THE
TOPICS
Document status: May 12, 2003
Outdated;
maintained out of interest
Essential
content absorbed to and no further action needed for Journey in Being
Note that there is
repetition among The Concepts of and For Being and the Elements of Being, The
topics and The Functions. A certain amount of repetition is designed in. See The Implementation. In this First Internet Edition,
there is by design an omission of detail from The Topics. Some of the
omitted detail is in The Functions and in some sources
THE
TOPICS
…are ways or modes of exploration and transformation
in being. The intent is to present a complete set of modes with regard to being
and the world. Meaning, nature and validations of concept of being and world
and of meaning will be given later
…are general in nature; together, in
interaction, they aim at completeness in exploration and understanding of
being. These are the modes of being and knowing. The first division,
World and Being, is an exploration of the world and being as such. The idea of
exploration includes construction and transformation and possibilities for
construction and transformation. In a sense, this first division includes the
second division on Ideas and Meaning; however the
role and development of ideas and meaning deserve and require some separate
treatment for their maximum development and utility. The first two divisions
interact and overlap. Dimensions of the world and of being including mind,
their elaboration and validation, and the idea, nature and viability of
validation or justification are part of the exploration: they are developed
from roots in the history of thought and being and through experience,
hypothesis, analysis, transformation and construction of both ideas and being;
a concept of hypothesis and the real is developed so that even while
hypothetical and in process, the dimensions partake of the real; the dimensions
so developed are meshed and merged with the Divisions or Topics and the Functions.
In the way of an incomplete distinction between object and process, Topics and
Functions overlap
…could be included in the earlier
divisions; they are, however, are of special interest in themselves and as
illustrating and supporting the main development
Origin of Being and the Elements of
Being…Transition from the Individual to the Universal
…in my life and exploration from personal to
universal… begins with discovery: being in the universe [despite
pain] is essentially beautiful - - share, cultivate - - full being partially
realized by humankind: death is [as] a concept - - objective glimpsed - -
crystallizes as a process - exploration-research-writing-sharing - -
reflexive… i.e. ., the process examined - - a design - the objective:
the nature of being, of my [our] presence in the universe, Being and
the Absolute - - sharing, application in the world… i.e., social
action
Focus of Topic One: World and Being
What is Being, and what is its nature?
To be in the world is
to partake of its nature - to be is to know; an essential aspect of Being is knowledge of the world. What does it mean to know?
If world processes are indeterministic - as required by of newness… and
creation so must be the process of knowledge, if novelty emerges through
variation and selection so must novelty in knowledge. This marginalizes the
idea of certainty in knowledge, and definite justification and so much analysis
of the nature and growth of knowledge. Knowledge is a form of relationship,
which, we shall see, generalizes as meaning; of course, just as an
indeterministic world will have phases of determinism, otherwise there would be
no enduring elements; knowledge will have its phases of certainty. It is the
concept of knowledge as certain or definitely justifiable that is marginalized.
Knowing and action are a two-way interaction between Being and world; the
second aspect is Action. Meaning is a generalization of relationship and so of
knowledge; action is a generalization of process; and Being
is the full generalization of the object that endures over process and operates
at the level of knowing and meaning
1.1 Being and beings… and The World
Being, world and
universe: the universe is constituted of being[s]
The
individual and the universal… an Individual Life and its Elements and
Transformations
1.2 Elements, dimensions and processes of being
Extension and
duration: being
and process… or space, time and number
Asking the question of
the nature of being is possible on account of space, time, number?
This question is valid regardless of the epistemological status of space and
time
Being and process
generalizes
Concept
and dimensions of being. Being, meaning and action- and alternatives… as natural.
Derivation… analogy from established disciplines, from standard
metaphysics and exploration, from construction and transformation; direct and
transcendental approaches
Concept of being
Levels: nature,
society, mind, absolute; kinds of process: deterministic dynamics,
indeterministic emergence. Other formulations. Variety
of being
1.3 Exploration, construction and transformation
Dynamics of vision,
being, limits and reality
1.4 The Universal, Absolute and the Noumenon
Provide conceptual and
theoretical foundation in interaction with exploration of being. Includes the
concept of being
Focus of Topic Two: Ideas and
Meaning
Knowing - as contrasted
to and as included in the focus for Division one… and founding, nature
and implementation of founding
2.1 Text, word and world… and civilization and society
Concept
and dynamics of spoken and written word, text. A system of texts
The dynamic, in
general, of texts and textuality is to effect the
ways in which individuals, societies, meanings, ideas, influence and
communication thread through time… and in which ideas spread across
geographical and cultural borders
Here, consider
influence of worldwide networked electronic information systems [the networking
revolution] on the nature of the text and its influence. The idea is not new.
An essential point is the breaking down of barriers: informal / formal, draft /
publication, accessible / inaccessible, public / private, text1 / text2 /
text3..., text / media, hidden / visible
Being and the Elements
of Being
Material
and conscious process and evolution. Being in the world
The Absolute and the
Noumenon
2.3 The nature, phenomenon and systems of knowledge. Application
TOPIC 3 Machines as Agents and Artifacts: Computer or Digital
Information Processing and Networking
The general topic of
this division is the role and potential of machines in transformation and
construction of being - although ideas and knowledge are included there is no
restriction to that realm. Naturally, a primary concern is the enhancement of
transformations and constructions for human being. Along the way, applications
are of interest for their use and also for their potential toward
transformation and construction. Such applications include enhancement,
simulation and replication of human function. The topic focuses on the being of
machines rather than merely on utility. Therefore the topic need not include
technology as such which is [a small] part of Division One except that
technology is important in providing realization and stimulation of ideas and
concepts
Approaches to this
topic are frequently preconceived or paradigmatic. Such approaches are useful
and stimulating except when exclusively applied. My preference is to use
multiple paradigms but not to restrict concern to any paradigm. The following
approaches may be used - separately and in combination:
Theory and
implementation
The realm of theory is
multidimensional: there is the underlying theory of devices that may be based
in classical or in quantum physics. The quantum level may be used to predict classical
behavior of devices or may enter fundamentally into the nature of the
computation. There is the mathematical theory of computation... and there are
philosophical concerns that focus on the realizability
of mind as certain kinds of computation
Hardware and software
Simulation and
experiment
Design of systems;
design and non-design effects
Evolution of systems
Simulation and
computation of design... and of evolution
Machine-human synthesis
[and machine as independent agent]
Use of existing
applications to novel ends / design of applications toward ends / synthesis of
varieties of machine funtion
Development along
natural lines [iterative design, responsivity to possibility] and preconceived
ends
Concepts of being; what
is mind; what is essential knowledge
The focus of this
division is on digital electronic information processing and communication /
networking. In part this is because of my interest in the topic. It is also
because the topic is current - both paradigmatically and as the focus of intense
technological development. I use my computer in a number of ways over and above
the standard general and scientific applications. These
center around the development of knowledgeware
- software that performs assistive or a degree of independent function in
thought, e.g., concept development. I continue to develop applications; some
are being used and developed for this work. Finally, computers and mathematical
theories of and related to computer function may provide insight into the
nature and processes of mind. I do not agree with all claims or sympathize with
all computer or information approaches to the mind but do believe that the
avenue continues to deserve attention. Further, computers and computer
architecture remain in evolution. There is some promise of the development of a
quantum computer that may simulate alternate logics, simulate faster, simulate
in new ways; and, recall that machines, socialization and humankind are in
co-evolution. I emphasize both hardware and software - at times interactively;
theoretical paradigms and an experimental approach; fundamental development and
deployment of established systems to novel ends - the approach is a combination
of end-oriented design and natural evolution to natural “ends”. A
primary purpose of the present division is to use computers as examples of
being and for insight into the mind - and into being. That purpose, various
practical uses, and modern technology and concepts form a connected system
outlined in the sub-topics below
Focus of Topic Three: Machines as
Agents and Artifacts
Machines as being;
machines as sentient; machines, process, mind; machines as agents - actors and
knowers, and machines as artifacts or tools
Routine application and
use in the project for Being and the Elements of Being
Knowledgeware; the Human Knowledge Project
Theory and engineering
for data information, knowledge and meaning processing machines; Artificial
Intelligence, Life… cognitive science
3.1 Machines as agents and artifacts: concepts and theory
To be an agent does not
require completely independent existence. Natural agents are naturally
co-existent with the world. An agent is capable of some action… is a
dynamic element in the loop of being. The distinction between agent and
artifact is not sharp
Machine as agent -
as dynamic element in the loop of being
The concept is that of
machine as being. Rather than give machine or human / being primacy consider
and develop the loop as distinct from -though not irrelevant to- independence
and value
Knowledge and learning:
automated and semi-automated
Modern cognitive
science
Machine as artifact
- as extension, tool, aid
3.2 Application: kinds, areas / targets, examples
For the exploration in
being
As a significant
technology
3.3 Software Applications for Being and the Elements of Being
For Being and the
Elements of Being and its divisions; for the programs of action
Design Considerations
The Uses
Backup, retrieval and
publication
Acquisitions, Access
and Upgrade
3.4 The Science and Engineering Of Digital Communication and
Information Processing… Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
Nature
of machine function and intelligence…
Thinking, AI
AI vs. synthesis… natural vs. evolved function and
design
Information resources
Automation of tasks
3.5 The Human Knowledge Project
A project
to form a dynamic database of human knowledge. Essential aspects of the project
are that it aims at being complete, being useful and being an active
or dynamic link in the knowledge loop. The balance of any such system of
considerations conditions the meaning of each element. Utility must be a
balance among factors that include the present and the ultimate. Completeness
is not with regard to information as such but requires a concept of what
knowledge and what is essential to completeness in being; this theoretical
consideration, the dynamic aspect, and the fact that the knowledge base is a
link rather than prime generator results in a lean system. This enhances
utility and the dynamic aspect
TOPIC 4 Action: Social or Mutual Action
Social action is of
interest to me as application or contribution and as context. More
significantly, mutual action is both satisfying and essential to the broadest
canvas for exploration by a social being
Focus of Topic Four: Social or
Mutual Action
Mutual knowing, transformation
and construction in social action
Design for a Group or
Focus of the
4.4 General Social and Mutual Action
4.5 A System of Modes and Applications [areas]