p235
The basso continuo of this chapter
It was stated in Chapter 1 that Important applications of natural science lie not in engineering or medicine, but in changing the way that we human beings look at the world (p19). This sort of true applications are always in mind in this chapter as well. Even if they may not be directly related to the main topic of the chapter, the following problems should not be forgotten.
First of all, although the world is not closed on the scale we can observe more or less directly because of scale interference due to nonlinearity, it allows phenomenological way of understanding it. This is the very mechanism that allows us to have some level of intelligence. In such a world, there is no reason to stop respecting rationalism. As can be seen from the word renaissance, there was rational thinking in the old days (as the Hellenistic Culture in the West), but the civilization engendered it was replaced by the Medieval religious fundamentalism society. Also in the Islamic societies*, depression caused ‘medievalization.’ Economical stagnation always seems to induce similar mentality. Is it always the case that economically not prosperous societies slip into the era akin to the Middle Ages?
Secondly, rationalism must be coolly conscious about its own limitation. Natural intelligence cannot function properly without emotion = “the weighting scheme dependent on the value system based on life itself” (or rather, emotion is the main ingredient of rational judgement). That Descartes did not recognize this fact is regarded by some as Descartes’ error, but this recognition is not contradictory to Descartes’ spirit; we must say this complements Descartes’ rationalism. In order to practice ‘Natural History’ it is quite important to recognize that what we can say in words, or can mathematically formulate is only a tiny portion of what we can understand or can know. Logically keen and ‘smart’ biologists tend to behave excessively ‘rationally’ (e.g., overly positivistic, ignoring concepts that cannot be clearly defined at present). In such fields as mathematics and physics where most concepts are definite and clear, their attitude may be a productive attitude, but is questionable in the field where many things have not been understood very well.
Thirdly, we must correct the current research direction that seems to have turned our eyes away from the very features of complex systems, and must precisely recognize te significance of complex systems studies have to our civilization. `Complex systems’ are those generated by the Darwin process, so they cannot be ab initio generated by short time processes. Therefore, tradition is crucial; only conservatism that is not reactionary can maintain complex systems. (S. Tomonaga’s motto when he developed the renormalization group theory was `conservatism without reactionary tint.’)
The end of science ( under construction )
Futuyma Science's Greatest Challenge
BioSci 57 1 (2007)
For even as people appreciate technology, they widely distrust science, as is clear when scientists challenge beliefs or speak ``an inconvenient truth'' (as Al Gore puts it). Among contemporary issues, evolution, global climate change, and the disastrous effects of unchecked population growth are the most conspicuous examples. More than half of Americans do not accept the most important unifying principle in the life sciences; politicians disparage a virtually unanimous scientific consensus on climate change; and the religious right ensures that even contraception is a politically risky topic. Some scientific conclusions are discomfiting, but can a pragmatic people not see that a scientific consensus is more trustworthy than the pronouncements of an industry-sponsored naysayer or a president untrained in biology or physics?
The biggest challenge to biology and to science is not to achieve deeper understanding of genomes or ecosystems or black holes that understanding is coming along just fine. The challenge that matters now is to make sure that science is taken seriously.
Complex vs complicated
Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus says
complex, adj.
1 Complicated, involved, intricate, convoluted, elaborate, impenetrable, Gordian; difficult, knotty, tricky, thorny. antonym simple.
2 Compound, composite, multiplex. complicated complex, intricate, involved, convoluted, tangled, impenetrable, knotty, tricky, thorny, labyrinthine, tortuous, Gordian; confusing, bewildering, perplexing. antonym straightforward.
complex, noun
network, system, nexus, web, tissue; combination, aggregation.
In contrast,
complicated adj
complex, intricate, involved, convoluted, tangled, impenetrable, knotty, tricky, thorny, labyrinthine, tortuous, Gordian; confusing, bewildering, perplexing.
That is, structural aspects are missing.
Integrative Natural History
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