Ursula Goodenough

Jennifer — Please tell us more about what you do in these workshops or post links. The robe is gorgeous!

DuaneSince current calculations have “ordinary matter” being only 1-5% of the total universe, there’s lots else! We may have different definitions of mechanical, but for me nuclear fusion, for example, isn’t mechanical in the folk understanding of the word. Yes on 2. Purpose shows up with organisms on this planet, as elaborated…[Read more]

Duane — Seems like we’ve circled back to one of the first exchanges in this thread, where you voiced something along these lines and I responded with something about “the grunge theory of matter.” The concept that matter is not alive doesn’t mean it’s “dead.” It means it’s something other than an organism which, on our planet and possibly…[Read more]

Ed wrote: Ok, well I am not a biologist by any stretch. Can you cite more awesome references to back this up? How do spatially distributed stem cells in a zygote know to start differentiating – one into a liver and another into a brain? I thought this was still a mystery. Ursula: The reference I gave you has some of this; my book The Sacred Dep…[Read more]

Various responses. Ed wrote: “I cannot build a living, reproducing being from scratch. There are missing ingredients.” This isn’t the case. Craig Venter’s team almost achieved this in 2010 http://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/may/20/craig-venter-synthetic-life-form, though they cheated a little, and they are working away at doing it without…[Read more]

Ed wrote: you must admit that the ultimate reducibility of biological life to mechanical systems is a faith-based belief and one of several competing theories. I would say that the reduction of biological life to mechanical systems is not a faith-based belief but rather an already-accomplished project, where there are still many many things to…[Read more]

Sure — What’s the model?

Good point on the Sagan quote. I think the context was in his pushing back against paranormal claims, which he and most others found particularly extraordinary. But I’ll scrub it from my usage (actually it’s the first time I’ve used it, but will have it be my last!).

Jennifer — You write “Lots more needs to be said re this subject of “science-based statements” vs. statements that are outside of science — valid and important in other ways, and perhaps will be proven in the future but are not subscribed to by much of the science community at this point.” My primary concern with Duane’s approach — and he is ha…[Read more]

I suggest that we not get bogged down in self-language, which is used very loosely. Sound waves, for example, are often spoken of as self-propagating.  This sentence illustrates the quagmire we’re in: “If there now is consensus among origin-of-life researchers that RNA chains are too specialized to have been created as a product of random…[Read more]

Here’s the abstract of the article: “DNA Double Helices Recognize Mutual Sequence Homology in a Protein Free EnvironmentGeoff S. Baldwin,*,† Nicholas J. Brooks,‡ Rebecca E. Robson,†,‡ Aaron Wynveen,‡Arach Goldar,‡,§ Sergey Leikin,*,| John M. Seddon,*,‡ and Alexei A. Kornyshev*,‡DiVision of Molecular Biosciences, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ…[Read more]

Duane —Through The Wormhole | Season 3 Episode 3 | Is the Universe Alive Haven’t watched it. Are you in it? If so I will.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag9zDBIfUq0

The ‘self” in this example are all the prefabbed constraints in the system — the oligonucleotides, the liquid crystal conditions, the precursors — all of which are externally caused. A self-organizing system doesn’t mean there’s a self that’s doing the organizing.   Have you had the chance to read Terry and my chapter on this kind of s…[Read more]

The ‘self” in this example are all the prefabbed constraints in the system — the oligonucleotides, the liquid crystal conditions, the precursors — all of which are externally caused. A self-organizing system doesn’t mean there’s a self that’s doing the organizing. Have you had the chance to read Terry and my chapter on this kind of…[Read more]

I read the Nature Comm. paper and the U Colorado press release that you quote from, and it’s a cool study.  You say that the study indicates there is a process of “spontaneous self-assembly” at work and this suggests that a “life-force” or “knowing capacity” is at work to enable this “spontaneous” process. These guys aren’t getting DNA from s…[Read more]

Can you help me understand what a life-force is, and what a knowing capacity is, and how it permeates into matter, and how it is that matter needs this permeation in order to self-organise? Are you saying that “living” is merely our label for self-organised/consciousness-permeated entities that have evolved to meet some bar for complexity? Am I…[Read more]

If we leave out the strings-of-resonance part, which is currently a mathematical concept, then I believe there is empirical support for all the others you list, so most scientists of my acquaintance would say that all are forms of matter. Might you start with that and help me understand how you configure consciousness, or livingness, in that…[Read more]

Yup. Matter is all of the above in my lexicon.

Duane — You write: “the catastrophic consequences for the Earth that are being fostered by the scientific–and social–paradigm of materialism.”  Again consulting wiki, one finds: “Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds that matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and that all phenomena, including mental phenomena and…[Read more]

Jennifer asked me to weigh in here.  Since Duane quotes Brian — the universe emerges out of an all-nourishing abyss at every moment — to support his point, I think it would be appropriate to get Brian’s feedback here as well. Brian, for example, is also known for “gravity is love,” and the last time I heard someone question him on that he w…[Read more]