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Alex's avatar

https://knowm.org/thermodynamic-computing/

Have you read this? I found it very clarifying with respect to agency and evolution.

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Oshan Jarow's avatar

Ooh, I haven’t but it looks great - excited to read it.

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Jason Woehlke's avatar

In Enlivened Evolution I'd be curious to hear your take on, or use of, Henri Bergson's Creative Evolution. Instead of taking a more Hegelian bottoms up view of the evolution of consciousness out of matter, he takes more a top down approach. Been a while since I've read him, but I certainly see how he could be used.

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Oshan Jarow's avatar

Ah I wasn't aware of it, but looks very interesting. Wikipedia's quick summary makes it sounds almost perfectly aligned with the enlivenment view:

"The book proposed a version of orthogenesis in place of Darwin's mechanism of evolution, suggesting that evolution is motivated by the élan vital, a "vital impetus" that can also be understood as humanity's natural creative impulse."

Also interesting that William James was to write an introduction to the English translation. Will read & report back. Thanks for the tip!

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