1. Interaction
2. Group
3. System
4. Causality
5. Process
6. Mechanism
7. Emergence
8. Evolution
9. Respect
10. Society
1: The concept of interaction is simply; things acting together. Without interaction nothing should ever happen. It is in the interaction of atoms we get chemistry, and in the interaction of people we have sociology. Look about and you’ll find that just about everything you truly know; is of an interaction of some kind.
2: The fundamental understanding for me was this. Items are groups, and groups consist of items. We therefore could imagine a hierarchy, which stretches from the very basic of knowledge to our highest understanding of the order of things. This is only a conceptual and crude understanding of information, which is wholly incorrect, but it serves as a useful lie and springboard. (To this hierarchical ladder there is no absolute bottom, nor a top)
3: A system is a collection of interacting units, functioning so as to work as a whole. We are surrounded by systems. Niklas Luhman’s only demand for a system was that there had to be some way of conceiving a barrier between the system and the rest. A cell is a system. It has an outer boundary separating it, and within is a collection of chemicals interacting to form the body. Other examples are the ecosystem and the economic system. A good point is that there may be systems within systems.
4: Causality is a simple concept, but necessary to grasp and important to ponder upon. In the end it is a matter of belief. Do you firmly believe, that things have natural causes? So far, I have not found a reason why they should not. An interesting phenomenon I have just this year come upon is top- down causality. It is the force that systems act upon it’s constituents.
5: A process is to causality as a group is to it’s constituent. The realization that things most often happen in a continuum is worth taking with you. As with mechanism the word implies that not only the nature of things, but their relative placement is also important – that something happens before something else; and that their location in space matters. The words implies a beginning and an end, but remember that words are only models of reality, and should be treated as such.
6: A mechanism the realisation of some phenomenon by the virtue of its component parts. There is lots more to say on the matter, but since we have already visited process and groups and interaction and system I fear I would repeat my self too much. However a good knowledge of the limitations and strengths of the mechanistic model brings with it a good foundation for understanding many phenomenons, as most occurrences have multiple causes.
7: Maybe the most important of my words, “emergence” is the phenomenon in which the whole is perceived to be greater than the sum of its parts. The very existence of emergence is disputed, but I would say that it at the very least exists in the same manner as “free will” in men exists regardless of existence - in name, and as a necessity. Just as with the aforementioned hierarchy it represents an opportunity of understanding we cannot deprive ourselves of. One human is not capable of representing society, humanity or for that matter carry on the existence of it’s own race, therefore society can be said to have emerged from the interaction of humans. To learn more about emergence, view my previous post.
8: Contrary to popular belief evolution does not only pertain to biological development from simple to… sophisticated. Darwin presented in “The Origin” both biological evolution and with it natural selection, but also the more general concept. In essence it is self-assembly from simple to complex. Happenings, which by chance would never have happened in the span of the universe, became commonplace by the accumulation of complexity built upon it’s own shaky foundations. The miracle of life is; that in a universe in which everything unravels, life has spontaneously erupted as a thin cover on our earth. And such is my belief that this combat between unravelling and self assembly is so… primal, visceral or what you make call it – basic; that wherever you find complexity, there will be evolution.
9: Respect is such a beautiful word, because it contains the essence the virtues I hold the dearest: The realisation of the necessity for knowledge, the realisation of the equality of the sensations of your peers, and consequently their equal right to hold an opinion, and the universality of attention to all life. I realise the logical steps are long, so if anyone should wish to enquire of me a fuller explanation; you know how to contact me.
10: As our understanding of the world about us has widened, so has the definition of society. In high school I was taught that a society was “A group of people within a defined geographical area, working towards a common goal”. The truth is infinitely more complex, and I will leave you this last word, with only one observation. Searching for the meaning behind the word society, will take you on a lifelong trip through what I can only describe as the human conundrum.
While the first 8 words were concepts of the interaction of matter, these last two are in essence about the hope of the goodness of humanity. Respect and belief in the society are ethical maxims, not because they are in themselves more worthy as words than any other, but because without them coexistence, and subsequently existence would not be possible. And this… complexity and interaction is far too interesting not to experience.
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Photo by h.koppdelaney (distributed under creative commons licence)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/h-k-d/3307304726/
