Saturday, May 26, 2007

Fruit Flies Have Free Will by Louis Evan Palmer

If there is only one ultimate source, and the Theory of Everything has been trying to posit that for many years, then everything that exists is made of that "suchness". In some cases, we may call it a substance but it is more than that. And if that source has awareness and consciousness then everything that issues from it will have awareness and consciousness. And if that source has free will and is the embodiment and enabler of free will then everything that issues from it will have "free will".

In that context, the conclusion by a group of scientists studying fruit flies that they are manifesting free will is not unbelievable. In fact, it should follow that in every case where there are two or more possibilities then there is an opportunity for free will. It may be the case that even at the atomic level, we will find that the "choices" being made by the electrons and protons and other particles are not governed by purely stochastic processes.

At what point would the awareness or consciousness of something become observable to a person? Does aggregation plays a part in consciousness & awareness? Or interaction?

Perhaps consciousness is nothing more than a conversation between two awarenesses. In some instances, maybe the concept of a dance is more appropriate but where it is the interaction, or the feeling of interaction, that gives an impression of consciousness.

This can help explain the fleeting nature of consciousness and its specificity - you are consciously aware of only one thing at a time. It may be that humans may only observe consciousness at a certain level of aggregation or through interaction which may also be governed by the level of aggregation.

In that scenario, an individual bee has one consciousness, a hive has another. One person, one consciousness; a crowd of people, another.

Or within an individual - the organs themselves; for instance, a heart may have one consciousness, a liver or stomach another, a brain another; the whole organism another consciousness again; two people in love another, etc. etc.

A tree one consciousness, a grove another, a forest yet another. The Earth as a whole manifesting a whole Earth consciousness. Similarly for the Sun and the solar system.

Maybe fruit flies will help to lead us out of an "only humans have free will" ghetto and towards a deeper awareness & understanding of our bonds both imaginary and real.

Fruit Flies Have Free Will, The Way It Can Be, Louis Evan Palmer, http://twicb.blogspot.com
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Copyright 2007 Louis Evan Palmer lives in Ontario Canada. His short stories have been published in numerous publications.


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3 comments:

brenda said...

Hidden-variables theories (the "Theory of Everything") have received severe blows recently.

physicsweb
“[Studies] have ruled out all hidden-variables theories based on joint assumptions of realism, meaning that reality exists when we are not observing it; and locality, meaning that separated events cannot influence one another instantaneously."

I don't see your pantheism, as attractive as it may be, working out very well.

Anonymous said...

Desideratum !
Egregious Funambulist!
This serendipitous disinterment irrefragably engenders heuristic cogitation, elucidation and veracity.
Ovine velleity, thewless descant, miscreant concatenation, pavid vilification and temerarious calumniations immure syncretism.
Your histrionic hegemony and ecumenical sanctimony, prone to paroxysm and catatonia, where harrowing gerontocracies, obscuring sciosophy and obsequious vassals of sequacious polysyllogism reign with conniving venality, ostentatious dissimulation and pertinacious recusancy to perpetuate chimerical monstrosities, global imbroglios, neurotic fragmentation and psychotic armamentation, portend omnifarious cataclysm.
Axiomatic reconnoitering necessitates exigent circumspection, perspicacious equanimity and sedulous cogency to abjure ubiquitous beguilement, nugatory mellifluous prolixity and apophthegmatic condescendence.
Scrutators hearken, descry and reintegrate, ameliorate nescience, titivate desultory proclivities, recalcitrate paralogism, succour pusillanimous tiros and eschew logomachy.
Aquarian conspirators know nomology, my theanthropic cognation, numinous propinquity, propitious ataraxia, impending chiliad of benevolence and eclectic meritocracy.
I am endogenous, adumbrating pulchritudinous you.
Am I??

Anonymous said...

Evan, you may well be wondering in what context my pabulum3 'Desideratum" post was meant to address in relation to your fruit fly article. Thoughtful as your article is within its own context, my POV is simply this! Cliche though it may be, the whole really IS greater than the sum of the parts. No amount of human knowledge concerning the differentiated aspects of nature, consciousness or otherwise, will ever provide the whole 'picture', nor act as a 'template' to guide us to it. Do you consider it possible that the present sorry state of this world is due, in no small degree, to the fragmented manner in which TPTB utilize the considerable knowledge being generated by an equally fragmented scientific research community.

BTW, this word/meaning list may be of help in interpreting my previous post.

Desideratum: something wanted or needed ---- egregious: distinguished or eminent
funambulist : a tightrope walker---- serendipity: faculty of making desirable but unsought for discoveries by accident---- disinterment: to bring from obscurity into vie---- irrefragably: not to be refuted; undeniable---- engenders: to cause; give rise to; to produce----heuristic: serving to find out; to further invest---- cogitation: ponder; devise; think hard; meditate; a thought---- elucidation: to make lucid or clear; throw light upon; explain---- veracity: conformity to truth or fact, as of statements---- ovine: pertaining to, of the nature of, sheep---- velleity: a mere wish, unaccompanied be real effort to attain----
thewless: without vigour or energy---- descant: a variation upon anything; comment on---- miscreant: depraved; villainous; base---- concatenation: a series of interconnected or interdependent things or events---- pavid: frightened; fearful; timid----
vilification: to speak evil of; defame; traduce; deprecate; slander; malign; disparage; traduce---- temerarious: reckless; rash; daring---- calumniation: to make false statements about; slander---- immure: to enclose within walls; to shut in; to imprison; confine; fortify---- syncretism: the attempted reconciliation or union of different or opposing principles, practices, or parties, as in philosophy or religion---- histrionic artificial; theatrical---- hegemony: leadership or predominant influence exercised by one state over another---- ecumenical: general; universal---- sanctimony: pretended, affected, or hypocritical holiness or devoutness---- prone: having a natural tendency or inclination to something; disposed to; liable---- paroxysm: any sudden, violent outburst; a fit of violent emotion---- catatonia: a syndrome seem most frequently in schizophrenia, with muscular rigidity and mental stupor, sometimes alternating with great excitement and confusion----harrowing: disturbing or distressing to the mind, feeling, etc.----
gerontocracies: government by old men----obscuring: not clear or plain; uncertain, etc.
sciosophy: system of pretended knowledge usually based on tradition or the like, and not on scientific fact ---- obsequious: servilely compliant or overly deferential----
vassals: a servant or slave---- sequacious: following another person unreasonably----
polysyllogism: logic-a number of syllogisms arranged in a series so that the conclusion of one (prosyllogism) serves as the premise of another (an episyllogism)----
reign: dominating power or influence---- conniving: to avoid noticing that which one should oppose or condemn but secretly approves; give aid to wrongdoing----
venality: ready to sell ones services or influence unscrupulously; accessible to bribery; corruptly mercenary; prostitution of talents or principles for money or reward----
ostentatious: characteristics by or given to pretentious show---- dissimulation: feigning, hypocrisy---- pertinacious: persistent, holding tenaciously to a purpose, course of action, or opinion---- recusancy: refusing to submit or comply; obstinate refusal or opposition---- perpetuate: to make perpetual; preserve from oblivion---- chimerical: unreal; imaginary----monstrosities: frightful or hideous; extremely ugly; deviating greatly from the natural form or type---- global: pertaining to or covering the whole world; all-embracing---- imbroglio: an intricate and perplexing state of affairs; a complicated or difficult situation; a confused heap---- neurotic: an emotional disorder involving feelings of anxiety, obsessional thoughts, compulsive acts and physical complaints----fragmentation: the disintegration or breakdown of norms of thought, behaviour, or social relationship---- psychotic: any major, severe form of mental affection or disease
armamentation: the weapons with which a military unit, airplane, vehicle or warship is equipped---- portend: an indication or omen of something about to happen, esp. something momentous---- omnifarious: of all forms, varieties or kinds---- cataclysm any violent upheaval---- axiomatic: an established and universally accepted principle or rule---- reconnoitering: to inspect, observe or survey the enemy's strength, position, etc., in order to gain information for military or other strategic purposes; to make a reconnaissance---- necessitates: obliges, forces, compels---- exigent: requiring immediate action or aid; urgent; pressing; requiring a great deal---- circumspection: watchful on all sides; cautious; prudent; well considered---- perspicacious: having keen mental perception; discerning---- equanimity: evenness of mind or temper; calmness; composure---- sedulous: diligent in application or attention; persevering; persistently or carefully maintained---- cogency: power if proving or producing belief; convincing force---- abjure: to renounce or repudiate; retract; esp. with solemnity---- ubiquitous: being everywhere at the same time; omnipresence---- beguilement: to mislead; delude; to charm or divert---- nugatory: trifling; of no real value; worthless; of no force or effect; futile; vain---- mellifluous: sweetly or smoothly flowing; flowing with honey---- prolixity: extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy---- apophthegmatic: a short, pithy, instructive saying; a terse remark or aphorism---- condescendence: to waive ceremony voluntarily and assume equality with an inferior---- Scrutators: one who investigates---- hearken: to listen; to give heed or attend to what is said---- descry: to discover; perceive; detect---- reintegrate: to make whole again; restore to a perfect state; re-new; re-establish---- ameliorate: to make or become better; improve---- nescience: lack of knowledge; ignorance; agnosticism---- titivate: to make smart or spruce---- desultory: disconnected unmethodical; fitful; random---- proclivity: natural or habitual inclination or tendency; propensity; predisposition---- recalcitrate: to make resistance or opposition; show strong objection or repugnance---- paralogism: a piece of false or fallacious reasoning, esp. one of whose falseness the reasoner is not conscious---- succour: help; relief; aid; assistance---- pusillanimous: lacking strength of mind or courage; faint hearted; cowardly---- tiros: beginners in learning anything; novices---- eschew: to abstain from; shun; avoid---- logomachy: contention about words, or in which words are used as verbiage, regardless or their true meaning----aquarian: the eleventh sign of the zodiac, the water-bearer---- conspirators: to agree together, esp. secretly, to do some reprehensible or illegal; combine for an evil or unlawful purpose---- know: to perceive or understand as fact or truth, or apprehend with clearness and certainty; to be cognizant or aware of ---- nomology: the science of the laws of the mind---- theanthropic: of or pertaining to both God and man; both divine and human---- cognation: of the same parentage, descent, etc; related in origin; allied in nature or quality---- numinous: evincing the presence of deity; arousing elevated or religious feeling---- propinquity: nearness of relation; kinship; affinity of nature; similarity---- propitious: presenting favourable conditions; favourable---- ataraxia: state of tranquility, free from emotional disturbance and anxiety---- impending: about to happen; imminent---- chiliad: a thousand years---- benevolence desire to do good for others; goodwill; charitableness…. Eclectic: selecting what seems best from various styles or ideas; not following any one system, but selecting and using whatever is considered best in all systems---- meritocracy: persons collectively who have reached positions of authority by reason of real or supposed merit---- endogenous: growing or proceeding from within; originating within---- adumbrating: to give a faint shadow or resemblance of; to foreshadow; prefigure; overshadow---- pulchritudinous: beautiful - that quality of appearance which pleases the eye; beauty; comeliness; grace; loveliness; attractive moral excellence.

Familiarize, imbue and concatenate
Find out: who or what am "I" ?
Am I wanted and/or needed?
Then let me be.
I am yours, Truly.

Source; Hamlyn Encyclopaedic World Dictionary