A whole affects its parts?

Auteurs

• Bernd Lindemann

Paramètres

• Philosophie

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Can a whole change its components top-down? In systems where components form a whole, top-down changes should originate at the whole and affect the components below. Top-down experiments seek to identify such changes in natural mechanisms, requiring (a) primary interaction of a peer object with the whole mechanism, followed by (b) changes among its components. While some experiments, like those observing swarm behavior, suggest that a whole can alter the properties of its parts, alternative explanations rooted in bottom-bottom and bottom-up interactions exist. This leads to the argument that a constituted whole relies entirely on its components and their relations for existence and properties. Consequently, a constituted whole (a) cannot undergo a non-constitutive top-top change, nor can it (b) effect a top-down inverse-constitutive change, as the relationship is asymmetric (bottom-up only). Additionally, (c) a whole cannot effect a top-down causal change, as it cannot interact with its inseparable components for interlevel interaction. Therefore, the claimed mutual manipulability of whole and components in mechanisms is not feasible, and top-down changes from whole to components remain theoretically and practically elusive. Related discussions address the nature of constituted wholes and system levels.

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• Année de publication: 2015