On Sun, Dec 30, 2007 at 11:32:33AM -0700, Nicholas Thompson wrote: > All, > > Ok, so my questions about Rosen are of a really fundamental nature. You guys > are already WAY down the track. > > In fact, could somebody clarify, in terms that a former english major would > understand, what it means to say, > > "organisms are closed to efficient causation." > I read it and I read it and I READ it and it just doesnt STICK! >
You probably read about Aristotle's four causes - this is the origin of the term efficient causation. "closed to efficient causation" in my mind simply says that something is its own cause. If we ask why does this chicken exist, the answer is because of an egg existing. When we ask why did the egg exist, the answer is because a chook exists (adult chicken). Causation in this sense is closed. When you ask any question about the causation of life, you ultimately come back on youself. The meaning of life is life itself. It exists because it can. I hope this explanation makes some kind of sense. I beleive that much of Rosen's tortured explanation was trying to formalise this fairly simple and obvious idea. It is worth comparing and contrasting it with the notion of autopoiesis, which is a little better developed. Cheers -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A/Prof Russell Standish Phone 0425 253119 (mobile) Mathematics UNSW SYDNEY 2052 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Australia http://www.hpcoders.com.au ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
