Humanity in a creative universe
By: Stuart A. Kauffman
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Oxford University Press
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 294
ISBN-13: 9780199390458
Subjects: Evolutionary developmental biology; Evolution (Biology)
Description: "In the hard sciences , which can often feel out of grasp for many lay readers, there are "great thinkers" who go far beyond the equations, formulas, and research. Great minds such as Stuart A. Kauffman think about the functions and nature of the universe, the implications of our living existence, and other impossibly fascinating, yet difficult questions. He has dedicated his lifetime to researching "complex systems" at prestigious institutions and now writes his treatise on the most complex systems of all, the creative universe, the limits of scientific laws, and the role of the mind. Grounded in his rigorous training and research background, Kauffman is interdisciplinary in every sense of the word, sorting through the major questions and theories in biology, physics, and philosophy. Best known for his philosophy of evolutionary biology, Kauffman coined the term "UNprestatability" to call into question whether science can ever accurately and precisely predict the future development of biological features in organisms that cannot even be prestated. If not, he argues, no laws will entail biological evolution. As evidenced by the title's mention of creativity, the book stunningly argues that our preoccupation to explain all things with scientific law has deadened our creative nature. In this fascinating book, Kauffman concludes that the development of life on earth is not governed by law, because no theory could ever fully account for the unprestatable emergence of new functional variations of evolution. This book reframes our view of reality, challenging the next generations of great thinkers, and will be discussed for years to come."--Dust jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages [273]-280) and index.
Table of contents: title: Prologue: Reclaiming enchantment; title: Hinge of history; title: The foundations : the emergence of reductive materialism and the loss of our humanity; title: Part I. Beyond the entailing laws of physics and reductive materialism. The nonergodic universe above the level of atoms : an "antientropic process" in the universe ; A creative universe : no entailing laws, but enablement in the evolution of the biosphere ; A creative universe : the social world; title: Part II. Toward the subjective pole. Are we zombies with, at best, witnessing minds? ; A new proposed dualism : res potentia and res extensa, linked by quantum measurement ; Beyond the stalemate : answering Descartes with the poised realm ; Toward a quantum, poised realm, classical theory of mind-body ; Toward an ontological basis for a responsible free will ; The strong free will theorem : toward the subjective pole ; The subjective pole and the quantum enigma ; The creative and unentailed quantum evolution of the universe ; Beyond Pythagoras : must we have foundations?; title: Part III. Who are we knowing, doing, living humans in a creative universe in late modernity? Self-organization in the origin of life, agency, and ontogeny ; Knowing and being in the world, aspects of our humanity ; Beyond modernity? : can we partially co-create a woven global civilization that serves our humanity?.