Download Stoicism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Nature

Spiritual Naturalists 006
STOICISM, TAOISM, BUDDHISM, & THE NATURAL UNIVERSE
In previous sessions we looked at all of these things in particular. The following is a summary
of some overlapping points of consistency, with particular emphasis on those traits which
might be of use to naturalists and Humanists...
Outline
I. Fundamental Existence
The Logos
Existence & Subsistence
II. Basic Order
Polarity
The Divine Fire
Self-Order
III. Complexity
Interdependence
Cause & Effect
Impermanence, Transformation, & Underlying Unity
IV. Higher Order
Cyclical Manifestations
The Aggregate Self
Emergence
Potentiality
V. Conclusion
I. Fundamental Existence
The Logos
The most primal thing we can say about the universe in which we find ourselves is that it
operates according to rational principles. This may not have been so obvious to early people,
who found their world often confusing, frightening, and unpredictable. Even today we may
often feel this way. However, it was Heraclitus who took notice that all things operate
according to a rational order, which he called the Logos, which means word or reason. Later,
the Stoics understood Logos to be an account which governs everything. In fact, modern
science would not be possible without a foundational assumption that the universe was
approachable rationally. Today, we might refer to this concept as the laws of physics, but in
the concept of the Logos lies a deeper and more profound connotation. It is this Logos which
makes possible all of the dynamic events of life and death, which brings all things about, and
which takes all things away. The Taoist philosopher Chuang-Tzu said, "The Great (universe)
gives me this form, this toil in manhood, this repose in old age, this rest in death. And surely
that which is such a kind arbiter of my life is the best arbiter of my death." The Tao Te Ching
says, "Humanity follows the Earth, the Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Tao, and the
Tao follows what is natural." The Stoics also had a high regard for living in accordance with
Nature. Thus, the essence of the concept of Logos is that all things are within the natural
order and operate through it. Christians and others have thought of the Logos as the will or
'word of God' by which all things happen. But regardless of our beliefs regarding deities, there
is Oneness rather than duality, as the universe is united under that order and will unfold
according to it.
(H3, H4, Z11, T5, Z3, T4)
Existence & Subsistence
It is important to denote the difference between existence and subsistence in the universe.
Physical bodies exist, such as particles - matter and energy. As Democritus noted, 'atoms (or
more elementary particles) and the void (spacetime)' appear to be the fundamental basis of
our reality here, regardless of whatever else may or may not exist in unseen realms. In
Buddhism, the first of the five aggregates is form or matter and the true nature of the universe
is emptiness, meaning most of the things we think exist are constructs of our imaginations
rather than actual phenomena in their own right. We choose how we perceive, label, and
categorize the various formations of particles. This is a rejection of Plato's ideal forms, and
instead agrees with the Stoics that only particulars exist.
But aside from this reductionist truth, we cannot ignore those things which subsist. Even
within the natural universe, there is a form of the metaphysical - in the sense of phenomena
which subsist as interrelationships, patterns, emergent properties, events, and manifestations
of those things which exist. The ancient Stoics called these the incorporeal, such as time,
place, void, and (significantly) the meanings of words. Today, we might recognize those things
which are real, but not represented by a specific physical body. This would include the notion
of data, information, or the meme - perhaps a more recent and robust elaboration on the
meaning of worlds to which the Stoics referred. Other things which subsist could be
minds/souls or persons in the sense that they are the result of the intricate interplay of
existing bodies, but greater than the sum of their parts. While ideal forms are seen as
incompatible with the truth of emptiness, the principle of Existence & Subsistence states that
many things are real and have impact on our world which may not be physical bodies, but
which subsist among them and are just as much a part of a fully natural universe.
(S1, S2, B1)
II. Basic Order
Polarity
One principle that seems to arise in the maelstrom of matter and energy, space and time, is a
sense of polarity running throughout the cosmos. Here again, Heraclitus believed the path "up
and down" the scale of existence was one in the same and that things were characterized by
pairs of contrary properties, or opposites. He believed all things came into being through the
conflict of opposites, and the sum of these opposites create the flow of activity in the universe.
The Stoics spoke of both the passive and the active, while the Taoists speak of the Yin and
Yang. In modern physics, we see complimentary particles and quantum pairing. In complexity
science there is a balance between complete order and complete chaos in which rests
dynamic systems. These principles of opposites carry on up into our macro world and cross
the boundaries of physics - into biology, psychology, and even sociology or culture. While the
many manifestations of opposite qualities in the universe may seem at times only analogously
and metaphorically linked, it also seems likely that complementary polarities are at the root of
something fundamental about the operation of the universe.
(H2, H12, H13, Z5, S3, C18, T8)
The Divine Fire
Opposites in our universe are, in a sense, bound together by their polarity. They, together,
take on overall traits as part of one whole. This manifests as a continuous process of creation,
destruction, and transformation. It refers to an underlying principle in the way the universe
operates - a creative 'force' that acts somewhat like a counterpart to entropy, pushing matter
toward greater levels of complexity. This continuous flux can be found on all scales and in all
things throughout our world, and is described in the equations of complex systems theory.
Heraclitus noted it's activity is like combustion on a kindling, moving in and through all things.
This is not unlike some aspects of the Eastern concept of fundamental Qi flowing through all
things; the 'breath of the universe'. In the ways that matter here, this process can be
considered a fire, and it is divine in the sense that it fundamental to all things of great
significance and makes all things possible. Through this Divine Fire, complexity and life itself
arise. Thus, the Divine Fire is that active, creative principle or capacity of the universe.
(H10, H11, H18, S11, T2, C25)
Self-Order
Through the creative nature of the Divine Fire, spontaneous order arises and emergence of
intricate systems can take place. This ability of self-emergence operates in non-living complex
forms, but also in living things. The nature of self-order can tell us about the emergence of life
(abiogenesis) as well as help us understand our psychology, culture, and society. The
Buddhists have a concept called dependent arising. It means that phenomena arise together
in a mutually interdependent web of cause and effect.
(Z2, B7, C14, C24)
III. Complexity
Interdependence
The mutually interdependent web of cause and effect not only gives rise to order and
structure, but operates continuously throughout. Thus, things in the universe are
interconnected in vast, intricate, and subtle ways; often more than we perceive on the
surface. The Buddhists describe this concept with the analogy of Indra's Net; an infinite
multidimensional spiderweb-like structure with jewels at each intersection. In each of these
jewels is reflected all of the other jewels and the rest of the web. This is the nature of
interconnectedness in the universe.
We often give labels to things and by doing so divide them in our minds, but this leads to
misunderstanding and ignorance. We imagine ourselves isolated, or we imagine that we can
control some things without others being effected. Yet, perceptive traditions and philosophies
in all parts of the world have observed that Nature is one connected whole. Complexity
science has observed that this makes systems inherently unpredictable.
(Z6, B6)
Cause & Effect
Interdependence highlights the significance of cause and effect. Intricate causal relationships
make following all effects from a cause practically impossible. Yet, small disturbances in the
universe can create ripples that lead to significant results, often unforeseen. In complex
systems theory the notion of the butterfly effect helps to illustrate the significant effects that
can result from seemingly minor causes. Here, the flap of a butterfly's wings can conceivably
have larger effects in the course of a hurricane - not alone of course, but in conjunction with
many other interdependent conditions. This leads to the study of regulation management in
systems and is similar to the ancient Taoist concept of Wu Wei - "action without action" or
"effortless doing". This is the study of how to accomplish goals elegantly while leaving a
minimal footprint, causing as little unpredictable disturbance to the system as possible, as
opposed to using brutish force. The Buddhist concept of karma is also based on a wavelike
abstraction of cause and effect, such that we look at the larger 'ripples' caused by kinds of
actions rather than trying to calculate what will happen on an action-to-reaction basis.
(C22, T6, B9)
Impermanence, Transformation, & Underlying Unity
The interdependent causal relationships in Nature result in a world where change is inherent
and continuous. While complex systems are noted by their somewhat steady behavior, they
are also known as being adaptive and dynamic - and chaos theory tells us that this is only for
a finite span of time. All of our perceptions and expectations of permanence and things that
will allegedly 'stand the test of time' are a delusion, as the Buddhists would say. The Stoic
emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself a reminder, "one day you will have
forgotten all things, and all things will have forgotten you." Heraclitus said, in observing
Nature, that "everything flows". In Taoism, the study of the Tao is essentially the study of the
flow of the universe.
While the nature of the universe is impermanence, it is only through that impermanence that
transformation is made possible. Describing the flux of the natural world, Heraclitus also said,
"the death of fire is the birth of air, and the death of air is the birth of water." Modern science
knows well the transformation of compounds and even elements, yet we also know that
ultimately all of these transformations are but permutations of the same root substance and
force, as many of the ancient philosophers conceptualized. Lastly, these transformations
include biological evolution, and evolution as a more general concept beyond the biological.
Thus, only through impermanence and transformation is growth possible.
(H1, H7, Z1, T1, C15, C16, H9, H11, C23)
IV. Higher Order
Cyclical Manifestations
The cyclical order of the seasons was perhaps among the earliest recognized manifestation of
cycles in nature, and formed the basis of many myths and traditions. Later these became
metaphors of rebirth and renewal. Modern science reveals that cycles are a part of many
complex systems, both biological and otherwise. By cycle, we mean more generally
repeating patterns, which include those that repeat over time and those that repeat in many
concurrent instances, or that repeat in form at small and large scales. Fractals are forms
which are too intricate and irregular to be easily described by traditional geometry, but can be
described by certain core formula on which the entire form unfolds. These shapes often
contain duplicate structures nestled within larger similar structures which continue indefinitely
up and down the scale in size.
The philosopher Proclus, in his Elements of Theology, noted "All that proceeds from any
principle and reverts upon it has a cyclic activity." Heraclitus spoke of the "upward-downward
path" when describing the cycles of transformation in Nature. Later Stoics would speak of
varying levels of tension in pseuma which form layered qualities from body, to life, to
consciousness, to intellect, which could be seen as higher orders of complexity. They believe
that our intellect is a spark of the divine fire, which is similar to the Taoists concept of human
beings as a microcosm of the universe. The Avatamsaka Sutra describes to the Buddhists a
cosmos of infinite realms upon realms, mutually containing each other. Concepts of rebirth are
various while the Stoics held a concept of a great conflagration at the beginning and end of a
repeating cycle of universes. Clearly repeating patterns, whether physical or temporal, are an
inherent and pervasive quality of the universe, providing an underlying framework connecting
these examples in ways more profound than simple analogy or metaphor.
(H9, C13, S12, H8, S4, B8, T3, C12, C20, B10)
Emergence
Aristotle stated, "...the totality is not, as it were, a mere heap, but the whole is something
besides the parts..." As the various parts of the universe interact with one another that
interaction brings about whole new properties that manifest at higher orders and are not
reducible to their parts. Not only do the sum of interactions among constituents bring about
properties of the whole, but many of these emergent properties are not traceable to the
characteristics of those constituents on their own. Further, these properties can supervene,
create a downward causation, onto the parts that bring them about. This means that such
properties are not merely the reflection of the activity of aggregates, but a causal impetus in
their own right. The Tao te Ching speaks of the cart that is more than the sum of its parts.
Pneuma was the ancient Greek word for breath and Heraclitus spoke of the breath of the
universe.
(H14, H15, S4, S10, S11, C19, S13, Z5)
The Aggregate Self
Both in the case of the breath of persons and the breath of the universe, this was tied to the
concept of the soul a force moving throughout that motivates. In Phaedo, the character
Simmias argues that the soul was like a harmony played on a lyre. While the strings and parts
are material, through their action they produce what we call harmony. When they are broken,
the harmony ceases to be. This recalls Heraclitus similarly explaining polarity by saying all
things came into being through the tension between opposites as he used the example of a
strung bow held in shape by an equilibrium of the string's tension and the bow spring. These
are explanations of emergent properties from the interaction of aggregates. In this case,
pertaining to the human mind or soul.
The Stoics believed that humans were ensouled just as the universe was ensouled. In
essence, the Divine Fire or creative force as described above is possible because of the
Logos, the rational order of the universe. That creative force makes possible emergent
properties, including our rational minds, which emerge from the interdependence of our parts.
This aligns with the Buddhist notion of no-self in which it is understood that we are but
aggregates, which they delineate into five kinds of mental aspects such as form/matter,
sensation, perception, impulses, and consciousness. Physicist Fritjof Capra in The Turning
Point similarly outlines eleven elements making up the mind. Stoic philosopher and Roman
emperor Marcus Aurelius, in XII 3 of his Meditations speaks of a practice of separating
yourself (intellect) from your thought, and delineating the parts of you (body, breath, intellect).
The Buddhist meditation on our aggregate nature is designed to show us that when we
examine each of these constituents and traits, we find there is no "me" that possesses them.
We are more than the sum of our parts, but not independent of any of them.
(B1-B5, C1-C11, S13, S14)
Potentiality
While the Stoics followed a strict determinism, the inspiration for their concept of the Divine
Fire, Heraclitus, said the universe was random; and yet he himself spoke of its innate order.
The Buddhists speak of dependent origination, but do not speak of karma in strictly
deterministic ways, opting instead to speak of potentialities which are created by conditions.
Clearly, we have struggled throughout our history with the dual perceptions of both order and
randomness we see around us. Complexity theorists tell us that dynamic systems are nonlinear; they are determined by their constituents but inherently unpredictable. This creates a
kind of effective indeterminacy.
As such, we live in a universe of statistical fatalism; a highly determined universe where fate
plays a role, but one that is effectively indeterminate due to the interplay of interdependence,
causality, chaos, and emergence. This creates a tapestry through time, but a flexible dynamic
tapestry. It is not necessarily the case that everything must happen in a certain way. Therefore
the Buddhist concept of our action creating conditions and potentials is perhaps the most
practical and accurate way to approach the universe. Yet, at the same time, there is a certain
fatalism we can apply to the unfolding of events outside of our choice, thus justifying a healthy
approach to control. Everything in the universe can be said to have its place, to happen for a
reason, and to happen just as it should. As Chuang-Tzu said to Hueitse when he complained
there was no use for a huge gourd, "It was rather you did not know how to use large things."
This is a practical freedom of will sufficient for our positive and responsible pursuit of the good
life.
(H17, S9, C17, C21, C22, Z4, S8)
V. Conclusion
Sacred Nature - Element of the “sacred / divine” in the Natural, reuniting schism. After all
ultimate meaning and value was delineated from the natural and placed into the supernatural,
it leaves modern naturalists with the false choice of losing meaning when discarding the
supernatural. Originally, the attitude/perspective/value system of the divine was not distinct
from the Natural. These insights help to re-establish that connotation upon the natural.
(S5, S6, S7)
NOTES KEY
========= HERACLITUS ===========
H1 >change is central to the universe
H2 >He believed in the unity of opposites, stating that "the path up and down is one and the
same," existing things being characterized by pairs of contrary properties.
H3 >All things come to be in accord with this Logos (word/reason) - probably a statement that
things act according to a rational natural law.
H4 >The later Stoics understood [Logos] as "the account which governs everything," (or, laws
of physics)
H5 >born in aristocracy but abdicated throne to his brother (see Buddha)
H6 >his major sayings were difficult to understand. Timon of Phlius calls him "the riddler" (see
the Koan)
H7 >he's been described as saying "everything flows"
H8 >"the upward-downward path." They go on simultaneously and instantaneously and result
in "hidden harmony" (see fractals)
H9 >The transformation is a replacement of one element by another: "The death of fire is the
birth of air, and the death of air is the birth of water." (ecosystem, cycles)
H10 >This world, which is the same for all, no one of gods or men has made. But it always
was and will be: an ever-living fire, with measures of it kindling, and measures going out.
(perpetual between order & chaos - complex system)
H11 >All things are an interchange for fire, and fire for all things, just like goods for gold and
gold for goods (all is made of energy to use modern terms)
H12 >We must know that war (polemos) is common to all and strife is justice, and
that all things come into being through strife necessarily.
As Diogenes explains:
H13 >All things come into being by conflict of opposites, and the sum of things (ta
hola, "the whole") flows like a stream.
H14 >In the bow metaphor Heraclitus compares the resultant to a strung bow held in shape
by an equilibrium of the string tension and spring action of the bow:
H15 >There is a harmony in the bending back (palintropos) as in the case of the
bow and the lyre. (see phaedo)
H16 >Wisdom is "to know the thought by which all things are steered through all things" (see
synthophic precept saying wisdom requires knowing nature)
H17 >The fairest universe (kallistos kosmos) is but a heap of rubbish (sarma, sweepings)
piled up (kechumenon, poured out) at random (eikê). (yet he proclaims Zeus?? must be an
unconscious impersonal deity)
H18 >The Stoic modification of Heraclitus' idea of the Logos was also influential on Jewish
philosophers such as Philo of Alexandria, who connected it to "Wisdom personified" as God's
creative principle (see Stuart Kauffman). Philo uses the term Logos throughout his treatises
on Hebrew Scripture in a manner clearly influenced by the Stoics.
======== Chuang-Tzu ===========
Z1 >Evolution
Z2 >Spontaneous Order
Z3 >• No one is outside Nature or independent of it.
Yet although Liehtse could dispense with walking, he would still have to depend upon
something.
Z4 >• Everything has its role in the universe and serves its purpose, all we have to do is see
it.
Hueitse said... "Certainly [the gourd] was a huge thing, but I had no use for it and so broke it
up."
"It was rather you did not know how to use large things," replied Chuangtse.
Z5 >• The universe is composed of the active and the inactive, throughout (see the western
parallel of Heraclitus' description of the Divine Fire).
"The breath of the universe," continued Tsech'i, "is called wind. At times it is inactive. But
when active, all crevices resound to its blast..."
Z6 >• All things in the universe are interdependent and affect one another - all is One. This is
obscured by our artificial distinctions and pigeonholes.
Tao is obscured by our inadequate understanding, and words are obscured by flowery
expressions. Hence the affirmations and denials of the Confucian and Motsean schools, each
denying what the other affirms and affirming what the other denies. [This] brings us only
confusion.
There is nothing which is not this; there is nothing which is not that. What cannot be seen by
what (the other person) can be known by myself. Hence I say, this emanates from that; that
also derives from this. This is the theory of interdependence of this and that.
Z7 >• Without looking existentially at life, our bias creates conflicts of subjectivity.
And with the decline of Tao, individual bias (subjectivity) arose.
Z8 >• To convince the unknowing of virtue, you must not force things upon them, but
approach them only when they are receptive and ready.
Talk when he is in a mood to listen, and stop when he is not... let things take their natural
course.
Z9 >• This is the same approach for influencing everything in Nature - let the natural
dispositions of things work toward your goals, rather than brutishly going against the grain.
This is the method for the transformation (influencing) of all Creation.
Z10 >• The ultimate secrets of the universe are beyond our knowledge, so the Way of Nature
must simply be faced and accepted, and these matters must not be allowed to affect our
peace of mind.
Day and night they follow upon one another, and no man can say where they spring from.
Therefore they must not be allowed to disturb the natural harmony, nor enter into the soul's
domain.
Z11 >• The Force of Nature has given us our life and our death both. To hate one is to hate
the other, to love one is to love the other.
The Great (universe) gives me this form, this toil in manhood, this repose in old age, this rest
in death. And surely that which is such a kind arbiter of my life is the best arbiter of my death.
======= STOICISM ==========
S1 >corporals and incorporeals
incorporeals: void, place, time, lekta
(need to include patterns, emergent properties as lekta????)
S2 >no universals/ideal forms – only particulars exist (like buddhist emptiness)
S3 >corporeal = passive and active. active = logos, divine fire, creative fire, kauffman's
creativity concept.
S4 >degrees of tension in pseuma form different qualities – body, life, consciousness,
intellect. These could be higher orders of complexity and emergent properties, all made
possible through that creative force.
S5 >somehow they also bring a God/the divine into this: the fusion of a fully natural material
universe and the divine. The root of this possibility can come from two areas:
 the inherent goodness/rightness of the universe
 possible consciousness of the universe (chalmers)
S6 >also the very force of will to conceive of the universe as divine and sacred, as an act of
human survival (bokononism?)
S7 >these things together must lead us to a re-fusion of the natural and the divine
S8 >free will – must have a satisfactory take on this
S9 >statistical fatalism – buddhist potentials – karma – stoic fate + QM
S10 >stoics believe humans ensouled because universe ensouled – not because
consciousness is emergent property
S11 >solution:
The divine fire, creative/active force of the Logos = stuart kauffmans inherent Creativity in the
universe that counters 2nd law of thermdynamics (Complexity).
This creativity is the rational order infused throughout the cosmos and present in us as well,
and it is BECAUSE of that fact, that emergent properties are made possible, such as
consciousness (Pneuma/soul/breath). This brings the 'self' into alignment with Buddhist
thought as being a changing system of aggregates.
S12 >The great conflagration, cyclical nature of universe.
S13 >Pneuma is an ancient Greek word for "breath," and in a religious context for "spirit" or
"soul."
S14 >Practice of separating yourself (intellect) from your thought, and delineation of parts of
you (body, breath, intellect) in Marcus Aurelius' Meditations XII.3.
===== BUDDHISM ============
Buddhist doctrine describes five aggregates (Skandhas):
1. B1 >"form" or "matter":
external and internal matter. Externally, rupa is the physical world. Internally, rupa
includes the material body and the physical sense organs.
2. B2 >"sensation" or "feeling":
sensing an object as either pleasant or unpleasant or neutral.
3. B3 >"perception", "conception", "apperception", "cognition", or
"discrimination":
registers whether an object is recognized or not (for instance, the sound of a bell or the
shape of a tree).
4. B4 >"mental formations", "impulses", "volition", or "compositional factors" :
all types of mental habits, thoughts, ideas, opinions, prejudices, compulsions, and
decisions triggered by an object.
5. B5 >"consciousness":
1. In the Nikayas: cognizance.
2. In the Abhidhamma: a series of rapidly changing interconnected discrete acts of
cognizance.
3. In Mahayana sources: the base that supports all experience.
B6 >Indra's net (also called Indra's jewels or Indra's pearls) is a metaphor used to illustrate
the concepts of emptiness, dependent origination, and interpenetration in Buddhist
philosophy.
Buddhist concepts of interpenetration hold that all phenomena are intimately connected; for
the Huayan school, Indra's net symbolizes a universe where infinitely repeated mutual
relations exist between all members of the universe. This idea is communicated in the image
of the interconnectedness of the universe as seen in the net of the Vedic god Indra, whose
net hangs over his palace on Mount Meru, the axis mundi of Vedic cosmology and Vedic
mythology. Indra's net has a multifaceted jewel at each vertex, and each jewel is reflected in
all of the other jewels.
In the book GEB, Hofstadter uses Indra's Net as a metaphor for the complex interconnected
networks formed by relationships between objects within a system—including social networks,
the interactions of particles, and the "symbols" which stand for ideas within a brain or
intelligent computer.
B7 >Dependent Origination
The doctrine of pratītyasamutpāda, often translated as "dependent arising," is a cardinal
doctrine within Buddhist Philosophy. Common to all schools of Buddhism, it states that
phenomena arise together in a mutually interdependent web of cause and effect.
(see abiogenesis theory, kauffman's autocatalytic sets - this means it is neither determined
nor random, because the thing being discussed as being such doesn't even really exist but all
is emptiness, so it would be a logical error to say either. Compare this to the 'statistical fate'
needed in Stoicism and Kauffman's comments on determinism of a system)
B8 >Interpenetration
This doctrine comes from the Avatamsaka Sutra, which describes a cosmos of infinite realms
upon realms, mutually containing each other. The upaya doctrine of interpenetration is
iconographically represented by Yab-yum - male deity in sexual union with his female consort.
Often the male deity is sitting in lotus position while his consort is sitting in his lap understood to represent the primordial (or mystical) union of wisdom and compassion.
B9 >Karma / cause & effect / effects of actions in waveform
B10 >Rebirth
===== TAOISM ===========================
T1 >Tao = the flow of the universe. The force behind the natural order, keeping the universe
balanced and ordered.
T2 >Flow of Qi, the essential energy of action and existence.
T3 >Taoists believe man is a microcosm of the universe (see stoic 'divine spark' and fractals).
T4 >Taoism rejects mind-body dualism
T5 >The Tao Te Jing says: 'Humanity follows the Earth, the Earth follows Heaven, Heaven
follows the Tao, and the Tao follows what is natural.' (see stoic living in accord with nature)
T6 >Wu Wei (action without action) - see complex systems regulation/mgmt
T7 >P'u is a symbol for a state of pure potential and perception without prejudice. In this state,
Taoists believe everything is seen as it is, without preconceptions or illusion (see direct
perception in Buddhist mediation, lotus sutra. Stoics say at this point we know virtue through
cognitive impression, when delusions don't cloud judgment)
T8 >Yin/Yang: used to describe how seemingly disjunctive or opposing forces are
interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn.
========== COMPLEXITY ==================
From "The Turning Point" by Fritjof Capra, with my additions:
Mind includes (as listed in Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and
Chaos):











C1 >consciousness (qualia) (2nd Buddhist Skandha)
C2 >self awareness (5th Buddhist Skandha)
C3 >awareness
C4 >conceptual thought (handling data) (3rd Buddhist Skandha)
C5 >symbolic language (use of Lekta)
C6 >dreams, art, culture (4th Buddhist Skandha)
C7 >value assignment (4th Buddhist Skandha)
C8 >decision-making (4th Buddhist Skandha)
C9 >past/future thinking
C10 >memory
C11 >perception
Traits as in first handout on Complexity:
C12 >Fractals
C13 >Cycles
C14 >Self Organizing
C15 >Adaptive
C16 >Dynamic
C17 >Non-Linear
C18 >Order/Chaos
C19 >Emergent Properties
C20 >Bifurcation
C21 >Determined but unpredictable (effective indeterminacy)
C22 >Butterfly Effect: Had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system
might have been vastly different. While the butterfly does not "cause" the tornado in the
sense of providing the energy for the tornado, it does "cause" it in the sense that the flap of its
wings is an essential part of the initial conditions resulting in a tornado, and without that flap
that particular tornado would not have existed.
C23 >Autopoiesis
C24 >Game of Life
C25 >Creativity in the universe - Creative principle opposed to entropy (Kauffman)