From: Wim Nusselder (wim.nusselder@antenna.nl)
Date: Sat Dec 14 2002 - 21:55:37 GMT
Dear Erin,
I distinguished 'two levels of meaning of "life":
"Life" understood as a biological pattern of value is not the same as the
life of an individual organism. "Life of an individual organism" understood
as a (smaller scale) biological pattern of value is not the same as the life
of one of its constituent parts.'
You asked 13 Dec 2002 19:25:33 -0500:
'Is "Life" increasing overall?
If it is then it seems Quality is increasing?
If not then how does it keep balanced--the only way
I could see that if sq was becoming more static
and dq was becoming more dynamic.'
What do you mean with 'increasing Life'?
'Life' understood as a specific type of continuity-in-change (THE
arch-biological pattern of value) just is. It can not be 'more' or 'less' in
my understanding. Was Earth or its overall ecosystem less alive 2 billion
years ago than it is now, with only single-celled organisms in the ocean and
a mainland covered with lichen? Smaller scale biological patterns of value,
species and ecosystems, were less versatile. They hardly disobeyed the law
of gravity yet. ('Lila' chapter 11: 'One could almost define life as the
organized disobedience of the law of gravity.') In general: they didn't
offer much more freedom to the next lower -inorganic- patterns of value yet
and had not gone off yet on much purposes of their own. ('Lila' chapter 12:
'A primary occupation of every level of evolution seems to be offering
freedom to lower levels of evolution. But as the higher level gets more
sophisticated it goes off on purposes of its own.')
Any amount of stability can be 'in balance' with any amount of versatility.
Only from the point of view of a higher level can it be said to be 'more
balanced' or 'better balanced', when it is more in harmony with higher level
patterns of value. A bird that 'thumbs its nose at the law of gravity' can
only do so from the point of view of an intellectual pattern of value
containing the value of 'freedom'.
With friendly greetings,
Wim
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