Theory of Being -- III: Being and Sustainability

This is the third post in the series about a "Being" theory of reality. For earlier posts in this series, click on the label "Theory of Being" in the sidebar.

Thus far, we have seen how reality can be divided into (at least) two realms -- the energy realm and the information realm. Energy realm is what constitutes physical reality, for which we have different interfaces in the form of sense organs. The information realm consists of concepts, the reality of which are perceived through the mind -- or cognition.

In that sense, I view cognition as our "sixth sense" or our ability for "Extra-sensory perception" -- it perceives objects that our sense organs may not be able to perceive.

Based on the above, let me try and formulate a theory of reality combining the two realms.

Existence 

To begin with, I would like to assert that: Existence is formed by the interaction between energy and information

An object is said to "exist" if it represents an active interaction between energy and information. This is easy to see for living beings like humans. We "exist" as long as our body (matter/energy) is in an active interaction with our "soul" (information). The moment their interplay ceases, we cease to exist (as a living being).

In the following theory, I would like to generalize this model to all objects -- not just "living" objects.

The Being 

Energy in its purest form has no characteristic. It can become light, heat, matter, force or whatever else in the physical world, when it acquires (or gets into an interaction with) an element from the information realm.

The building block of existence, representing different kinds of interplay between energy and information, is called a Being. A Being is a chunk of energy that has acquired a concept (information object). This interplay between energy and concept gives the being its own set of characteristic properties.

For example, a hydrogen atom is a chunk of energy that has acquired the concept of a hydrogen atom from the information realm to give it its specific set of characteristics as that of a hydrogen atom. Note that this "acquisition" need not be a form of creation or "intelligent design" (a creator bringing together a chunk of energy and a concept, and weaving a being out of it).  It is usually the result of a physical causal phenomena (except in cases of singularities like black holes).

Beings affect one another by the causal laws of physics. However, every being also has a teleological objective that it strives to achieve -- this is the objective "to be" or to "preserve itself" or to "sustain itself."

As an aside, this teleological objective bas been noticed in different cultures in different ways. In Sanskrit, the term भव (bhava) or "being" is the root of भाव (bhaava) or disposition, and the self-preserving nature of being is called स्वभाव (svabhaava) or self-disposition. In Arabic, the saying  كون, في كون (kwn, fi kwn) expresses the nature of reality as: "Be, and it is". In French, the saying "Que sera, sera" expresses this as "What will be, will be."

The tendency of things "to be" is seen even in physics, in different ways.

Newton's laws of physics for example, concern two basic properties -- inertia and motion. The first and the third law are primarily about inertia (or the tendency of an object to preserve its state), and the second law is about motion.

Physics, following the time of Newton, has largely focused on mechanics rather than inertia (perhaps because, what is so interesting about "just being"?) But what we are interested in here, is the "just being" part and the algebra of the "inherent laziness" of existence.

This tendency for self-preservation is also seen in the quantum world. Sub-atomic particles are known to absorb energy in discrete units called quanta, giving them a discrete state space in which they can exist. And not all such discrete states are equally stable. The sub-atomic particles tend to settle back into stable states once the source of energy is removed.

Hence, when an electron absorbs a quantum of energy, it goes into an "excited state" -- usually an orbital in a higher orbit, away from the nucleus. But if the source of energy is removed, the electron emits the absorbed energy and reverts back to its original orbit or its "ground state."

Why does the electron come back to its ground state? While physics has sound explanations for how this happens, the best answer thus far for why this happens seems to be that, "because, we have observed it to be so."

Even when we consider the behaviour of compounds or matter, this tendency of self-preservation appears in the form of elasticity. Materials, when subject to stress, tend to return to their original dimensions.

It is not that beings always succeed in returning to their original state. An electron can be excited enough to escape away from the atom, making the atom into an ion. An ionized atom is extremely sensitive towards ionized atoms with the opposite charge, in an effort to bring it back to its self-preserving state of being.

The state where a being settles down in order to self-preserve is called its धर्म or "dharma".

Dharma is not an inherent characteristic of being (स्वभाव is the inherent characteristic). It is the state that is maximally suited for self-preservation given the environmental factors in which the being is operating.

The environment in which a being seeks its dharma is called its विधि (Vidhi), which is sometimes incorrectly translated as "fate." Fate is something that the being has no control over, and towards which, it is helpless. Vidhi on the other hand, refers to the schema or the layout defining the environment in which the being operates. Vidhi imposes constraints, but not absolute determinism.

The same being may settle down in different stable states depending on the environment in which it operates. For instance, atoms operating in an environment of high stress (like in volcanoes or deep inside the earth), tend to form ionic bonds with one another, to result in stable, crystalline structures. On the other hand, atoms operating in chemically rich environments tend to form covalent bonds, that are stable against corrosions from other chemicals.

It requires enormous temperature and pressure to break the ionic bond of Sodium and Chlorine in a grain of salt. But this bond can be easily broken by putting the salt crystal into water. Covalent bonds on the other hand (like many organic compounds) are not easily soluble in water and cannot be broken down in a wide array of chemically rich environments. But, they can be broken by subjecting them to stress, like high pressure or temperature.

To use the parlance of Game Theory, dharma is the best response function of a being, given the environment in which it operates. When two beings operate in an environment (thus forming the Vidhi for one another), the mutual best response function results in a state of Nash equilibrium, something which finds application in physics, in the form of quantum game theory.

While dharma drives beings to settle down to their self-dispositions in a neutral environment with no stressful interactions, almost all beings change their dharma, or the stable state that they settle into, in highly stressful environments.

And I'm not at all talking about humans here.

Chemical reactions can be induced in most collections of different stable molecules, just by subjecting them to high temperatures and pressure. When Vidhi changes, the teleological force of dharma pushes the being to adapt suitably to maintain the property of self-preservation.

Living Beings

Finally, there are a class of beings called "living beings" that take sustainability and self-preservation to a whole new level. Living beings are basically complex beings called "genes" that have acquired a specific concept from the information realm, that enables them to pursue self-preservation of their complex nature, by a process called evolution. Here they interact with other gene ensembles to look for ways (fitness) that can help sustain them for as long as possible.

"The greatest show on earth" as evolution is sometimes called, is basically the principle of dharma operating across generations.

Living beings are primarily driven by two forms of dharma -- homeostasis, that strives to preserve the being in its present form; and evolution, that strives to preserve the being across generations.

Let me end this post on this note, and invite my readers to "just be" with these thoughts, while we return again to look into how beings bridge between energy and information. And how, awareness and consciousness represent different stages of bridging between energy and information.

Comments

Sudarshan HS said…
I liked the "And I'm not at all talking about humans here." :)

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