Chaos vs Complexity
There is a difference between chaos and complexity. Chaos, in the modern sense, is the absence of order, a lack of hierarchy or law that structures reality. The word Chaos originally meant formless void in Greek, the state of nonexistence the Greeks believed precluded reality. Both definitions do not exist.
The latter, describing nonexistence as a state itself, doesnt exist because of its own definition of itself, i.e nonexistence doesnt exist.
The former doesnt exist because there is always order in the universe. There are inescapable laws of nature that you cant break, like gravitational fields or the laws of thermodynamics, and when you have laws, you have order.
Now these laws allow for a great deal of complexity in nature; complexity we see in weather formation or the movement and reaction of free particles and matter. It is extremely complex, at times seemingly infinitely complex, but since there are laws that govern this complexity there is still order.
For conscious organisms like us we often like to simplify that order for us to be able to comprehend it. One of the methods human beings provide order with is hierarchies. Hierarchies are systems with a clear chain of command and status within the system that orders the system into a particular structure.
We often model hierarchies with shapes, such as a pyramid or triangle. In most naturally occuring and engineered hierarchies, there is a "top" that acts as a sovereign over the system, commanding it and imposing its will upon the system and what that system is sovereign over. In these hierarchies, every other facet of the system is subservient to the top.
Now you can design hierarchies in different ways, but they are naturally occuring in nature and society. I am going to put a hypothetical situation out there: what if someone could design a hierarchy that accounts for natural inequalities and equalizes the system by not making everyone equal on a baseline level but giving powers to each facet of a system that are different, but equal?
As I said before, hierarchies are inescapable, and as a result anarchy is not only implausable, it is impossible. However, the more complex the hierarchy, the more liberty is allowed to flourish and run its course. Freedom isnt chaos, freedom isnt anarchy, freedom is systemic complexity!
The latter, describing nonexistence as a state itself, doesnt exist because of its own definition of itself, i.e nonexistence doesnt exist.
The former doesnt exist because there is always order in the universe. There are inescapable laws of nature that you cant break, like gravitational fields or the laws of thermodynamics, and when you have laws, you have order.
Now these laws allow for a great deal of complexity in nature; complexity we see in weather formation or the movement and reaction of free particles and matter. It is extremely complex, at times seemingly infinitely complex, but since there are laws that govern this complexity there is still order.
For conscious organisms like us we often like to simplify that order for us to be able to comprehend it. One of the methods human beings provide order with is hierarchies. Hierarchies are systems with a clear chain of command and status within the system that orders the system into a particular structure.
We often model hierarchies with shapes, such as a pyramid or triangle. In most naturally occuring and engineered hierarchies, there is a "top" that acts as a sovereign over the system, commanding it and imposing its will upon the system and what that system is sovereign over. In these hierarchies, every other facet of the system is subservient to the top.
Now you can design hierarchies in different ways, but they are naturally occuring in nature and society. I am going to put a hypothetical situation out there: what if someone could design a hierarchy that accounts for natural inequalities and equalizes the system by not making everyone equal on a baseline level but giving powers to each facet of a system that are different, but equal?
As I said before, hierarchies are inescapable, and as a result anarchy is not only implausable, it is impossible. However, the more complex the hierarchy, the more liberty is allowed to flourish and run its course. Freedom isnt chaos, freedom isnt anarchy, freedom is systemic complexity!
Comments
Post a Comment