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

Dan Brown's ORIGIN
A Robert Langdon Novel
Quotes mostly from
page 396 onward

 Post 52. September 30, 2018

    Origin of Everything

    Dan Brown’s Cosmology

 The personal worldviews presented in this book, as those of Robert Langdon (agnostic academic) and Edmond Kirsch (atheist scientist), are probably a mashup of Brown's own ambivalent views on Science & Religion. I was surprised, and pleased, to find that they are generally compatible with my own middle-of-the-road, fence-straddling BothAnd approach to contentious philosophical paradigms, and with the have-it-both-ways Deist non-religion. So, I'll expand on some of the book's reasonable-yet-controversial assertions, in the unavoidably technical terms of the evolving Enformationism theory. Below, I quote lines from the book, followed by some of my own thoughts on the topics of Science, Religion, and Cosmology.

1. “The universe functioned with a singular directive. One goal. To spread energy.”

The physical law of Thermodynamics is secondary to the meta-physical Prime Directive : "create!" Creation of novelty requires the propagation of creative potential1, which is more than just physical force. Energy flows from hot to cold, but a homogeneous luke-warm state (Chaos) would go nowhere. So some thumb-on-the-scales2 would be needed to tip the passive potential of randomness (omni-directional static) onto a part-icular path. Thus the general direction is established, but raises the perennial plaint :"why . . . . to what end?"

2. “Dissipative structures”
   Refers to steady-state systems that are mechanisms for channeling energy in order to maintain their form. They re-direct the raw power of creative potential. Did these Real Structures exist as Ideal Forms prior to the Big Beginning? Galaxies, Whirlpools, Living Things, and Thinking Things are stable self-sustaining structures — loops in the linear flow of energy.

3. “Nature – in an effort to promote disorder – creates little pockets of order.”

   In my humble opinion, Nature's G*D is not trying to promote disorder, but to create Cosmos out of Chaos; Order out of Disorder. Just as heat is a by-product of productive work, Entropy is merely a side-effect of the core creative process. Random Potential is inert. In order for anything to happen, there must be a slight imblance, an inclination, an intention, a choice. Pockets of order (stable patterns) result from law-like limitations on the freedom of omnidirectional Entropy.

4. “. . . life is an exceptionally effective tool for dissipating energy.”

   Life is a pattern or structure for channeling energy-flow into constructive forms that are somewhere between high-potential Enformy and dissipated Entropy. In the process of construction, Potential is converted into Structure, which eventually evapo-rates into Entropy. Living structures are organic, because they are organized into specialized organs for managing energy.

5. “ . . . life not only obeys the laws of physics, but that life began because of those laws.”

   Laws of Physics are ideal (Platonic) Forms that convert raw potential into real Things and functional Processes. One of those essential “functions” is the process of energy conversion that we call Life. [See number 11 below]

Post 52 continued . . . click Next

1. Creative Potential :
Enformy, in the sense of positive change; counter-balanced with Entropy as negative change. The +/- values are relative to the original design intent.
   Note : Energy is merely Change that can go both ways.

2. Big Bang Bias :
Inclination or Intention; Tendency or Teleology;
Design concept

Supernatural Origins :
Brown, Langdon, and Kirsch are non-theists. They either assume that Nature, including its physical laws, is eternal, or that ultimate truths are forever beyond our grasp. But all objective evidence indicates that physical / material Nature is finite & temporal, and that natural laws & constants are specific to this world – not to all possible worlds. Only the laws of Math / Logic are universal and eternal.
   So, I have concluded that some eternal Logos is responsible for creating this experiment in limited living. The inherent existential limitations on our physical world allow it to approach, but never reach Perfection. Hence the creation is allowed to waver between extremes of Good & Evil, without ever departing far from Normal.

  My G*D-model :
• My god-model may seem mechanical and impersonal, but that’s only because I have no supernatural revelation from the Mind of God. Instead, from observ-ation of G*D”s natural revelation, I derive know-ledge of the means, but not the motives of the Creator. Speculation beyond the space-time limits of Nature would be presumptive, and might lead to paradoxical models – such as the all-too-human loving-hating mind-changing deity of most religious traditions.

• My god-model is based on 21st century science, not on the primitive Bronze Age understanding of how the world works. The Earth is no longer flat and at the center of the sun’s rotation. So my image of god is presented in terms of modern knowledge, which is more factual and less fantastic.

• My god-model is presented in cutting-edge scientific terms for precision of meaning, and to avoid the many-layered encrustations of confusing & contradictory ancient speculations.

• My god-model is not suitable for an emotion-driven religion. But it is applicable to a reason-based philosophical worldview.