Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia;  Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.

  Post 120.  November 29, 2021 continued . . .

  Holism and FreeWill

 Synthetic Reasoning and Systems Theory

 Philosophers don't usually do physical work with their hands, but metaphysical work with their minds. They do non-physical mental labor with their cognitive faculties. But Reductive thinkers assume that Mind = Brain, because they focus on the parts (neurons) instead of the whole system. Yet, Mind is not a mass of concrete neurons, it is instead the abstract Function of the whole body as a complex system. It’s a process, not a thing. Like an information processing computer, the Brain seldom makes logical errors, but the loopy Mind often gets side-tracked into irrational beliefs. Unfortunately, some of those imaginary concepts (e.g. Qualia) may be what you think of as mystical Essentialism. But actually, it is merely Synthetic thinking as contrasted with Analytic thinking. And the synthesis is Mental & metaphorical instead of Physical & material. So it is knowable only by exchanging intangible Ideas or Memes 4. The exchange is always transmitted via a physical Medium, but the media is not the Message.

Holistic (synthetic) thinking is a common characteristic of New Age philosophies. But in practice, they also include particular inherited beliefs, such as those in Eastern religions. Such woo-ish notions as Wandering Souls, and Weaponized Chi, are not inherent to Holism. But Reductionists tend to lump them together with the Holistic worldview. So, for clarity, I will sometimes refer to my personal paradigm of Science as "Systems Theory", in hopes of losing the mystical baggage.

Systems theory is an interdisciplinary study of systems as they relate to one another within a larger, more complex system. The key concept of systems theory, regardless of which discipline it's being applied to, is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
https://www.onlinemswprograms.com/social-work/theories/systems-theory-social-work/

Holism as an idea or philosophical concept is diametrically opposed to atomism. Where the atomist believes that any whole can be broken down or analyzed into its separate parts and the relationships between them, the holist maintains that the whole is primary and often greater than the sum of its parts.
http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/holism.html

Note -- you might say that Holism multiplies the parts

PS__Science is expected to be Analytical, but Philosophy is supposed to be Synthetical, i.e. Holistic. 

                              End of Blog Post 120

3. Memes :
Ideas, beliefs, and mental images that can be propagated and multiplied, not by physical action, but by mind-to-mind communication.

4. Synthetic Reasoning :
Analytic propositions are true or not true solely by virtue of their meaning, whereas synthetic propositions' truth, if any, derives from how their meaning relates to the world.
That relative meaning is usually viewed from the perspective of the Self, through a filter of personal beliefs & assumptions. It creates a whole concept by adding Feelings to Facts. But the bias can be offset by add beliefs of other people to the mix.

Jan Christian Smuts

Author of
Holism and Evolution

 Not a Hippie Freak or Pseudoscientist

The

Philosophy

Forum

“I don't believe your understanding that all mental phenomena are considered metaphysical is consistent with any generally accepted definition of the word”.

 — T Clark

https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/12096/what-is-metaphysics-yet-again/p1

FreeWill
has
Options

ENFORMATIONISM

Ludwig van Bertalanffy
Author of
General Systems Theory
Not a New Ager