Hello, Peirce offers strategies for framing questions and fruitful hypotheses in metaphysics about the origins of order in the cosmos. I've seen reconstructions of his account by a number of interpreters, including Andrew Reynolds in Peirce's Scientific Metaphysics. Some Peirce scholars, including T.L. Short, have expressed concerns about the plausibility of Peirce's speculations.
Given the current state of theorizing in cosmology and physics, the questions seem remarkably abstruse and complicated. I'm wondering if there are simple models that might be used to clarify the philosophical side of the questions and competing hypotheses. I suspect others on the list have considerably stronger backgrounds in physics and mathematics than I do. As such, I'd be interested in hearing suggestions about where one might start. Thus far, my strategy has been to follow the line of interpretation developed by Reynolds. This starts with a conception of randomness based on the law of large numbers and the central limit theorem, and then explains the role of the law of mind in the growth of order in a random system. Taking Peirce's own example of the rolling of dice, how might the gradual wearing of corners of the die shape the future rolls? My hunch is that the rolling of many dice, and the growth of habits, might serve as a useful model for the evolution of order in the early cosmos. The many rolls of a die can be modeled using the tools of phase and parameter spaces. Adopting this type of model, my hope is that a profitable analogy can be drawn to something like quark-gluon interactions in vacuum space, which have been modeled by Derek Leinweber. His models were used by Wilczek in his 2004 Physics Nobel Prize Lecture<http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2004/wilczek-lecture.html>. Here is an introductory video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3xLuZNKhlY&t=72s [https://i.ytimg.com/vi/J3xLuZNKhlY/maxresdefault.jpg]<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3xLuZNKhlY&t=72s> Empty Space is NOT Empty<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3xLuZNKhlY&t=72s> An atom is mostly empty space, but empty space is mostly not empty. The reason it looks empty is because electrons and photons don't interact with the stuff ... www.youtube.com If members of the list have suggestions for better models, please let me know. Similarly, if anyone is interested in taking up these sorts of questions on-list or possibly off-list by video conference, I'd be interested in having a discussion. Yours, Jeff Downard Dept. of Philosophy NAU
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