At 08:03 PM 9/26/96 UT, David Musick wrote:
>Ian,
>
> Remember that your philosophy of holistic unity is in your own
> head, and is not necessarily true about the world outside your head;
> the world which is providing information to your senses is forever
> beyond your direct reach (you don't see the world; you see the *effect*
> the world has on you). Your philosophy may make a great deal of logical
> sense to you, but that doesn't mean that the real world categorizes things
> the way you do.
IAN: What your saying is the direct opposite of the reality. Aristotelian
logic is how the mind categorizes the physical world -- into cleanly
divided sets. In reality things are derived from relations that
transcend our conceptually imposed boundaries. In reality things
are all connected in a unifed continuum. Holistic identity relects
this unified continuum.
Ever heard of * relativity * ? You may think that relational motion
-- which is a relational identity -- is all in my head, but there is
something out there called motion, and it, just like all identities,
is derived from relation. What I introduce is a relativity of identity:
A is derived and exists only in relation to ~A. Here's two physical
points in space deomstrating relational identity / motion:
A is in motion A * ----> = 45 mph
relative to B * = 0 mph
The velocity / identity of A is derived from the relative identity of B.
The identity of A is therefore a holistic derivative of the whole filed,
and the identity of A contains the identity B, and vice versa -- their
identity is unified -- for the following is also simultaneously true:
B is in motion A * = 0 mph
relative to B <--- * = -45 mph
Free from relation to B, A has no velocity, and vice versa. Therefore
the velocity-identity of A is null apart from relation and is therefore
exclusively holistic. Quite clearly this is a property of the physical
universe, not "my head" as you'd have as believe. And it's the constant
logical structure of ALL identity, of ALL features of physical existence.
A = ( A + ~A ) or A = 0
Relation is real, it's no fantasy. It's the idea of nonrelational identity,
to which you seem to adhere, that IS a fantasy because you cannot show a
single example in the physical universe of it existing.
If we stick to physical verification as the basis of belief, we are
most sure to come to the truth. I can verify physically the relational
nature of identity till the end of time. On the other hand, my opponents,
most people, cannot even find a single example of a nonrelational thing.
Does that stop them from believing in them? Not at all, because it's
not how the brain categorizes information.
If the physical universe is nonrelational, please show me an atomic
particle with no external area. Please show me a state of motion
with no symmetrical motion. Please show me a location that is a
location free from external reference. Please show me left free
from right, up free from down, fast free from slow, big free from
small, bright free from dark,.... you can't do it. Clearly, the
idea of nonrelational identity is the epitome of the absurd.
> [ lot's 'o personal stuff cut ] ..... nor do I think that your personal
> philosophy of holistic unity is likely to be a feature of the real world.
> And even if it was, I don't see what value this way of looking at thing
> actually has.
IAN: So, according to you, even if it is true, we must ignore it.
Geez. I'd say that attitude is an anathema to the highest goal of
human inquiry -- the know the truth.
> Does it help us understand the way our world works at all?
IAN: If everything is relative. Yes. Everything is relative,
therefore it helps us understand the structure of our world.
> Can it help us understand chemical reactions? Can it help us build
> better technologies? Or is it simply a mental game with no external
> relevance?
IAN: I believe that it explains quantum phenomena such as quantum
tunneling, instantaneous action at a distance, nonlocality of sub-
atomic particles not under observation, multiple locations of a
single subatomic particle. All these effects are, I believe, a
logical expression of the fact that the identity/nature of a
thing is actually non-local, is not other than the field itself.
If the identity of a physical entity is nonlocal, as holistic
identity dictiates, then these quantum phenomena are predictable.
I cannot say what technologies if any might arise from knowledge
of holistic identity, and I don't really care. My effort is to
describe the nature of the objective universe, which is not
always what mind imposes on it. The mind assumes identity
is absolute but in fact it is relative. If holistic identity
is the truth, then it should yield applications if not simply
describe how and why things are the way the are.
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IAN GODDARD <igoddard@erols.com> Q U E S T I O N A U T H O R I T Y
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