are Agents (subjects), Actions (verbs), or Categories (adverbs, adjectives).
Selves are meta-physical agents, in the sense that they are more than a collection of physical parts. They are not Spiritual, in the sense of ghosts without bodies. At death, a Self dissipates even as the parts remain.
Quora quote :
“Metaphysics is an evaluation of the more encompassing abstract paradigms. Meta-physics is essentially on a par with religion because of its low possibility of provability. Besides for religion’s dimin-utive degree of empiricism and logic, the only major difference between the two is that religion entails behavior modification. Whether one leans towards theories extending from use of empiri-cism and logic or one leans towards “gut feeling” and pure “faith”, there is an inherent need for humans to conceptually grasp the big picture and this is where metaphysics’ finds its true value.”
Dave Davidson
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-significance-of-the-existence-of-Metaphysics
Physics & Metaphysics :
Two sides of the same coin we call Reality. When we look for matters of fact, we see physics. But when we search for meaning, we find meta-physics. A mental flip is required to view the other side. And imagination is necessary to see both at the same time.
Law of Metaphysics :
Since the mechanical laws of physics don’t explain the emergence of metaphysical Life & Mind & Qualia, we must assume that the program for our evolving world includes algorithms for the immaterial aspects of reality. Exactly what those “laws” might be, remain to be discovered. But, like the regulations of physics they are probably mathematical and proportional in nature.
Logos :
In Enformationism, it is the driving force of Evolution, Logos is the cause of all organization, and of all meaningful patterns in the world. It’s not a physical force though, but a metaphysical cause that can only be perceived by Reason, not senses or instruments.
[see Blog Post 36 ; see EnFormAction ; see Logos in sidebar ]