In the mean time, here are some thoughts on thinking that I thought the last time I came to Bioneers. Tell me what you think in the comments!
First, a quote from my favorite book, to frame my comments:
"The central insight of the Santiago Theory is the identification of cognition, the process of knowing, with the process of life. Cognition, according to Maturana and Varela, is the activity involved in the self-generation and self-perpetuation of living networks. In other words, cogintion is the very process of life. The organizing activity of living systems, at all levels of life, is mental activity. The interactions of a living organism--plant, animal, or human--with its environment are cognitive interactions. Thus life and cognition are inseparably connected. Mind--or more accurately, mental activity--is immanent in matter at all levels of life.This is a radical expansion of the concept of cognition and, implicitly, the concept of mind. In this view, cognition involves the entire process of life--including perception, emotion , and behavior--and does not neccessarily even require a brain or a nervous system."
Of course I woke up thinking about this and I think that what Capra and those other guys are saying is that the fractal dimensions, form expressing function, in the structure of proteins, are an epistemology in their own right. A way knowing. One could argue that the mind is an emergent property of the brain, but why limit the nervous system to just the brain? My friend Falco, and I agree that the body knows more when the body is in motion. That is, we have conscious access to more information--"I'm hungry. I want to eat arugula with pecans, apple, and avocado"--when we're healthy, active and stimulating the entire body and not just the the brain.
So, extend that out a bit. The mind is emergent of the entire body--the brain, central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system, the musculature, the bones, the breath, and even the environmental context of the breathing. Taking it further still, the mind emerges in non-human primates, mammals, and vertebrates clearly. All of these creatures have a demonstrable capacity to seek that which they need to survive and to "know" on some level or another how to get it. The also have a demonstrable capacity to suffer and I find it interesting that what I know of Western philosophy is that the moral ought is defined by the capacity to suffer rather than the capacity to survive and thrive. Hmmmm.
So, extend that out a bit. The mind is emergent of the entire body--the brain, central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system, the musculature, the bones, the breath, and even the environmental context of the breathing. Taking it further still, the mind emerges in non-human primates, mammals, and vertebrates clearly. All of these creatures have a demonstrable capacity to seek that which they need to survive and to "know" on some level or another how to get it. The also have a demonstrable capacity to suffer and I find it interesting that what I know of Western philosophy is that the moral ought is defined by the capacity to suffer rather than the capacity to survive and thrive. Hmmmm.
Anyway, I think it's fairly easy to extend the mind to all motile creates. But what about the lettuce in my salad? Does it know? "If broccoli screams in the forest, but no one hears its cry...." I think that by broadening the definition of cognition, of knowing, to mean capacity to survive, thrive, live, grow, in a dynamic environment, then the anwer is yes, my lettuce knows and broccoli screams. And all life is an act of cognition. Capra goes on about self-generating and self perpetuating networks, you should definitely read the first four chapters of the Hidden Connections to get that.
No comments:
Post a Comment