KARL JASPERS FORUM

TA31 (Feyerabend)

Commentary 11

(in response to TA24 C36, vdMeijden, Kolos, Rifat;
topic fits better with TA31)

NOTES ON THE CONQUEST OF ABUNDANCE
by Hugh Bone
1 February 2001, posted 13 February 2001

<1>
"The Conquest of Abundance" goes back to the Greeks and reminds us of philosophy as pursuit of wisdom, the abundance of experiences that give lives joy and meaning in manifold activities, and relationships.

It contains updated (early '90's) material about advances in genetics, microbiology, particle physics. Much has happened in these fields lately.

<2>
Feyerabend recognizes that science is part of a social and historical matrix.

In "Against Method" he was critical of popular views of science which tend to represent Science and the Scientific Method as always consistent, logical, infallible.

"CA" is less strident. At one point Feyerabend quotes Schrodinger as follows:

..."Physics consists not merely of atomic research, science not merely of physics, and life not merely of science. The purpose of atomic research is to fit our experiences from this field into the rest of our thought; but the rest of our thought, as far as it has to do with the external world, moves in space and time"

<3>
Feyerabend also states:

"Grand subdivisions, such as the subdivision real/unreal are thus much too simplistic to capture the complexities of our world. There are many different types of events and "reality" is best attributed to an event together with a type, not absolutely"

"Each entity behaves in a complex and characteristic way which, though conforming to a pattern, constantly reveals new and surprising features and thus cannot be captured in a formula; it affects and is affected by other entities and processes constituting a rich and varied universe. In such a universe the problem is not what is "real" and what is not - queries like these don't even count as genuine questions. The problem is what occurs, in what connection, who was, is, or could be misled by the event and how..."

<4>
"ON THE OTHER HAND we find the most varied groups engaged in a "search for reality" Such a search makes sense only if what is real is assumed to be hidden, not manifest."

"The individuals and groups I am concerned with refused to take this abundance at face value. They denied that the world was as rich, knowledge as complex, and behavior as free as the commonsense, the crafts, and the religious beliefs of their time seemed to imply"

<5>
And he continues this argument with:

..."For how can what is real and not manifest be discovered, or proved, by means of what is manifest and not real? How can an objective reality that is not given be explored with the help of appearances (thoughts, perceptions, memories) that are given, but are idiosyncratic and deceptive?"

As for recent developments, I think of the following:

Molecular biology, mapping the genome, the creation of atomic particles from pure energy, the struggle for a Theory of Everything, "it-from-bit", or everything physical is "information", theories of complexity. Is mathematics "out there" or is mathematics man-made? Do "true laws" exist apart from human minds, or are they merely rules by which we order our experience? Is probability simply a measure of credible belief?

<6>
There is little social-historical context for some of these items because they are so recent. I know little of details, but when I read that an ordinary human cell contains about 2000 proteins, and somewhere else I read that a super-computer under construction by IBM would require a year to simulate the "folding" of one protein, which in the body, is folded in an instant, I am amazed at such complexity.

In the interest of advancing the power of computer intelligence, it would seem desirable to learn more about such complexity and to find a means of developing bio-silicon, or silico-biological hybrid computers using biological processes to increase their power and versatility.

<7>
Abundance means there are more choices. Scientific abstractions are useful, and produce fantastic results, but for most people they are not an integral part of their lives.

Feyerabend notes that ancient Greek philosophers believed in invisible gods and goddesses. Twenty-five centuries later, many philosphers don't believe in invisible gods and goddesses, but do believe in invisible particles.

On this topic, Quine once wrote:

"For my part I do, qua lay physicist, believe in physical objects and not in Homer's god; and I consider it a scientific error to believe otherwise. But in point of epistemological footing the physical objects and the gods differ only in degree and not in kind. Both sorts of entities enter our conception only as cultural posits. The myth of physical objects is epistemologically superior to most in that it has proved more efficacious than other myths as a device for working a manageable structure into the flux of experience."

<8>
As I read "Conquest of Abundance", I tried to put it in present-day perspective.

It has been said that the most important thing one can ask about a person is "What does s/he take for granted?

And, as Lyotard said in "Le Differend", it is a task of the philosopher to elucidate his presuppositions.

Instead of traditional stories of the creation of homo sapiens, take the viewpoint of modern science. This viewpoint will not prevent a religious person from concluding that the earliest origin discovered by scientific inquiry, including atomic particles, waves, radiation, gravitational, nuclear and electro-magnetic forces, and big bangs, was initiated by a divine creator.

<9>
A current and popular scientific phrase is "self-organization", but this can, like self-reference, be an infinite series of mirrors - the religious person will insist that the last mirror represents a divine creator.

Think of mankind as one of millions of living species remaining after other millions of species became extinct.

A primate requiring a specific environment for life support, air, water, food, control of body temperature, parental care in infancy and childhood. A primate endowed with body, brain and central nervous system which enable perception, cognition, emotion.

A primate involved with natural phenomena as subject/ actor/ perceiver of objects and events, developing memory, learning, experience. Thus, this "being" develops autonomy, a sense of self, and the belief systems, the mental and physical attributes and techniques essential to survive.

A species capable of speech, writing, mathematics, art, i.e. all the languages of communication. Languages which are key to the social bonds that link overlapping life-times, create one's social history, one's exclusive "being", and ultimately, one's participation within, and conformance to, social institutions.

<10>
A human individual who participates in creating the belief systems and value systems underlying the concept of a future. One who has knowledge of means and ends, the ability to plan future goals, actions to be taken, values to be achieved. And and understanding of the roles and meanings of these values to individuals and communities.

Other species have their own modes of species-being, Thus we may wonder what it is "like" to have the being of some other organism, a bat, a whale, a tree which has lived 3000 years.

<11>
We apply our minds in attempts to understand the bio-world interacting with our senses, and as well as the underlying world of physics, revealed in part by our senses, and in part by our cognitive faculties.

We infer and explain invisible entities, conceive theories, calculate, measure , give meaning to the invisible, using math, probability, various instruments.

For me, "The Conquest of Abundance", like other progressive concerns with the pace of science and technology is a warning. Science and technology, in the service of global wealth and power, must be tempered by striving for the belief systems and values which enhance and preserve out humanity, and continue the ancient pursuit of wisdom.

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Hugh Bone