Posted: Apr 03, 2011 3:12 am
pfrankinstein wrote:byofrcs wrote:I have no problems that all that exists is a function of selection from the smallest to the largest scale but I see there as being as many types of selection as there are things that exist.
So you envisage many many types of selection?
OK. Suppose you further collect together and divide those many types of selection.
'Natural selection' is a multi faceted concept yet we apply it broadly as a one.
I'm simply asserting that because there are chiefly three broad types of domain [outer space, Earth, Intellectual] and chiefly three types of material [inorganic,organic, mind] that there are chiefly three types of selection.
The way that the 'single chain of evolution' is dissected is perfectly legitimate, if one considers that it is the total difference in a phenomenon that makes it stand out.
Paul.
I'm a materialist so there is only matter for me (or energy with matter-energy equivalence). I don't see a need to divide the matter into different domains. Thus certainly see no need to divide into "outer space" and "Earth" and definitely not into "mind".
As for the mind then I don't see a need to divide that out as the same problems of mind can apply to a computer that functions like a mind. If you copy the memories of a mind (which are the material structures) then it will copy the person. If you ask it questions then you would not be able to ascertain if it was the original or the copy. This same functional problem applies with a simple computer. Copy the memories and you copy the computer - ask it questions (hostname etc etc) and would not be able to ascertain if it was the original or the copy.
So different matter but same functionality. The same argument works with say artificial hearts - pile of plastic and metal functions like a heart and keeps someone alive like the heart does because it has the same functionality. Same with kidney machines. Thus, though our computers are notoriously bad at the functionality of mind, if we consider a subset we can map functionality.
The division into organic and inorganic is as arbitrary as saying that this atom has carbon and this doesn't. Matter has functionality which emerges when the matter forms. Carbon forms chains with itself. Other elements do this too, just not as well as carbon. So the division into organic and inorganic is predicated on the functionality of carbon catenation. So we end up having one domain of matter and any internal demarcation is going to be arbitrary according to characteristics of the matter.