A Third Transition in Science?

Abstract

Since Newton, all classical and quantum physics depends upon the "Newtonian Paradigm". Here the relevant variables of the system are identified. For example, we identify the position and momentum of classical particles. Laws of motion in differential form connecting the variables are formulated. An example is Newton's three Laws of Motion and Law of Gravitation. The boundary conditions creating the phase space of all possible values of the variables are defined. Then, given any initial condition, the differential equations of motion are integrated to yield an entailed trajectory in the pre-stated phase space. It is fundamental to the Newtonian Paradigm that the set of possibilities that constitute the phase space is always definable and fixed ahead of time.All of this fails for the diachronic evolution of ever new adaptations in our, or any biosphere. The central reason is that living cells achieve Constraint Closure and construct themselves. With this, living cells, evolving via heritable variation and Natural selection, adaptively construct new in the universe possibilities. The new possibilities are opportunities for new adaptations thereafter seized by heritable variation and Natural Selection. Surprisingly, we can neither define nor deduce the evolving phase spaces ahead of time. The reason we cannot deduce the ever evolving phase spaces of life is that we can use no mathematics based on Set Theory to do so. We can neither write nor solve differential equations for the diachronic evolution of ever new adaptations in a biosphere.These ever-new adaptations with ever-new relevant variables constitute the ever-changing phase space of evolving biospheres. Because of this, evolving biospheres are entirely outside the Newtonian Paradigm.One consequence is that for any universe such as ours with one or more evolving biospheres, there can be no Final Theory that entails all that comes to exist. The implications are large. We face a third major transition in science beyond the Pythagorean dream that "All is Number", a view echoed by Newtonian physics.We must give up deducing the diachronic evolution of the biosphere. All of physics, classical and quantum, however, apply to the analysis of existing life, a synchronic analysis.But there is much more. We begin to better understand the emergent creativity of an evolving biosphere: Emergence is not engineering.

Open-ended versus bounded evolution: Mineral evolution as a case study

“…Their “Theory of the Adjacent Possible” ( 42 ) posits that an evolving system occupies an ever-smaller subset of the total possible—an idea equivalent to the proposed law of increasing functional information ( 9 ). Kauffman and Roli ( 43 , 44 ) further demonstrate that biological evolution is likely open-ended and not deducible via the Newtonian paradigm.…”

QxEAI - Automated probabilistic forecasting with Quantum-like evolutionary algorithm

“…In the history of science, the first major transition was the Newtonian one, the next was the quantum transition, which both completely disrupted our views of how we see the world. Now we also believe that we are in the midst of a third transition [8], a Darwinian one. Evolution and quantum theory are both equally critical in our approach, a new transition where the combined forces of the two will bring a new approach to forecasting.…”

Complexity, Artificial Life, and Artificial Intelligence

“…The fact that traditional tools (from reductionist science) are insufficient to study complex systems has led some researchers to seek alternatives [56,65], in part because we seem unable to address global challenges precisely because of their complexity.…”

“…And we do because their richness goes beyond our current understanding abilities. It remains to be seen whether we just need a revolution in science [56,65] to be able to understand them properly. Or it might be that there are aspects that inherently are beyond understanding as we know it.…”