Addition of Simples
125
was on the right track, after all. There is a fundamental schism in reality, but
Descartes failed to identify correctly where the fissure lies. It may be argued
that the divide actually lies between the strictly material side of reality, and the
side which has the power to present itself in Gestalt wholes.
If Gestalt processes are not indispensable in the physical universe, why do
they exist at all? The global patterns and large-scale properties of the universe
come into being only as Gestalt representations in observers. One might contend that they are potential in pre-animate reality, but they don’t exist until
perceived by a Gestalt subject. They come to exist when they are—with great
computational effort—purposefully separated out of the background in which
they’re enmeshed.
Compound objects, such as machines, exist in a compound form by being
perceived that way—but when they function mechanically, they operate by
addition of simples, with each component acting mechanically on every other.
It may be concluded that there are two forms of existence: One is the purely
material: Its properties are fully accounted for by the addition of simples. The
other form of existence is the one given to observers. They perceive in Gestalt
wholes, and see an entirely different world, rich and complex. The realm of
compound wholes is just as real as the realm of simples, but it is not physical. It
has the same material content as the physical world, but presents itself differently.
Life Stages of the Universe
One of the mysteries that has puzzled physicists for several generations is the
discovery that the laws which apply to objects at the subatomic scale are radically different from the laws which apply to objects at our scale of magnitudes.
The two levels are often referred to as the microscopic and the macroscopic.
The macroscopic level of reality is also called the midlevel, for it is between the
subatomic and the cosmic. Objects at the midlevel are the kind that we see and
deal with in everyday life. They obey the laws of classical physics—laws which
agree with our daily experience. In contrast to this, microscopic objects, such as
atoms and subatomic particles, behave in ways which are totally unfamiliar to
us and strike us as weird and unnatural.
According to the best models of cosmic evolution, the universe started out
as a hot, uniform plasma and evolved through different phases, the earliest ones
lasting a small fraction of a second. As the universe cooled, atoms were formed,
and matter gradually began to bunch together and gather into clumps. The
clumps became organized due to the action of gravity and of electrical forces
operating within and between atoms. Gradually these large-scale properties
125
was on the right track, after all. There is a fundamental schism in reality, but
Descartes failed to identify correctly where the fissure lies. It may be argued
that the divide actually lies between the strictly material side of reality, and the
side which has the power to present itself in Gestalt wholes.
If Gestalt processes are not indispensable in the physical universe, why do
they exist at all? The global patterns and large-scale properties of the universe
come into being only as Gestalt representations in observers. One might contend that they are potential in pre-animate reality, but they don’t exist until
perceived by a Gestalt subject. They come to exist when they are—with great
computational effort—purposefully separated out of the background in which
they’re enmeshed.
Compound objects, such as machines, exist in a compound form by being
perceived that way—but when they function mechanically, they operate by
addition of simples, with each component acting mechanically on every other.
It may be concluded that there are two forms of existence: One is the purely
material: Its properties are fully accounted for by the addition of simples. The
other form of existence is the one given to observers. They perceive in Gestalt
wholes, and see an entirely different world, rich and complex. The realm of
compound wholes is just as real as the realm of simples, but it is not physical. It
has the same material content as the physical world, but presents itself differently.
Life Stages of the Universe
One of the mysteries that has puzzled physicists for several generations is the
discovery that the laws which apply to objects at the subatomic scale are radically different from the laws which apply to objects at our scale of magnitudes.
The two levels are often referred to as the microscopic and the macroscopic.
The macroscopic level of reality is also called the midlevel, for it is between the
subatomic and the cosmic. Objects at the midlevel are the kind that we see and
deal with in everyday life. They obey the laws of classical physics—laws which
agree with our daily experience. In contrast to this, microscopic objects, such as
atoms and subatomic particles, behave in ways which are totally unfamiliar to
us and strike us as weird and unnatural.
According to the best models of cosmic evolution, the universe started out
as a hot, uniform plasma and evolved through different phases, the earliest ones
lasting a small fraction of a second. As the universe cooled, atoms were formed,
and matter gradually began to bunch together and gather into clumps. The
clumps became organized due to the action of gravity and of electrical forces
operating within and between atoms. Gradually these large-scale properties