A principle of unfolding wholeness
In the cases we have looked at, we see that again and again, in nature, living structure seems to “emerge”. Along with the operation of the local laws, something is going on, rarely explained by local laws alone, which makes living structure, coherent centers, and the fifteen properties appear in the large. Why does this happen?
Living structure, and the fifteen properties, clearly do not appear in the world all the time. Even though nature manifests these properties frequently, we know that whatever law of nature is making them appear is a law that doesn’t always apply.
The law of gravity is a law of nature. It is not temperamental. It applies everywhere, all the time. It applies in traditional society, and it applies in modern society. But whatever law is making living structure appear is different. Evidently, is sometimes breaks down and fails to operate. That is what makes it so extremely hard to understand how it can be acting in nature.
When I say I want to understand some general law which is responsible for making the fifteen properties appear in nature, whatever this law is, it must also explain why it is temperamental, why it breaks down sometimes at some scales, and why it breaks down specifically at the macroscopic scale in the building production of modern society.
Underlying all these cases there is a geometric principle, reminiscent of the principle of least action, but more general. This principle may be formulated as follow: the evolution of any natural system is governed by transformations of the mathematical wholeness and by a tendency, inherent in these transformations, for the whole to unfold in a particular direction.
In more detail, I postulate that every natural system has a disposition, a tendency caused by the most simple way forward for the system to move in the direction which preserves wholeness. I do not mean that it preserves wholeness in some pious emotional sense, nor that is “wishes” to preserve wholeness. I simply mean that wholeness, which I have defined as a structure of symmetries and centers, will always have a natural dynamic of such a nature that as many as possible of these symmetries (and especially some of the larger ones) are preserved as the system moves forward in time. As the system evolves, it destroys these symmetries and larger centers as little as possible. It maintains as much of the structure of symmetries and centers as possible, and destroys as little of the structure of symmetries and centers as can be managed while yet moving forward.
As noted, it is, in character, somewhat like the principle of least action, except that it is purely geometrical in character, not arithmetical and not energy-based. It explains the mechanical cases because its effect on systems is almost the same as the law of least action. It is capable of explaining the cases covered by non-linear dynamics, because it introduces something like a geometric attractor into the dynamical systems. And it also explains the enigmatic point about the negative effect of human intervention and the unfortunate human ability fo create non-living structure.
While nature may well have a dynamical tendency to preserve wholeness, it is possible for human beings to violate this tendency, simply by acting in a way which is disrespectful of the wholeness (either on purpose to gain something, or by mistake simply because they fail to see the wholeness accurately).
The centers which occur in a given wholeness, especially the larger ones, appear first in a diaphanous, weak, and latent form. If the dynamical system acts to preserve and extend these centers, which appear first as weak, nearly invisible structures in a cloudy chaos, the intensifying process will then effectively create entirely new structures, merely by strengthening these centers. As they become strong, as latent centers get strengthened, entirely new and hitherto unseen structures emerge. And, in cases of death and decay, order appears there by means of a similar process that sweeps structure away, while yet preserving many essential symmetries.
#book/The Nature of Order/2 The process of creating life/1 The principle of unfolding wholeness in nature#