Abstract
It is argued that evolution goes beyond that which can be described in a well-defined language) and that it instead enforces a language that is itself evolving. Evolution is the unfolding of this self-reference. The unfolding methodology of the logician Alfred Tarski is taken as a basis for the
explicability of evolution. Looking at Tarski´s results as a linguistic complementarity, we get a view with the productivity of this complementarity as the srource of evolutionary phenomena. These extend to the biological domain upon recognition of life as an autolinguistic phenomenon.
In particular, a describability theory for induction (the epistemological counterpart to biological natural selection) is developed. It explains how induction functions can exist, although not effectively describable. Furthermore, the so called Popper-Carnap controversy is found to have a natural
origin in the linguistic complementarity. Another question under philosophical debate, that of self-supporting rules of induction, is analyzed in terms of the describability theory and found to have a positive answer. Finally, a
systems approach to evolution of knowledge is outlined, aiming at extensions of fragmented areas of knowledge to uncover cyclic connections, admitting self-consistency as a criterion for acceptability. The method for establishing
self-consistency is the basic unfolding, the divergence of which entertains the evolutionary process. Underneath is the productivity of the linguistic complementarity. By comparison such a productivity seems to be lacking in the complementarity conception of Bohr. The systems approach is compared with
"bootstrap" philosopby in physics.
explicability of evolution. Looking at Tarski´s results as a linguistic complementarity, we get a view with the productivity of this complementarity as the srource of evolutionary phenomena. These extend to the biological domain upon recognition of life as an autolinguistic phenomenon.
In particular, a describability theory for induction (the epistemological counterpart to biological natural selection) is developed. It explains how induction functions can exist, although not effectively describable. Furthermore, the so called Popper-Carnap controversy is found to have a natural
origin in the linguistic complementarity. Another question under philosophical debate, that of self-supporting rules of induction, is analyzed in terms of the describability theory and found to have a positive answer. Finally, a
systems approach to evolution of knowledge is outlined, aiming at extensions of fragmented areas of knowledge to uncover cyclic connections, admitting self-consistency as a criterion for acceptability. The method for establishing
self-consistency is the basic unfolding, the divergence of which entertains the evolutionary process. Underneath is the productivity of the linguistic complementarity. By comparison such a productivity seems to be lacking in the complementarity conception of Bohr. The systems approach is compared with
"bootstrap" philosopby in physics.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The evolutionary vision : toward a unifying paradigm of physical, biological, and sociocultural evolution |
Editors | Erich Jantsch |
Publisher | Westview Press |
Pages | 129-151 |
ISBN (Print) | 0-86531-140-4 |
Publication status | Published - 1981 |
Bibliographical note
Republished as ebook by T&F 2019https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429310744
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Other Social Sciences