Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia;  Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.

Post 31. 04/20/2018 continued . . .

Progressophobia

Is Cultural Evolution Devolving?

Evolution was not specifically described by Darwin as a progressive mechanism. But he did indicate two kinds of inputs, random mutations & natural selection, as-if they were creative causes that resulted in novel kinds of organisms. We now know that random genetic mutations are more often harmful than helpful. But overall, they are neutral and non-progressive. So, any progression in evolution must be attributed to “choosing” favorable qualities, which Darwin saw as analogous to the human selection that had transformed wild wolves into tame dogs. In this context, “progress” is defined in terms of human needs and intentions. But even stars & galaxies evolved from simpler origins due to some organizing agency, such as Gravity. Which is not really a pushing or pulling force, but more like an enforming tendency.

Others have interpreted that unmistakable natural inclination toward complex organization as Orthogenesis3. They seemed to be aware that random accidents are almost always bad for survival, and that Natural Selection sounded like another name for Intention or Choice. But together, randomness creates options from which orderly Nature selects those meeting pre-set criteria for the next generation. It’s as-if someone intentionally designed the universe to progress from nothing (Undefined, Chaos) to something wonderful (Organism, Cosmos). This natural mechanism4 works like an if-then gate in a computer. The parameters (IF) for selection are established by the programmer, and the program automatically sends any items meeting those standards on to the next round of calculation (THEN).

In a similar manner human cultures have progressed by trial & error (mutations), when they intentionally weeded-out the mistakes, and passed on the successes, along with their aspirations, to the next generation. What makes the overall trend positive is the collective will-power of intelligent agents. But it’s not considered scientific to ask, what “power” allows constructive progress (evolution) to emerge from an inauspicious beginning, metaphorically compared to a destructive explosion? Maybe there was something similar to human intentions & aspirations encoded in the Singularity5 that popped our world into existence? In any case, like those humanist authors, I am cautiously optimistic about the future of the homo species. I believe in progressive evolution.

Such telological reasoning is why I have concluded that the evolutionary mechanism [Energy, Matter] had a programmer who wrote and executed the evolutionary program [Laws, Initial Conditions] by hitting the Execute button, called by incredulous scientists “The Big Bang”. That human culture is evolving in an upward arc is undeniable, given the hard facts presented by Pinker & Shermer. Whether the cosmos is similarly evolving toward some Omega Point is debatable. Which makes it an ideal topic for philosophical dialogs & dialectics. 

End of Post 31

3. Orthogenesis :
Literally “Good Creation”.
   A theory of progression in evolution in opposition to the conventional scientific view of aimless random change with occasional constructive accidents. Ortho- holds that variations in evolution follow a particular direction and are not merely sporadic & fortuitous. (Teleology)
   The theory typically posits a positive force (elan vital, chi, prana) that counter-acts the degenerative effects of Entropy, allowing increas-ing order and complexity. My own term is Enformy. It is derived from science instead of tradition & superstition.

 “Prominent historical figures who have championed some form of evolutionary progress include Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and Henri Bergson.  . . . Modern supporters include E. O. Wilson and Simon Conway Morris”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthogenesis

4. Evolutionary Programming :
   An Evolutionary Algorithm uses mechanisms inspired by biological evolution, such as reproduction, mutation, recombination, and selection. Candidate solutions to the optimization problem play the role of individuals in a population, and the fitness function determines the quality of the solutions. [my bold]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_programming

5. Singularity :
The origin point of existence where cosmic calculations fade into infinities, and scientists must throw up their hands. But philosophers are still free to speculate on the origin of Laws, apparently encoded prior to the cross-over from eternity & infinity into space-time.

Progress
toward
Truth
Justice
&
Freedom

Teleology :
   In a mechanical metaphor, William Paley described the designer of Nature as a Watchmaker. But a more contemporary analogy might be to a game designer or programmer.
   A multi-user game creator is not limited to the Genesis method of a priori, once-&-for-all design by fiat. Instead, the programmer allows for a posteriori feedback and adaptation to changing circumstances. This way, the world is partly self-creating.
   A watch is a marvelous mechanism, but analysis of its parts will not reveal its purpose. Only a holistic observation over time would discovery the analogy between the sweeping hands and cycles of the sun and moon.
   According to Aristotle, everything happens for a reason, a purpose, a telos. For example, the goal of an acorn is to become a tree. The end state is the
“final cause”, acting like an attractor. But the evolutionary process always begins with a First Cause, which imparts a vector of direction & momentum.
   What was the telos of the Big Bang acorn? Was it a priori or a posteriori or both?