karene
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 Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 5:12 am Post subject: Metaphysics: Solution to the Problem of the One and the Many |
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Metaphysics: Problem of the One and the Many
     
 (Friedrich Nietzsche, The Greeks, 1880) Greek philosophy seems to begin with a preposterous fancy, with the proposition (of Thales) that water is the origin and mother-womb of all things. Is it really necessary to stop there and become serious? Yes, and for three reasons: firstly, because the proposition does enunciate something about the origin of things; secondly, because it does so without figure and fable; thirdly and lastly, because it contained, although only in the chrysalis state, the idea :everything is one. ... That which drove him (Thales) to this generalization was a metaphysical dogma, which had its origin in a mystic intuition and which together with the ever renewed endeavours to express it better, we find in all philosophies - the proposition: everything is one!
(Gottfried Leibniz, 1670) Reality cannot be found except in One single source, because of the interconnection of all things with one another. ... I maintain also that substances, whether material or immaterial, cannot be conceived in their bare essence without any activity, activity being of the essence of substance in general. ... In conclusion, nothing should be taken as certain without foundations; it is therefore those who manufacture entities and substances without genuine unity to prove that there is more to reality than I have just said; and I am waiting for the notion of a substance, or of an entity, which successfully comprehends all these things; after which parts and perhaps even dreams will be able one day to lay claim to reality.
 (Bradley, 1846-1924) We may agree, perhaps, to understand by Metaphysics an attempt to know reality as against mere appearance, or the study of first principles or ultimate truths, or again the effort to comprehend the universe, not simply piecemeal or by fragments, but somehow as a whole.
(George Berkeley, 1710) Nothing seems of more importance, towards erecting a firm system of sound and real knowledge, which may be proof against the assaults of scepticism, than to lay the beginning in a distinct explication of what is meant by thing, reality, existence: for in vain shall we dispute concerning the real existence of things, or pretend to any knowledge thereof, so long as we have not fixed the meaning of those words.
Problem of One and the Many
What is the One thing that must Exist to necessarily interconnect the Many things?
The Problem of the One and the Many is at the very foundation of all human knowledge (as the quotes above demonstrate). The Problem of the One and the Many is the Problem of Metaphysics and Philosophy. How can we connect our senses which are deceptive (our representation of the world, the many things, illusion) to the real world which exists (the One, infinite, eternal)? It is a problem that has been known for many thousands of years without solution, thus it is hardly surprising that it is now accepted by many that we can never solve the Problem of the One and the Many, thus we can never directly know what exists, what reality is (what we are!).
| Quote: | | The problem of the one and the many in metaphysics and theology is insoluble: The history of philosophy in India as well as in Europe has been one long illustration of the inability of the human mind to solve the mystery of the relation of God to the world. We have the universe of individuals which is not self-sufficient and in some sense rests on Brahman, but the exact nature of the relation between them is a mystery. (Radhakrishnan) |
Both Ancient Indian and Greek Philosophy originated from the realisation that there must be One thing that is common to and connects the Many things. As Heraclitus (Greek Philosopher, 500 BC) expressed;
 (Heraclitus ~ 500BC) All things come out of the one, and the one out of all things.
It is the purpose of this web page / forum is to explain how there is in fact a very simple solution to this very major problem. To begin let us consider why there must be one thing that is common to the many things.
It is now well accepted that Matter interacts (e.g. Light and Gravity) with all other Matter in the Universe, as Smolin writes,
| Quote: | | It can no longer be maintained that the properties of any one thing in the universe are independent of the existence or non-existence of everything else. It is, at last, no longer sensible to speak of a universe with only one thing in it. (Smolin, 1997) |
Thus to understand the Structure of Matter we must understand the Structure of the Universe, and this means we must know the One thing that is common to and connects the Many things within the Universe.
The solution is found by describing the One Substance which exists (Space) and its Properties (Wave-Medium) such that we can then explain the necessary connection between the many things (i.e. Matter as Spherical Wave Motions of Space) which exist in Space.
This minor (though obviously fundamental) change in the Metaphysical foundations for describing Reality (from 'particles' and spherical 'force fields' in Space and Time to Spherical Waves in Space) moves us from the current paradigm of the metaphysics of Space and Time to the Metaphysics of Space and Motion and the Wave Structure of Matter.
From this new metaphysical foundation we then find solutions to not just the problem of the One and the Many, but to the related problems of the Infinite and the Finite, Eternal and the Temporal, Absolute and Relative, Continuous and Discrete, Simple and Complex, Matter and Universe.
Problem of Infinite and Finite
How do Many Finite things form within One Infinite thing, Space?
 (Aristotle, Physics, 340 BC) Clearly there is a sense in which the infinite exists and another in which it does not.
It is necessary to read the article on Cosmology to fully explain this, though the solution is simple once known. Matter, as Spherical In and Out Waves, determines the size of our finite spherical universe within an infinite Space, i.e. matter is finite within an infinite Space.
Huygens' Principle explains how other matter's out waves combine to form our matter's spherical In-Waves, which then deduces both Mach's Principle and the redshift with distance (without assuming Doppler shifts due to an expanding universe - thus there was no Big Bang).
This also explains how matter interacts with all other matter in the universe (why we can see stars) as matter is the size of the universe, though we only 'see' the high wave amplitude wave-centers / 'particles'.
Problem of Eternal and Temporal
One thing must be Eternal yet the Many things (e.g. Stars, Planets, People) are Temporal and experience Time
(Aristotle, Metaphysics, 340 BC) Motion must always have been in existence, and the same can be said for time itself, since it is not even possible for there to be an earlier and a later if time does not exist. Movement, then, is also continuous in the way in which time is - indeed time is either identical to movement or is some affection of it. ... The entire preoccupation of the physicist is with things that contain within themselves a principle of movement and rest. ... It need hardly be pointed out that with things that do not change there is no illusion with respect to time, given the assumption of their unchangeability. ... about its coming into being and its doings and about all its alterations we think that we have knowledge when we know the source of its movement. ... that among entities there must be some cause which moves and combines things. And to seek for this is to seek for the second kind of principle, as we would say, that from which comes the beginning of the change. ... Unless the further factor is active, there will still be no movement. There must then be a principle of such a kind that its substance is activity.
(Benedict Spinoza, Ethics, 1673) No one doubts but that we imagine time from the very fact that we imagine other bodies to be moved slower or faster or equally fast. We are accustomed to determine duration by the aid of some measure of motion.
 (John Fowles, The Aristos, 1964) Time in itself, absolutely, does not exist; it is always relative to some observer or some object. Without a clock I say 'I do not know the time' . Without matter time itself is unknowable. Time is a function of matter; and matter therefore is the clock that makes infinity real.
Time - The Spherical Standing Wave Motion of Space causes matter's activity and the phenomena of Time. This confirms Aristotle and Spinoza's connection of Motion and Time, and most significantly connects these two things back to one thing Space. Movement, then, is also continuous in the way in which time is - indeed time is either identical to movement or is some affection of it. (Aristotle)
As Time is caused by (wave) Motion , thus only Matter (as Spherical Wave Motions of Space) experiences Time. Space is Eternal (has always existed) and does not experience Time (thus there was no Big Bang creation of Space/Universe).
Problem of Absolute and Relative
Uniting Absolute Motion - Relative Motion, Absolute Truth - Relative Truth
 (Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi) But for me, truth is the sovereign principle, which included numerous other principles. This truth is not only truthfulness in word, but truthfulness in thought also, and not only the relative truth of our conception, but the Absolute Truth, the Eternal Principle, that is God. There are innumerable definitions of God, because His manifestations are innumerable. They overwhelm me with wonder and awe and for a moment stun me. But I worship God as Truth only. I have not yet found Him, but I am seeking after Him. I am prepared to sacrifice the things dearest to me in pursuit of this quest. Even if the sacrifice demanded be my very life, I hope I may be prepared to give it. But as long as I have not realised this Absolute Truth, so long must I hold by the relative truth as I have conceived it.
Absolute Space exists, but until recently we only observed the relative motion of matter (relative to other matter) as explained by Einstein's Theory of Relativity. This has now changed with the observation of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR - which is likely caused from low temperature Hydrogen distributed throughout Space - not from 'Big Bang') and acts as a reference frame for our Absolute Motion through an Absolute Space.
See articles; Physics: Albert Einstein's Theory of Special and General Relativity; Physics-CMBR ; Physics-Michelson-Morley
Likewise, our current (and deeply flawed) postmodern philosophy is founded on relative truths (that the meaning of any one word can only be defined relative to other words - there is no absolute meaning or Absolute Truth, it is all tautology). This is solved by connecting our language to Absolute Space and its properties as a Wave Medium.
See Articles; Philosophy-Wittgenstein ; Philosophy-Postmodernism
The Problem of the Continuous and Discrete
How can One thing, which must be Continuous, form many things, which must be Discrete?
 (Albert Einstein, 1954) The next step (in Quantum Physics) was taken by Louis de Broglie. He asked himself how the discrete states could be understood by the aid of current concepts, and hit on a parallel with stationary (standing) waves, as for instance in the case of proper frequencies of organ pipes and strings in acoustics.
(Albert Einstein, 1927) Experiments on interference made with particle rays have given brilliant proof that the wave character of the phenomena of motion as assumed by the theory does, really, correspond to the facts.
The de Broglie-Schrodinger method, which has in a certain sense the character of a field theory, does indeed deduce the existence of only discrete states, in surprising agreement with empirical facts. It does so on the basis of differential equations applying a kind of resonance argument.
 (Erwin Schrodinger, on Quantum Theory) What we observe as material bodies and forces are nothing but shapes and variations in the structure of space. Particles are just schaumkommen (appearances). The world is given to me only once, not one existing and one perceived. Subject and object are only one. The barrier between them cannot be said to have broken down as a result of recent experience in the physical sciences, for this barrier does not exist.
Space, as One Infinite thing, must be continuous (it has no parts, which require two things), whereas matter is finite and thus discrete. The Wave Structure of Matter explains the discrete observations of reality as follows;
i) Spherical Standing Waves are finite / discrete, as are their Wave-Centers, which we see as discrete 'particles'.
ii)The Wavelength of the spherical waves (about 10-12 ) is also finite and discrete.
iii) The Standing Wave interactions of matter are discrete as only certain standing wave patterns are stable. This explains the discrete energy states of atoms.
iv) Electrons move from one standing wave pattern to another in atoms / molecules (as they interact with other electrons which also change wave states) and this explains the discrete energy states of light quanta / photons.
See: Quantum Physics: Quantum Theory / Wave Mechanics
The Problem of the Simple and Complex
How can reality, being founded on One Simple thing, form Many Complex things?
 (Albert Einstein, 1954) It is the grand object of all theory to make these irreducible elements (principles) as simple and as few in number as possible, without having to renounce the adequate representation of any empirical content whatever.
(Gottfried Leibniz, 1673) There are also two kinds of truths: truth of reasoning and truths of fact. Truths of reasoning are necessary and their opposite is impossible; those of fact are contingent and their opposite is possible. When a truth is necessary, the reason for it can be found by analysis, that is, by resolving it into simpler ideas and truths until the primary ones are reached.
 (Richard Feynman, 1918 - 1988) The more you see how strangely Nature behaves, the harder it is to make a model that explains how even the simplest phenomena actually work. So theoretical physics has given up on that.
Space, as One thing, must be Simple (there is nothing more simple than One thing, and thus Reality must ultimately be Simple - which it is!). Matter, as Many Spherical Standing Waves, interacts with all other matter in our finite spherical universe and these many trillions upon trillions of wave interactions are very complex (and allow the evolution of complex interconnected ecology of life that we have here on Earth).
See Evolution: Nature One Gaia Cosmos - The Simple foundations of the Metaphysics of Space and Motion and the Wave Structure of Matter (WSM) explains both the Complex Ecology of Matter in the Universe and the Complex Ecology of Life on Earth (Gaia).
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