ELLA: “You’re suggesting that self-organizing systems of oscillators existed before replicators, and were the real beginnings of life. But… — ELLA: “You’re suggesting that self-organizing systems of oscillators existed before replicators, and were the real beginnings of life. But then the question becomes: where did these self-organizing systems of oscillators come from? The central question in biology is explaining the existence of design/adaptivity/knowledge. The theory of replicators explains how knowledge…

If we think of morality as the set of best-known technologies for preserving and extending the opportunities for life, — seen as the… — If we think of morality as the set of best-known technologies for preserving and extending the opportunities for life, — seen as the epistolutionary process of self-organization, — then morality isn’t something projected from us onto the world at all, but something that the world imposes on us. Our niche…

Approaches to building artificial general intelligence have so far been unsuccessful because all of them fail to identify how they would… — Approaches to building artificial general intelligence have so far been unsuccessful because all of them fail to identify how they would creatively select goal functions. How does an AGI identify which problems to solve? That’s the question. This is why David Deutsch has been saying we are all waiting for…

What is the physiological logic by which an organism stays organized as it responds dynamically to its environment? — What is the physiological logic by which an organism stays organized as it responds dynamically to its environment? If the epigenome controls the genome, what controls the epigenome? And what controls that? How does a cell know which genes to express at which time? What chemical process provides the basic…

Many evolutionary biologists insist that the central fact that must be explained in biology is adaptation, and that the best explanation… — Many evolutionary biologists insist that the central fact that must be explained in biology is adaptation, and that the best explanation for adaptation is evolution by natural selection. I agree that evolution explains change in organic life, but it can’t explain its existence in the first place, or what its…

Epistolution and evolution are twin theories, in a way, but both are necessary to explain life. Recently I have begun to point to examples… — Epistolution and evolution are twin theories, in a way, but both are necessary to explain life. Recently I have begun to point to examples, like sleep and beauty and music and hallucination that are not explained by evolution, and I have realized just how many phenomena we have piled into…

Does life have an aim? A goal? What makes the beautiful interconnected living things in this world fit together and operate so seamlessly? — Does life have an aim? A goal? What makes the beautiful interconnected living things in this world fit together and operate so seamlessly? In the journal Science in 2008, results were published that should have called into question everything we know about life, but for many it did not. The…

I’ve been considering what the effects of pessimism and optimism are on different people, and I suspect they are highly dependent on one’s… — I’ve been considering what the effects of pessimism and optimism are on different people, and I suspect they are highly dependent on one’s status. Let’s just define pessimism as the view that in general the system promotes evil, and optimism as the view that in general the system promotes good…

Mike, — Mike, Ok I got another watch of your video in. I think the talk could benefit most from a clarification of the relationship between problems, conjectures and explanations. I think many people do not realize how those two things are really related. The Popperian perspective on this is actually counterintuitive…