THE NATURE OF REALITY
SETTING THE STAGE
Reality is a dynamic experience that we all share. It is the environment that we interact with, influencing it as it influences us. While it is infinitely complex and we must continuously improve our understanding of reality, there are certain traits and understandings of it that appear to be true at the moment.
Emergent Mesh
Reality is an emergent experience. It is more than a sum of its components.
Speaking of which, those components of reality can also be emergent systems.
Reality operates as a sort of mesh, with different emergent systems and components interacting with one another in different ways from moment to moment.
This mesh is too interwoven and complex to be understood all at once by any single entity within reality. The boundaries between emergent systems and components are far too fluid within a single emergent system, never mind the idea of systems and components influencing each other directly. This is called entanglement, and it makes holistic empirical understanding impossible.
That's far from saying empiricism is a fruitless endeavor, moreso just acknowledging it's capabilities and subsequent place in understanding existence.
Lost Cause Principle & Approximate Perception
Understanding reality is a lost cause. At least in an authoritative sense of holistically understanding reality with predictive certainty. More happens in every moment than can be proven in the same amount of time, especially to the rigorous standards of science.
At best, we can have an approximate perception. And understanding that it's fundamentally inaccurate and always subject to improvement mandates intellectual humility. As we develop perceptions that seem to work for us, we must fundamentally understand that there will always be perceptions that work better.
For some, this offers a satisfying and infinite pursuit. For others, the task of further understanding beyond what is needed to meet the needs and desires of loved ones is pointless. A healthy society fluidly adapts to these sentiments to keep itself both sustained and happy for the moment and well prepared for any changes forced on it by nature.
Deterministic Default
Nearly all operations of the universe, including human behavior, happen according to the deterministic default. That is to say, the universe has a sorted of fated path that it follows at all time, determined by the dynamics of how the emergent mesh interacts. There are discoverable traits and behaviors that can be used to predict changes in reality.
All non-willed actions are subject to the deterministic default, and any anomalies in universal behavior (such as life operating against entropy) are inevitably bound to return to the deterministic default without conscious maintenance.
This creates a Present State of Fate, that while unknowable with certainty to humans, can predict the outcome of reality for the foreseeable future unless there is further willed intervention.
Capacity for Conscious Will
Humans, and perhaps many other creatures in life (or maybe Life itself), are capable of conscious will that can alter the universe from the predicted deterministic default. Just because humans can doesn't mean that all can, and just because one can doesn't mean they can do so consistently.
Willed changes are merely something that can potentially occur with intelligent life. Outside of moment of deliberate will, humans operate according to their behaviors as part of the deterministic default.
Without giving people the peace, time, and space to discover their place within the universal ebb and flow, conscious will is nearly impossible to develop. It takes periods of reflection to develop, then can be used adaptively in action once developed.
DEFINITIONS
Reality - the state of things as they actually exist independent of perception or belief
Existence - to have a presence in reality, whether physical or abstract, regardless of its perception
Determinism - describes the nature of how events and states of affairs in the universe unfold according to a set of predictable and inevitable principles.
Deterministic Default - the inherent path of the universe as decided by determinism unless further willed actions take place. Difficult to create meaningful changes in, and permanent changes may be impossible.
Emergence - a fundamental concept that describes how complex systems and phenomena arise from simpler interactions at lower levels, leading to properties and behaviors that are not directly predictable from those lower levels. Emergence captures the idea that the whole can be more than the sum of its parts, and it operates as a key principle in understanding the nature of reality.
Entanglement - a concept borrowed from quantum physics and applied to the whole of reality. It suggests that components are too dependent on each other to effectively understand and interact with independently.
Willed Changes - actions and decisions made by conscious entities that transcend the deterministic default of reality. These changes are characterized by the influence of conscious will—a capacity to affect reality in ways that cannot be fully explained by mere responses to external stimuli or deterministic patterns.
TOOLS FOR UNDERSTANDING Reality
Holistic Thinking
Iterative Perception
Iterative Perception
Since reality operates as a dynamic emergent mesh, with systems interacting fluidly at multiple levels, focusing solely on isolated components provides an incomplete understanding. Holistic thinking means recognizing that the behavior of any single part of reality is always influenced by its relationships with other parts, often in ways
Since reality operates as a dynamic emergent mesh, with systems interacting fluidly at multiple levels, focusing solely on isolated components provides an incomplete understanding. Holistic thinking means recognizing that the behavior of any single part of reality is always influenced by its relationships with other parts, often in ways that can't be easily predicted or reduced to simple cause and effect.
Holistic thinking relates closely to systems theory and complexity science, where interconnectedness and feedback loops are key to understanding how parts of a system relate to the whole. Systems theory posits that systems must be understood in their entirety, because focusing on individual components without understanding their interdependencies can lead to faulty conclusions. In complex systems, where small changes can cascade into significant impacts (as in chaos theory), this interconnectedness is even more pronounced. I personally like to call these hash outcomes, due to the nature of hashing in cryptography, where any slight change in input produces an entirely unique output.
Within Das Metaphysics, this means that no single emergent system or component can be fully understood in isolation. The context in which something exists is always shifting, as is the relationship between that system and the other parts of the mesh. For example, understanding a single organism's behavior means considering its biological system, the ecosystem it lives in, the society it interacts with, and the conscious choices it makes. All of these levels are entangled, and to comprehend one, you must at least acknowledge the others.
Iterative Perception
Iterative Perception
Iterative Perception
In Das Metaphysics, when developing approximate perceptions, the path to the most accurate understanding of reality isn't calculated perfection, but an iterative process, where true progress is made through cycles of action, reflection, and adjustment.
Reality, being an interconnected, emergent mesh, is too fluid and complex for any fixe
In Das Metaphysics, when developing approximate perceptions, the path to the most accurate understanding of reality isn't calculated perfection, but an iterative process, where true progress is made through cycles of action, reflection, and adjustment.
Reality, being an interconnected, emergent mesh, is too fluid and complex for any fixed approach to yield a complete, enduring understanding. The key to getting the best grasp of reality lies not in aiming for certainty, but in remaining flexible, open to change, and willing to adapt to the circumstances and available information of any given moment.
While holistic understanding is the ultimate goal, The Lost Cause Principle reminds us that a perfect, all-encompassing comprehension of reality is unattainable. Reality is a multifaceted system of emergent processes, with layers that interact in ways that can’t be fully captured. Holistic thinking, therefore, becomes an exercise in approximation: recognizing that even though our perception is never final or flawless, it can evolve and improve over time. Each step forward in understanding reveals new complexities and relationships, demanding a re-evaluation of what we think we know.
This iterative process of understanding can be compared to navigating uncharted territory. Instead of charting an absolute course from the start, we take steps in a certain direction, observe the outcomes, and reflect on where to proceed next. With each step, new information becomes available—about our environment, about ourselves, and about the relationships between different systems in the emergent mesh.
Stable Flexibility
Iterative Perception
Stable Flexibility
In a universe where emergence and interconnection define the structure of reality, there is no fixed roadmap for understanding. Certainty, in this sense, is more of an illusion of human emotion than a useful goal. The best understanding comes from remaining flexible, continuously adapting our perceptions to fit the changing mesh of reali
In a universe where emergence and interconnection define the structure of reality, there is no fixed roadmap for understanding. Certainty, in this sense, is more of an illusion of human emotion than a useful goal. The best understanding comes from remaining flexible, continuously adapting our perceptions to fit the changing mesh of reality. As new systems and interactions emerge, and as we uncover new layers of complexity, the iterative process of understanding enables us to refine our perceptions without clinging to absolutes.
This approach encourages intellectual humility and open-mindedness. Instead of claiming mastery over reality, we acknowledge that our current understanding is always incomplete and that the best way forward is through continuous engagement and reflection. This iterative perception of reality honors the complexity of existence while equipping us with the tools to navigate it meaningfully.