Statements on Science

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The Posthuman Manifesto

3. Statements on Science, Nature and the Universe

3.1. Science will never achieve its aim of comprehending the ultimate nature of reality. It is a futile quest, although most scientists don't acknowledge this yet. The Universe will always be more complex than we will ever understand. It is dishonest of scientists not to admit that total understanding of the Universe is their aim. It is even more dishonest not to admit that it can never be achieved.

3.2. The Post_Human abandons the search for the ultimate nature of the Universe and its origin (thus saving a lot of money in the process).

3.3. The Post_Human realises that the ultimate questions about existence and being do not require an answer. The answer to the question "Why are we here?" is that there is no answer.

3.4. To know the ultimate nature of the universe would require knowing everything about the universe, everything that has happened and everything that will happen. If one thing were not known it would imply that all knowledge of the universe is partial, potentially incomplete and therefore, not ultimate.

3.5. No scientific model can ever be complete. It will always be partial and contingent. For any model to be complete it would have to take all influential factors into account, no matter how insignificant. Since this is impossible, the scientist must make an arbitrary decision about which ones to ignore. Having ignored some factors, their model is incomplete, although this does not mean it isn't useful.

3.6. The Post_Human accepts that humans have a finite capacity to understand and control Nature.

3.7. All origins are ends and all ends are origins. Chaos Theory has often been illustrated with the image of a butterfly's wing flap causing a thunderstorm on the opposite side of the globe. Whilst this might illustrate the sensitivity of systems to initial states it does not take into account what caused the butterfly to flap it's wings - a gust of wind?

3.8. Logic which seems consistent at the Human scale cannot necessarily be applied to the microcosmic or the macrocosmic scale.

3.9. Our knowledge about the Universe is constrained by the level of resolution with which we are able to view it. Knowledge is contingent on data - data varies with resolution.

3.10. Scientists give privilege to order over disorder on the assumption that they are gradually discovering the essential Laws of Nature. This is a fundamental error. Nature is neither essentially ordered or disordered. What we perceive as regular, patterned information we classify as order. What we perceive as irregular, unpatterned information we classify as disorder. The appearance of order and disorder implies more about the way in which we process information than it does about the intrinsic presence of order or disorder in Nature.

3.11. Science works on the basis of an intrinsic Universal order. It assumes that all phenomena are subject to physical laws and that some of those laws are well understood, some partially understood, and some unknown. The Post_Human accepts that laws are not things which are intrinsic to Nature. Nor are they things which arise purely in the mind and imposed on Nature. This would re-inforce the division between the mind and reality which we have already abandoned. The order which we commonly perceive around us, as well as the disorder, is not a function exclusively of either the universe or our consciousness, but a combination of both, since they cannot really be separated.

3.12. Everything that exists anywhere is Energy. Energy has four properties:

That it is everything and everywhere.

That it is manifested in an infinite variety of ways.

That it is perpetually transforming.

That it always has been, and always will be, the above.

3.13. The appearance of matter is an illusion generated by interactions between things at the Human level of resolution.

3.14. Humans and the environment are different expressions of energy. The only difference between them is the form that energy takes.

3.15. The Post_Human is entirely at ease with the ideas of paranormality , immateriality ,the supernatural, and the occult. The Post_Human does not accept that faith in scientific methods is superior to faith in other belief systems.

© Robert Pepperell

The Posthuman Manifesto 3. Statements on Science, Nature and the Universe
3.1. Science will never achieve its aim of comprehending the ultimate nature of reality. It is a futile quest, although most scientists don't acknowledge this yet. The Universe will always be more complex than we will ever understand. It is dishonest of scientists not to admit that total understanding of the Universe is their aim. It is even more dishonest not to admit that it can never be achieved. 3.2. The Post_Human abandons the search for the ultimate nature of the Universe and its origin (thus saving a lot of money in the process). 3.3. The Post_Human realises that the ultimate questions about existence and being do not require an answer. The answer to the question "Why are we here?" is that there is no answer. 3.4. To know the ultimate nature of the universe would require knowing everything about the universe, everything that has happened and everything that will happen. If one thing were not known it would imply that all knowledge of the universe is partial, potentially incomplete and therefore, not ultimate. 3.5. No scientific model can ever be complete. It will always be partial and contingent. For any model to be complete it would have to take all influential factors into account, no matter how insignificant. Since this is impossible, the scientist must make an arbitrary decision about which ones to ignore. Having ignored some factors, their model is incomplete, although this does not mean it isn't useful. 3.6. The Post_Human accepts that humans have a finite capacity to understand and control Nature. 3.7. All origins are ends and all ends are origins. Chaos Theory has often been illustrated with the image of a butterfly's wing flap causing a thunderstorm on the opposite side of the globe. Whilst this might illustrate the sensitivity of systems to initial states it does not take into account what caused the butterfly to flap it's wings - a gust of wind? 3.8. Logic which seems consistent at the Human scale cannot necessarily be applied to the microcosmic or the macrocosmic scale. 3.9. Our knowledge about the Universe is constrained by the level of resolution with which we are able to view it. Knowledge is contingent on data - data varies with resolution. 3.10. Scientists give privilege to order over disorder on the assumption that they are gradually discovering the essential Laws of Nature. This is a fundamental error. Nature is neither essentially ordered or disordered. What we perceive as regular, patterned information we classify as order. What we perceive as irregular, unpatterned information we classify as disorder. The appearance of order and disorder implies more about the way in which we process information than it does about the intrinsic presence of order or disorder in Nature. 3.11. Science works on the basis of an intrinsic Universal order. It assumes that all phenomena are subject to physical laws and that some of those laws are well understood, some partially understood, and some unknown. The Post_Human accepts that laws are not things which are intrinsic to Nature. Nor are they things which arise purely in the mind and imposed on Nature. This would re-inforce the division between the mind and reality which we have already abandoned. The order which we commonly perceive around us, as well as the disorder, is not a function exclusively of either the universe or our consciousness, but a combination of both, since they cannot really be separated. 3.12. Everything that exists anywhere is Energy. Energy has four properties: That it is everything and everywhere. That it is manifested in an infinite variety of ways. That it is perpetually transforming. That it always has been, and always will be, the above. 3.13. The appearance of matter is an illusion generated by interactions between things at the Human level of resolution. 3.14. Humans and the environment are different expressions of energy. The only difference between them is the form that energy takes. 3.15. The Post_Human is entirely at ease with the ideas of paranormality , immateriality ,the supernatural, and the occult. The Post_Human does not accept that faith in scientific methods is superior to faith in other belief systems.

	© Robert Pepperell
	© Robert Pepperell