[Fis] Emotional Sentience #2 The Metaphor of The Tao (the last long post!)

[Eric Werner]

I don't know Kate, it seems to me like you are trying to squeeze a very 
large higher dimensional space into a two dimensional space. When you do 
that you have to do an encoding and even if you can achieve that you get 
huge discontinuities in your representation of the higher dimensional 
space. Hence, your jumping from topic to topic, that may be evidence of 
the discontinuities.

One of the beauties of our mind-brain being able to have a unity of 
consciousness it that we are able to represent Kantian wholes closer to 
what they actually are in terms of their dimensional architecture of 
representation.

Wouldn't it be easier to up the dimentionality of the explanation? Or am 
I being too unemotional not using my holistic brain-consciousness.

I agree with you the topic of emotions is huge and important. And 
directly related to the problem of consciousness.

And I like the fact that you have the courage to attack the problem. And 
I like the direction of your evolutionary approach. Your are right, 
definitely something there.

But if I sit on a mountain top and focus on the Yin-Yang of the 
universe, will it help me get my breakfast the next day?

-Eric

On 4/25/24 10:15 PM, Katherine Peil Kauffman wrote:
>
> Dear FIS Community,
>
> As promised, here are the key soundbites of my use of the metaphor of 
> The Tao as a framework to ground the new emotion science.
>
> In a nutshell, in the ancient tradition of Taoism, The Tao is an 
> ongoing riverlike flow, a dynamic creative process, driven by an 
> eternal dialectic dance of Yin~Yang complementary opposites. Borrowing 
> from these monistic-dualistic themes, I aim to show that the 
> Yin~Yang/dualities/we experience in our daily existence are a feature 
> not a bug – one central to understanding binary information processing 
> in Nature. I offer The Tao as a placeholder the/dynamic process 
> /within the creative Flow of Nature, for all complementary opposites 
> within it, and all causal principles (known and unknown. I offer it to 
> represent the common biophysical hardware that enables and empowers 
> the software that enables sentient living creatures to act on their 
> own behalf, and all drivers of both mechanistic and agent behavior. 
> But I also offer it as a new methodological tool. As an opportunity to 
> reframe and reorder/what we think we already know,/by grounding the 
> new ideas in/direct human experience/.
>
> In my version of The Tao, the dual Yin~Yang complements represent 
> dynamic interactions between/two ontologically/real///physical 
> domains/of existence, with their cyclic dialectic transitions unified 
> into/Mobius-like monistic flow/. These two domains are variously known 
> as: Timeless~Timebound; Implicate~Explicate; Potential~Actual, even 
> Spirit~Matter. In terms of mathematics – and as proxy for “The Good, 
> The True, and The Beautiful” - I align them with Plato’s original 
> Ideal~Material realms. But primarily, I root them in the yet-to-come 
> unity of Quantum~Classical mechanical processes/./In emphasizing both 
> the /complementarity and/the/uncertainty relations/of the quantum 
> realm, we find an inroad to how sentient subjects perceive and 
> actively participate within the creative Flow of The Tao. Indeed, 
> evidence suggests that the complementary opposites 
> within/electromagnetism/(/positive~negative/charge; 
> magnetic/attraction~repulsion/as well as the 
> oscillatory/wave-like/nature of matter, (/in~out/phase 
> relations/,//constructive~destructive/interference), and 
> harmonic/resonance~dissonance/ undergird the binary dimension within 
> emotional experience.
>
> For purposes of this discussion, we will call these two 
> domains:*/Domain 0 and Domain 1/*, respectively; wherein the ongoing 
> cyclic transitions between them form the computational engine of The 
> Tao. This dance delivers the/algorithmic logic/of Turing machines, and 
> the/opponent processes/, metastability and regulatory switching, 
> evident in metabolism, morphogenesis, genetic and the autonomic neural 
> networks embody behavioral control. For brain scientists, Domains 0~1 
> are evident in the ongoing interactions and specialized functions of 
> the/right~left/brain hemispheres (respectively) as set forth by Ian 
> McGilchrest. They are also evident in the/fast~slow/neural 
> oscillations described by Gyorgy Buzsaki, with the 
> /fastest/brain-waves//(Gamma, Beta) reflecting Domain1, and the 
> /slowest/(Theta, Delta) representing Domain 0. A core insight is that 
> throughout our waking day, the is brain constantly dipping into/both 
> realms/via the entire hierarchy of brain rhythms. Mark Lewis has 
> associated/emotion/has been with/Theta band (ref),/signifying the 
> difference between cognitive computations (thoughts) of Domain 1 and 
> affective computations (emotion) of Domains 0, emerging in our 
> subjective awareness as self-regulatory /emotional dissonance~resonance./
>
> For psychologists, the dual 0~1 domains of The Tao are 
> captured/dreaming~waking/states,/unconscious~conscious/realms (both 
> personal and collective), and/inner~outer/foci of subjective 
> awareness, distinctions 
> between/intuition~intellect/,/synthesis~analysis/, as well 
> experiential/becoming~being/, and the/eternal~present, 
> unified~divided/ aspects of mindful identity, respectively. It makes 
> sense of the recent association between personality disorders 
> (including depression and schizophrenia) and/disconnection and 
> conflict/between Gamma and Theta bands, as well as lesions to 
> right~left hemispheres. For sociologists, biologists and health 
> practitioners, ultimately, the/conflicts/and///imbalances/(ranging 
> from tribal warring, social conflict, to cognitive dissonance) – are 
> rooted in a deeper biophysical conflict/within the embodied 
> organism/(and chronic inflammatory responses). This boils down to 
> the/identity information, 
> the*self~not-self*/ and*/not-yet-self~self/*/distinctions/inherent 
> in**genetic, epigenetic and immune regulation (witness embryological 
> development, error correction, autoimmune disease, and placebo~nocebo 
> effects). In terms of evolution, this is Nature’s 
> universal*/yes~no/*behavioral value system that says*/yes/*/to 
> creative***self-development*/and*/no/*///to**entropic***self-destruction*/, 
> the criteria for natural selection/(adaptation~survival),/yet 
> providing the hedonic core of evaluative feelings and teleological 
> behavior.
>
> To the spiritually inclined, my use of The Tao also honors its ancient 
> moral and philosophical themes. As such it provides a natural 
> grounding of*/right~wrong/*/behaviors/and/life trajectories/in the 
> body’s*/yes~no/* requirements for biological integrity. In contrast to 
> our biased "cognitive judgments” these universal evaluations concern 
> */optimal~deficient,/* */ordered~disordered/* relations within and 
> between the entire self. Our goal as virtuous agents is to attune to 
> emotional/resonance~dissonance/as a biological cue to 
> immediately//restore/personal balance/by adapting either///internal or 
> external worlds./(“Righting” ourselves to winds of change, to maintain 
> longterm balance between all Yin~Yang complements). We do this 
> by*/increasing~decreasing/*all stimulus conditions (physical, mental, 
> social) that elicit*/pleasurable~painful/*emotion, building 
> flourishing bodies, mindscapes, and social landscapes. This is how we 
> stay on the right track, how we “go with the flow” of The Tao. (Rather 
> like riding as wave, instead of having it crash in one’s 
> face). Indeed, the universal preference for the pursuit of pleasure – 
> basic joy, in evermore complex forms – drives an 
> upward/self-developmental spiral/in terms of conscious behavioral 
> freedom, empathic social connection, cooperation, compassion and 
> creative actualization of latent human potentials on individual and 
> social levels. These natural benefits of emotional self-regulation 
> have been attributed to the “fruits of spirit” in Western religion, 
> while their counterpart negative (painful) emotional remain associated 
> with “sin” and supernatural “evil”. But through the lens of The Tao, 
> we see how this natural value system is born of conservation laws, 
> symmetry breaking, and edge-of-chaos criticality, and how 
> */positive~negative/* emotions work together, serving the same 
> self-regulatory master by honoring the dual teleological purposes 
> of*/self-development~self-preservation./*
>
> With this framework in place, here are the core insights as they 
> concern/identity, creativeagency, andinformation/– all of which are 
> crucial to understanding the binary logic delivered by emotion:
>
> *Domains 0: The primary, unconscious, dreaming, realm*is the timeless, 
> and nonlocal realm of the possible and of ideal mathematical order, 
> action and structure - the ultimate source of the/balancing 
> principles/and/creative power/of The Tao. This domain accumulates its 
> own unique kind of information, born of the transformative flow 
> between actuals and possibles, and ruled by the*/Both~And/* logic of 
> The Tao. It is both enduring in structure, a physical record or memory 
> bank of every manifest event, and a dynamic everchanging 
> never-ending webwork of/relational transactions./The quantum 
> wave-language of the land is that of oscillatory cycles, wherein/phase 
> relations/yield*/(constructive~destructive)/*interference, 
> tweaking/possibilities/up and down, forging more or less likely 
> individual and collective/_probabilistic_/trajectories, and driving 
> the reciprocally in-formative transformative identity dance 
> between*/parts~wholes/*and*//**/subject~object/*. In terms of personal 
> identity, this is the internal, nonlocal home of the 
> wavelike*_S_elf*(with a capital s), perhaps distinguishable by what 
> Fedderico Faggin calls pure (non-reproducible) “quantum informational 
> states”. The Self is a term intended to**capture 
> all/not-yet-self/ identity potentials (both personal and relational) 
> that are yet to be/defined/and/manifested/via the process of The Tao 
> (conceptually akin to both an enduring /soul /and dynamic/ spirit)/. 
> The Self is the primary identity domain against which all algorithmic 
> contrasts and comparisons are made in determining /self-relevance. 
> /But this definition, the Self is the identity accessed in 
> transcendental, transpersonal and psychotropic experiences. It is the 
> universal source of the*/YES value/*, of our*/resonance/*/with 
> evermore complex pleasure,/the creative engine 
> of/self-actualization/with The Tao.
>
> *Domain 1: *The*/secondary,//time-space bound/domain of 
> embodiment*,*where we live and breathe*. This is the everyday waking 
> world of the individual*person* (self, with small s) we experience 
> ourselves to be – right here, right now. The linear nature of movement 
> in time and space often demands a more 
> Aristotelian*/Either~Or/*decision-making logic, yet the secondary 
> dualities always/carry within/them of the primary complements of 
> Domain 0. This is the homeland of/biological relativity/, wherein 
> spatiotemporal measurements are relative to the/subjective observer/, 
> where the physical and informational boundaries root concepts 
> like/up~down, before~after, inside~outside/,*/good~bad/*, and 
> the*/yes~no/*biovalues. Indeed, this domain is the primary source 
> of*/NO value/*, the aversive, punitive nature of self-preservationary 
> */dissonance/*/and*pain. */This is why 4 out of five basic emotions 
> have negative valence, with seemingly intractable behavioral defenses. 
> They are the/primary corrective signals/, hardwired to defend and 
> protect the non-negotiable physical requirements and psychosocial 
> needs of the body – until the mind develops sufficiently 
> to/resonate/with the informational component and consciously embrace 
> its Domain 0 logical primitives within emotional sentience.
>
> OK done! Thanks for your indulgence with the lengthy post. (I’ve 
> stripped away the references, but they are available upon request.) 
> But as we proceed, the distinctions between Domains 0~1 within this 
> framework will help us engage with and assess this new material 
> through our own direct experiences. In the future, I promise much 
> shorter posts, and the flowing forth of that rollicking discussion.
>
> With warm wishes,
>
> Kate Kauffman
>
>
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-- 
/Dr. Eric Werner
Oxford Advanced Research Foundation
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://oarf.org__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!Qy2KI5K-ijYA1tWwm38aw1-zX1g7H7bb5akKKokrTbs9-ZpEOiiO3R_wlLZYHV3Ahvle8PSgEthBX7xfns6IK-A$ 


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