Philosophers
Mortimer Adler Rogers Albritton Alexander of Aphrodisias Samuel Alexander William Alston Anaximander G.E.M.Anscombe Anselm Louise Antony Thomas Aquinas Aristotle David Armstrong Harald Atmanspacher Robert Audi Augustine J.L.Austin A.J.Ayer Alexander Bain Mark Balaguer Jeffrey Barrett William Barrett William Belsham Henri Bergson George Berkeley Isaiah Berlin Richard J. Bernstein Bernard Berofsky Robert Bishop Max Black Susanne Bobzien Emil du Bois-Reymond Hilary Bok Laurence BonJour George Boole Émile Boutroux Daniel Boyd F.H.Bradley C.D.Broad Michael Burke Lawrence Cahoone C.A.Campbell Joseph Keim Campbell Rudolf Carnap Carneades Nancy Cartwright Gregg Caruso Ernst Cassirer David Chalmers Roderick Chisholm Chrysippus Cicero Tom Clark Randolph Clarke Samuel Clarke Anthony Collins Antonella Corradini Diodorus Cronus Jonathan Dancy Donald Davidson Mario De Caro Democritus Daniel Dennett Jacques Derrida René Descartes Richard Double Fred Dretske John Dupré John Earman Laura Waddell Ekstrom Epictetus Epicurus Austin Farrer Herbert Feigl Arthur Fine John Martin Fischer Frederic Fitch Owen Flanagan Luciano Floridi Philippa Foot Alfred Fouilleé Harry Frankfurt Richard L. Franklin Bas van Fraassen Michael Frede Gottlob Frege Peter Geach Edmund Gettier Carl Ginet Alvin Goldman Gorgias Nicholas St. John Green H.Paul Grice Ian Hacking Ishtiyaque Haji Stuart Hampshire W.F.R.Hardie Sam Harris William Hasker R.M.Hare Georg W.F. Hegel Martin Heidegger Heraclitus R.E.Hobart Thomas Hobbes David Hodgson Shadsworth Hodgson Baron d'Holbach Ted Honderich Pamela Huby David Hume Ferenc Huoranszki Frank Jackson William James Lord Kames Robert Kane Immanuel Kant Tomis Kapitan Walter Kaufmann Jaegwon Kim William King Hilary Kornblith Christine Korsgaard Saul Kripke Thomas Kuhn Andrea Lavazza Christoph Lehner Keith Lehrer Gottfried Leibniz Jules Lequyer Leucippus Michael Levin Joseph Levine George Henry Lewes C.I.Lewis David Lewis Peter Lipton C. Lloyd Morgan John Locke Michael Lockwood Arthur O. Lovejoy E. Jonathan Lowe John R. Lucas Lucretius Alasdair MacIntyre Ruth Barcan Marcus Tim Maudlin James Martineau Nicholas Maxwell Storrs McCall Hugh McCann Colin McGinn Michael McKenna Brian McLaughlin John McTaggart Paul E. Meehl Uwe Meixner Alfred Mele Trenton Merricks John Stuart Mill Dickinson Miller G.E.Moore Thomas Nagel Otto Neurath Friedrich Nietzsche John Norton P.H.Nowell-Smith Robert Nozick William of Ockham Timothy O'Connor Parmenides David F. Pears Charles Sanders Peirce Derk Pereboom Steven Pinker Plato Karl Popper Porphyry Huw Price H.A.Prichard Protagoras Hilary Putnam Willard van Orman Quine Frank Ramsey Ayn Rand Michael Rea Thomas Reid Charles Renouvier Nicholas Rescher C.W.Rietdijk Richard Rorty Josiah Royce Bertrand Russell Paul Russell Gilbert Ryle Jean-Paul Sartre Kenneth Sayre T.M.Scanlon Moritz Schlick Arthur Schopenhauer John Searle Wilfrid Sellars Alan Sidelle Ted Sider Henry Sidgwick Walter Sinnott-Armstrong J.J.C.Smart Saul Smilansky Michael Smith Baruch Spinoza L. Susan Stebbing Isabelle Stengers George F. Stout Galen Strawson Peter Strawson Eleonore Stump Francisco Suárez Richard Taylor Kevin Timpe Mark Twain Peter Unger Peter van Inwagen Manuel Vargas John Venn Kadri Vihvelin Voltaire G.H. von Wright David Foster Wallace R. Jay Wallace W.G.Ward Ted Warfield Roy Weatherford C.F. von Weizsäcker William Whewell Alfred North Whitehead David Widerker David Wiggins Bernard Williams Timothy Williamson Ludwig Wittgenstein Susan Wolf Scientists David Albert Michael Arbib Walter Baade Bernard Baars Jeffrey Bada Leslie Ballentine Marcello Barbieri Gregory Bateson Horace Barlow John S. Bell Mara Beller Charles Bennett Ludwig von Bertalanffy Susan Blackmore Margaret Boden David Bohm Niels Bohr Ludwig Boltzmann Emile Borel Max Born Satyendra Nath Bose Walther Bothe Jean Bricmont Hans Briegel Leon Brillouin Stephen Brush Henry Thomas Buckle S. H. Burbury Melvin Calvin Donald Campbell Sadi Carnot Anthony Cashmore Eric Chaisson Gregory Chaitin Jean-Pierre Changeux Rudolf Clausius Arthur Holly Compton John Conway Jerry Coyne John Cramer Francis Crick E. P. Culverwell Antonio Damasio Olivier Darrigol Charles Darwin Richard Dawkins Terrence Deacon Lüder Deecke Richard Dedekind Louis de Broglie Stanislas Dehaene Max Delbrück Abraham de Moivre Bernard d'Espagnat Paul Dirac Hans Driesch John Eccles Arthur Stanley Eddington Gerald Edelman Paul Ehrenfest Manfred Eigen Albert Einstein George F. R. Ellis Hugh Everett, III Franz Exner Richard Feynman R. A. Fisher David Foster Joseph Fourier Philipp Frank Steven Frautschi Edward Fredkin Benjamin Gal-Or Howard Gardner Lila Gatlin Michael Gazzaniga Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen GianCarlo Ghirardi J. Willard Gibbs James J. Gibson Nicolas Gisin Paul Glimcher Thomas Gold A. O. Gomes Brian Goodwin Joshua Greene Dirk ter Haar Jacques Hadamard Mark Hadley Patrick Haggard J. B. S. Haldane Stuart Hameroff Augustin Hamon Sam Harris Ralph Hartley Hyman Hartman Jeff Hawkins John-Dylan Haynes Donald Hebb Martin Heisenberg Werner Heisenberg John Herschel Basil Hiley Art Hobson Jesper Hoffmeyer Don Howard John H. Jackson William Stanley Jevons Roman Jakobson E. T. Jaynes Pascual Jordan Eric Kandel Ruth E. Kastner Stuart Kauffman Martin J. Klein William R. Klemm Christof Koch Simon Kochen Hans Kornhuber Stephen Kosslyn Daniel Koshland Ladislav Kovàč Leopold Kronecker Rolf Landauer Alfred Landé Pierre-Simon Laplace Karl Lashley David Layzer Joseph LeDoux Gerald Lettvin Gilbert Lewis Benjamin Libet David Lindley Seth Lloyd Werner Loewenstein Hendrik Lorentz Josef Loschmidt Alfred Lotka Ernst Mach Donald MacKay Henry Margenau Owen Maroney David Marr Humberto Maturana James Clerk Maxwell Ernst Mayr John McCarthy Warren McCulloch N. David Mermin George Miller Stanley Miller Ulrich Mohrhoff Jacques Monod Vernon Mountcastle Emmy Noether Donald Norman Alexander Oparin Abraham Pais Howard Pattee Wolfgang Pauli Massimo Pauri Wilder Penfield Roger Penrose Steven Pinker Colin Pittendrigh Walter Pitts Max Planck Susan Pockett Henri Poincaré Daniel Pollen Ilya Prigogine Hans Primas Zenon Pylyshyn Henry Quastler Adolphe Quételet Pasco Rakic Nicolas Rashevsky Lord Rayleigh Frederick Reif Jürgen Renn Giacomo Rizzolati A.A. Roback Emil Roduner Juan Roederer Jerome Rothstein David Ruelle David Rumelhart Robert Sapolsky Tilman Sauer Ferdinand de Saussure Jürgen Schmidhuber Erwin Schrödinger Aaron Schurger Sebastian Seung Thomas Sebeok Franco Selleri Claude Shannon Charles Sherrington David Shiang Abner Shimony Herbert Simon Dean Keith Simonton Edmund Sinnott B. F. Skinner Lee Smolin Ray Solomonoff Roger Sperry John Stachel Henry Stapp Tom Stonier Antoine Suarez Leo Szilard Max Tegmark Teilhard de Chardin Libb Thims William Thomson (Kelvin) Richard Tolman Giulio Tononi Peter Tse Alan Turing C. S. Unnikrishnan Francisco Varela Vlatko Vedral Vladimir Vernadsky Mikhail Volkenstein Heinz von Foerster Richard von Mises John von Neumann Jakob von Uexküll C. H. Waddington John B. Watson Daniel Wegner Steven Weinberg Paul A. Weiss Herman Weyl John Wheeler Jeffrey Wicken Wilhelm Wien Norbert Wiener Eugene Wigner E. O. Wilson Günther Witzany Stephen Wolfram H. Dieter Zeh Semir Zeki Ernst Zermelo Wojciech Zurek Konrad Zuse Fritz Zwicky Presentations Biosemiotics Free Will Mental Causation James Symposium |
A Book of Scandals
The Information Philosopher has for years claimed to have plausible solutions for many great problems in philosophy and physics. We have called it a scandal that the world's educators have been teaching seriously outmoded ideas to young minds around the world.
The main scandal is academic philosophers and scientists teaching that the world is nothing but material and that physical events are completely determined by "laws" of nature, that our bodies are machines and our brains are computers that deny our free will and our creativity.
Information philosophy and science explains how information structures are created in the universe despite the second law of thermodynamics, which says that disorder or entropy can only increase in a closed thermodynamic system.
But the universe is not closed, it is an open thermodynamic system, in which the total positive entropy or disorder is increasing, but regions of "negative entropy" are also increasing, so information structures like our Sun and life on Earth are increasing the information content of the universe (the Ergo), especially that part of information that is all of human knowledge (the Sum).
Why do academic philosophers and scientists cling to failed ideas?
Philosophers prefer problems they have been taught to teach.
Scientists seek solutions that discover all-powerful new "laws of Nature."
Leading scientists have interpreted quantum physics and statistical thermodynamics, expressing their own doubts, so it is understandable that those less familiar with these complex subjects have fallen back on their traditional beliefs.
Philosophers of science have been quick to exploit those doubts and to promote alternative theories that are not supported by evidence, but that appeal to our conventional beliefs.
Science journalists also find that speculative articles and books promoting these alternatives are far more popular than serious attempts to teach these difficult subjects to the public.
The Two Things You Need to Know to End the Scandals
1. The standard theory of quantum mechanics is correct. The many attempts to alter it or reinterpret it to restore determinism have failed.
The ontological chance discovered by Albert Einstein in 1916, long before the epistemological "uncertainty" principle of Werner Heisenberg, is real.
Chance drives the variation in living things that natural and intelligent selection choose between to give us life, human beings, and our knowledge of the universe.
Chance gives us the alternative possibilities for acting that make us free and creative.
Einstein's Insight
In 1916 Albert Einstein found that when a photon is emitted by an atom, it must go off in a random direction. He called it "chance." Because he was a determinist, he called it a "weakness in the theory." If the photon went in any preferred direction, the radiation field would depart from equilibrium, even permitting a perpetual motion machine, which he thought impossible.
2. The universe is open and expanding and new information is emerging at every moment.
Our futures are also open.
If we have the will, we can create new information structures that make life more productive as well as more sustainable to protect our planet.
The origin of the universe was not "fine-tuned" to produce human life. Life (biology) cannot be reduced to chemistry, which cannot be reduced to a deterministic physics.
The mistaken idea in statistical physics that any particular distribution or arrangement of material particles has exactly the same information content as any other distribution is an anachronism from nineteenth-century statistical physics.
Boltzmann's Entropy, Eddington's Arrow, Layzer's Order
In 1872 Ludwig Boltzmann theorized that atoms or molecules of a gas would distribute themselves randomly throughout a closed container. If they all started in a corner, or were let out of a bottle, information about those initial positions would be lost. They would never return to those initial positions. The change is irreversible. A few years later he modified his theory, saying particles would only statistically never return. In infinite time, a finite number of particles could return, even more than once.
Boltzmann's theory allows us to calculate the entropy increase when the volume available increases, and to calculate the loss in information.
In 1927 Arthur Stanley Eddington called the direction of entropy increase the "arrow of time." A few years later the expansion of the universe was discovered, and in 1935 Eddington suggested that if the expansion was faster than particles can redistribute themselves, particles could never return to their original distribution. Information was permanently lost.
In the 1970's David Layzer said if the expansion is faster than particles can reach an equilibrium distribution, stable information structures can appear.
S = k ln W
When gas particles can go anywhere in a container, the number of possible distributions is enormous and entropy is maximal. When atoms are bound to others in the hemoglobin structure, the number of possible distributions is essentially 1, and the logarithm of 1 is 0!
Even more important, the parts of every living thing are communicating information - signaling - to other parts, near and far, as well as to other living things. Information communication allows each living thing to maintain itself in a state of homeostasis, balancing all matter and energy entering and leaving, maintaining all vital functions. Statistical physics and chemical thermodynamics know nothing of this biological information.
One Book and Many
In our initial "book of scandals" we present brief summaries of the major scandals/problems and their solutions in terms of the creation of information structures, their processes, functions, and, most important, their communications with one another.
Each scandal will become its own book, if the author lives long enough in the current age of the coronavirus (he will be 84 in June 2020). Many are already sections, or at least pages, in this I-Phi website, which has been a work in progress for over two decades.
Deep insight into the informational nature of reality will can show thinkers young and old why they are creators of our open future as human beings.
CHANCE: The Scandal in Science ............ The Section
CONSCIOUSNESS: The Scandal in Neuroscience ............ The Page
CREATION: The Scandal in Cosmology ............ The Page
EINSTEIN: The Scandal in Quantum Physics ............ The Book
FREE WILL: The Scandal in Philosophy ............ The Book
GOD: The Scandal in Religion ............ The Pages
INFORMATION: The Scandal in Statistical Physics ............ The Page
KNOWLEDGE: The Scandal in Epistemology ............ The Section
LIFE: The Scandal in Biology ............ The Page
MEANING: The Scandal in Language ............ The Page
METAPHYSICS: The Scandal in Ontology ............ The Book
MIND: The Scandal in Psychology ............ The Section
VALUE: The Scandal in Ethics ............ The Section
Normal | Teacher | Scholar
|