Stuart Kauffman - Which Laws of Nature are Fundamental?

Why is there a world that works so well? How does the cosmos generate diversity and opportunity? A major reason is innumerable regularities, which we call laws of nature, make things happen. But which of these laws are 'fundamental' in the sense that they are the most basic? We search for the deep building blocks of the world.



Stuart Alan Kauffman is an American theoretical biologist and complex systems researcher who studies the origin of life on Earth.


Closer to Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and directed by Peter Getzels, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.

[runningray]

I love it when a scientist says "I am confused." To me it means they have found something awesome to study and learn from.

[evanjameson]

one of the best and brightest conversations on CTT yet! Excellent!

[drijazdurrani]

Prof Stuart Kauffman is superb and coherent. And Confused!! Brilliant!

[peterpanino]

Is it possible that there are laws of nature that are still unknown?

[nicolettileo]

I really enjoy this channel for bringing the much needed debates at the intersection of science and philosophy, which cannot evolve independently.

[cookiemonster]

A grasp what he is saying and I find it fascinating 👍❤️

[ailblentyn]

A particularly interesting interview. Thank you!

[PrinceBlake]

At 9:35 Stuart Kauffman offers his preference for a system of enablement in contrast to entailment; of a tremendous creativity within certain parameters of statistical possibility over the idea of a world set and sealed in predeterminism. It is a world from which the universe may give birth to a Queen in Kumiko Krchnak or a Quarterback in Kade Klubnik among a million other creative possibilities. Shigetaka Shiga offered that we look to see the world through our likeness to one another, a consequence of parameters but not predeterminism. It was Kumiko's discovery on page 42 of Gray's "Absolute Measurements in Electricity and Magnetism" that QKK is equal to a single charge, conceivable in measure by a surface area integral, which set the stage for an adequate map of a regenerative waveform perhaps offering the long-awaited glimpse at the parameters from which the creative possibilities are born out creatively and in a manner Kauffman describes as "Bewitched!"

[rc]

A system is always dependent on its integral parts from which it builds upon... from A comes B and so on... the chain of events, regardles of complexity, points toward a comon origin... the same with diversity of life in our planet that is build upon energy, water, amino acids, peptides and so on...

[ifeelaway]

Surely there are a few women who could pontificate on these deep questions. I mean, I thought we never shut up lol?

[geomicpri]

I like how he speaks of “enabling”. I use the word “allowing”. I had, at one point, a difficulty in distinguishing God from Causality, since both seem to qualify as “That which need no cause”. The causal system, by definition, seems to be liberated of the need for a cause, which would make it numerically identical to God. However, Causality is a consistent system & God is a complete system. Godel showed that no system can be both. And this posed a problem for me. But then I realised: The causal system wasn’t caused. It was “enabled”, or allowed. Amid the infinity of God’s random creative stirrings, Causation was allowed to be. So Causality the consistent system exists within God the complete system.

[danielalexander]

You are asking the wrong question. The question you should be asking is what confers certain physical laws to be fundamental?

[BulentBasaran]

Highly recommend "At home in the universe", SK's book from the 90s. A must read classic on what comes after reductionism.

[mobiustrip]

All that gobbledegook went way over my head.

[helenbostock]

How long have we been fighting and facing up to each other. I see it's getting worse not better hum

[melgross]

Interesting. I don’t particularly agree, but it is interesting,

[jamestaylor]

Long a follower of Prof. Kauffman. I see him as a chief proponent of Alfred North Whitehead's Process Thought. Process Theology would affirm that god is ceaseless creativity. Thank you for this interview. Thank you as well for the many hours of enrichment i have garnered from your Closer to Truth series

[Edruezzi]

We haven't hit the fundamental laws.

[ronhudson]

I'm convinced even though I didn't understand much of what he said. This is one Mr. Khun, when a supplemental, explanatory video - delivered by yourself would be very much appreciated. I hope you will do so. Oh, and in the 30 minute format. please.

[jamesfowler]

Fundamental Law of the Universe...you will always lose an argument with a husky