Transdisciplinarity 2-physical-basis

(2) The Physical Basis of Discipline-Independent-Transdisciplinarity

Patterns-of-Organization

of

Material Structure and Process

Vincent Vesterby

Conference theme: Concepts and Methods

From Elementary Particles to Patterns-of-Organization ...1

Everything that we experience of the material-universe is foundationally composed of elementary particles organized into diverse patterns-of-organization of material structure and process.

The difference between any object, situation, or system and any other object, situation, or system is how many of each kind of elementary particle they are each made of, and the specific patterns-of-organization of those particles.

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From Elementary Particles to Patterns-of-Organization ...2

Since there are only a relatively few different kinds of elementary particles, and there is a seemingly limitless number of patterns-of-organization of those particles, it is pattern-of-organization that is of greatest significance in the difference of one thing from any other thing.

It is also pattern-of-organization that is of greatest significance in the similarities between one thing and another thing.

These patterns-of-organization constitute the primary physical basis of discipline-independent-transdisciplinarity.

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The Role of Elementary Particles

There are throughout the universe vast numbers of each different type of elementary particle.

Each individual particle is essentially identical to all other instances of that type of particle.

The consequence is that each instance of a particular type of particle plays essentially the same role in the situation in which it exists as do all other instances of that type of particle in the situations in which they exist.

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The Role of Pattern-of-Organization

Just as there are many instances of each kind of particle, there are many instances of each kind of pattern-of-organization.

Each individual instance of a pattern-of-organization is essentially identical to all other instances of that type of pattern in those qualities that give all instances their intrinsic-identities as that type of pattern-of-organization.

The consequence is that each instance of a particular type of pattern-of-organization plays essentially the same role in the situation in which it exists as do all other instances of that type of pattern-of-organization in the situations in which they exist.

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Why do patterns-of-organization permeate the subject matters of all the disciplines?

Because patterns-of-organization of material structure and process constitute the objects, situations, and systems in which they occur.

All existing patterns-of-organization constitute the:•origins,•intrinsic-identity,•organization of structure and process, and•interrelations of all objects, situations, and systems: atoms, molecules, organisms, social systems, ecosystems, geology, solar systems, galaxies, and galactic clusters.

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Factors and Situations

A factor is something that exists and plays a role in the origin, structure, or processes of the situation or system in which it exists.

A situation is a combination of interrelated factors.

A pattern-of-organization that exists in a situation, and plays a role there, is a factor of that situation.

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Universal-Factors as Bases of Transdisciplinarity ...1

Some factors are omnipresent throughout the universe, playing roles in the origins, ontology, structure, and processes of everything that exists.

Universal-factors provide the context in which all other factors occur and play their roles. The nature and roles of lesser factors conform to the nature and roles of the universal-factors.

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Universal-Factors as Bases of Transdisciplinarity ...2

Some examples of universal-factors:

•Space•Time•Development•Structural-logic•Emergence•Isomorphy

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Universal-Factors as Bases of Transdisciplinarity ...3

• Space provides an existential-context, a place-to-be, for everything else that exists.

• Time provides a temporal existential-context, a temporal place-to-be, for all forms of change.

• Development—everything that exists takes part in one way or another in a universally omnipresent transition, a sequential-difference from one time, place, part, pattern, level, condition, or situation to another.– Sequential-difference occurs as the difference from part to

adjacent part—from place to adjacent place, from time to adjacent time, from component, situation, condition, state, or stage to adjacent component, situation, condition, state, or stage.

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Universal-Factors as Bases of Transdisciplinarity ...4

• Structural-logic is the intrinsic logic of reality, the manner in which the intrinsic qualities of something that exists determine the types of relations that something can have with other things that exist.– Structural-logic determines the sequential-difference of all

forms of development.– Structural-logic determines the roles patterns-of-organization

play in the situations in which they exist.The Origin and Foundational Development of Structural Logic Vesterby, V. (2008) 14th

Annual Australia and New Zealand Systems (ANZSYS) Conference, Perth, Australia.

• Emergence is a process-pattern-of-organization that brings into existence new pattern-of-material-organization as a consequence of motion.

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Universal-Factors as Bases of Transdisciplinarity ...5

• Isomorphy occurs when essentially identical or significantly similar patterns-of-organization occur in two or more different situations.– Isomorphies are ubiquitous throughout the universe—

throughout structure and process, throughout space and time.

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Qualities of Material-Hierarchy as Bases of Transdisciplinarity ...1

The list—atoms, molecules, organisms, social systems, ecosystems, geology, solar systems, galaxies, and galactic clusters—represents the hierarchic-organization of material-reality.

Several qualities of this hierarchic-organization provide additional physical foundations for discipline-independent-transdisciplinarity.

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Qualities of Material-Hierarchy as Bases of Transdisciplinarity ...2

Within this hierarchy there are many levels-of-organization—the levels of atoms, molecules, cells, organisms, social systems, ecosystems, planets, stars, and so on.

Each level occurs as a type of pattern-of-organization—the crystal pattern-of-organization, the social system pattern, the solar system pattern.

This hierarchic-pattern-of-organization of material-reality is a consequence of the process of emergence.

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Qualities of Material-Hierarchy as Bases of Transdisciplinarity ...3

Each higher level is emergent from processes of combining components from lower-levels.•Elementary particles combine to form the emergent hierarchic-pattern-of-organization of atoms.•Atoms combine to form the emergent hierarchic-pattern-of-organization of molecules.•Molecules combine to form the emergent hierarchic-pattern-of-organization of crystals and a host of different materials.•Objects, groups of objects, and systems combine, and combine again and again, to form the hierarchic-organization of all the rest of material-reality.

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Physical Bases of Larger Scale Patterns-of-Organization ...1

Larger scale patterns-of-organization extend through two or more stages of development or levels of organization, either horizontally through a level or vertically up the hierarchy of material-reality.

Larger scale patterns:•The hierarchy of material-reality.•Emergence of levels of material-reality.•Deep-structure.•Developmental-orientation.•Factor-development from level to level.•Intrinsic-identity of developed factors.•Qualities of components determine qualities of the whole.•What goes before determines what follows.Vincent Vesterby Transdisciplinarity from Physical Basis 16

Physical Bases of Larger Scale Patterns-of-Organization ...2

• Deep-structure.

Deep-structure occurs as the underlying patterns-of-organization of structure and process of lower levels that result in the existence and organization of structure and process of upper levels.

With material-reality, deep-structure extends from the level of elementary particles to the level developmentally just below the top level of an object, system, or situation.

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Physical Bases of Larger Scale Patterns-of-Organization ...3

• Oriented developmental connection.

Everything is not connected to everything.

Everything is, however, connected to something.

Everything that exists is developmentally connected to something else that has existed just prior, exists now, or will exist immediately following.

Through these developmental connections, the universe has an omnipresent deep-structure aspect of orientation, a directionality of structure and process.

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Physical Bases of Larger Scale Patterns-of-Organization ...4

• Factor-development from level to level.

Factors tend to occur in simpler forms in simpler situations, where few other factors are playing roles, and to occur in more complex forms in more complex situations, where more additional factors are playing roles.

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Physical Bases of Larger Scale Patterns-of-Organization ...5

• Factor-development from level to level. (continued)

Progressively higher levels tend to be more complex than lower levels due to the roles of additional factors, such as combinatorial-enhancement and increased deep-structure.

Thus, as a particular factor, a particular pattern-of-organization, reoccurs at progressively higher levels it tends to do so in more complex forms due to its interrelations with additional factors at those higher levels.

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Physical Bases of Larger Scale Patterns-of-Organization ...6

• Intrinsic-identity of developed factors.

The basic form of a pattern-of-organization is present within all developed forms at higher levels giving those more complex instances of the pattern their intrinsic identity as instances of that particular pattern-of-organization.

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Physical Bases of Larger Scale Patterns-of-Organization ...7

• Qualities of components determine qualities of the whole.

1. The qualities of the components of a situation determine the kinds of relations that can occur between those components.

2. The qualities of those relations determine the patterns-of-organization that can occur in that situation.

3. The qualities of the pattern-of-organization of a situation determine the qualities of the situation as a whole.

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Physical Bases of Larger Scale Patterns-of-Organization ...8

• What goes before determines what follows.

In all forms of change, the existence and intrinsic qualities of what goes before determine the existence and intrinsic qualities of what follows.

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The Physical Basis of Discipline-Independent-Transdisciplinarity

Basing discipline-independent-transdisciplinarity on the intrinsic nature of physical reality makes this form of transdisciplinarity relevant for working on real problems of the world.

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