A new “Domain of No Laws” challenges traditional science, emphasizing agency and evolving complexity.
Authors
Sudip Patra, Associate Professor, Jindal School of Government & Public Policy, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India
Stuart A. Kauffman, Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, USA; Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania, USA
Summary
We explore here the fundamental and striking paradigmatic shifts between ‘Domain of Laws’ and ‘Domain of No Laws’, where the former is an apt encapsulation of our remarkably successful but orthodox science world view (including classical physics and quantum mechanics) with well-defined and stable configuration spaces having deterministic or stochastic evolution. The latter is a radically new Domain of No Law with evolving configuration spaces, non-deducible information creation, genuine novelties, and an unprestatable Adjacent Possible. We explore the features of these two distinct domains asking what can be defined with respect to work, energy, entropy, and agency. We offer a reconstruction of quantum mechanics to reframe traditional assumptions and address lingering questions concerning the nature of living, complex adaptive systems. We propose that a genuine responsible free will and a central role of agency are essential features of an evolving Biosphere. Here we extend this theme to call for a radically new and comprehensive view of science itself.
Published in: BioSystems
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