articles

7 www.scimednet.org Nature’s Due. Winter Winter 2009/10 See also his last book, Network Network Review Organisms have disappeared as fundamental entities, as What would it mean for organisms to have causal efficacy One way of approaching a resolution to this dilemma Organisms as Causally Efficacious Wholes with Agency basic unities, from contemporary biology because they have no real status as centres of causal agency. Organisms are now considered to be generated by the genes they contain. These genes have been selected of natural by selection acting the on external the functional forces properties, reproduce and survive to organism the allow that characters, or more of its kind in a particular habitat. Thus organisms are which genes, by generated characters, of aggregates arbitrary environment. particular a in test survival the pass collectively The characters clearly cohere within the physical body which they define, but there is no causally the is This parts. efficacious interacting the of properties the transcends unity that sense in which organisms have disappeared from biology. definition A parts? interacting their of that beyond and above discussion his in (1998) Silberstein by given is concept this of of emergent properties: systems ‘qualitatively or wholes that One possess parts.’ causal new the capacities of that capacities are causal the properties of any to reducible not of approach to the question of such properties in organisms is between relationships the of account systematic a provide to parts and whole during the development of the adult of form an organism from a zygote (a shown fertilised that egg). organisms It can are be more than a functional of performance the in another one for exist parts the which unities in particular function or set of functions, as in a machine. They are also structural unities in which the parts exist by for means of one and another, to use Kant’s descriptive phrase. from modern science and save our experience as organisms with body-minds that give us feelings and awareness? is to go back to the distinction made primary and in secondary science qualities, the between former real, the latter in some sense illusory. The argument that here I will shall pursue take the following that form. are centres Organisms of are agency. To wholes live to is discriminate and to to act experience. To intentionally, accommodate within science an understanding of organisms the are familiar life it is necessary with to acknowledge which reality the of qualitative we experience. This leads to as an expanded conception of science that preserves all that is of value in our tradition of exploring reality but avoids the unfortunate conclusion that some of our some sense deepest unreal. experiences are in the previous article and could readily be translated into these terms. terms. these into translated be readily could and article previous the of qualities, to which he devoted much thought. It has an interesting resonance with with resonance interesting an has It thought. much devoted he which to qualities, of This article by Brian Goodwin summarises his views on the importance of a science a of science importance the on views his summarises Goodwin Brian by article This Reclaiming Reclaiming a Life of Quality Brian Goodwin

The resulting metaphysics and methodology work

he disappearance of organisms biology and from the contemporary absence of mind are, I believe, from both connected neuroscience with a deep conceptual

However, primary qualities originate in human experience of force, weight, motion, subjective. etc., They and become so of are ‘objective’ also intersubjective only initially consensus by whereby systematically a the subjects process results compare of become specific known as measurement. Once such a observations methodology which practitioners, of community a within established become has the role of subjective experience tends to substitute recede which devices measuring by replaced background, into the for human judgement and turn observation into something regarded as real and reliable. Experience is thus withdrawn from the objectively real and the world of scientific enquiry takes on the motion, defined as characteristics activity without experience. The result is of non-sentient the real world posited in modern science. matter in well in the study of However, they run into non-living severe difficulties in the study of life. processes, up to a Simply put, point. we know that we humans experience qualities such as pleasure and pain, or the a colour and flower. perfume of We have such and experiences are consciously through aware our through bodies our two minds. aspects These are of one unity, the that organism. life But has we evolved assume from non-sentient The matter result in is motion. a logical conundrum: subjects arise from How non-sentient matter? This can question has experiencing no logically consistent answer except to assumptions particular deny for the pay reality to price of high very a experience, about ‘reality’. Is there not another simultaneously way preserve in the deep which insights we that have can come and methodological feature of Western Science. Cartesian dualism and a reductionist methodology contribute replacement to of the organisms by genetic networks and by minds neural networks. strategies that are so However, effective at revealing the component these parts divide-and-conquer of complex systems more profound axiom are that is often themselves not even recognised related as an to assumption. This a relates experience to the in status the of assumed that subjective reliable study data for scientific of statements about natural phenomena natural are restricted to measurable quantities processes. such Galileo as them, mass, call to velocity, later was Locke temperature, John as qualities’, volume, ‘primary Such and so on. of experience the as such qualities’ ‘secondary with contrast be to considered were which pain, or pleasure odour, colour, purely subjective aspects of human variable experience, arbitrarily between individuals and descriptors of therefore real natural process. unsuitable as T articles at ht hr i n ter ad rcie f elh taught health of practice and theory no is there that fact the from evident is medicine conception and biology a mainstream such from of is, absence that The ways; efficacy. causal identifiable has in it parts the of functioning the influences whole the of property this Furthermore, consider. to wishes one parts of level whatever - molecules or tissues of terms or organs constituent the of in interactions and functioning the described be cannot that organism whole the www.scimednet.org Health and Wholeness of Indicators Dynamic health. as describe we that organisms whole of quality particular a explore now shall I this, on further elaborate To and coherence qualities. the through perceive we in which organisms, of reflected integrity is This behalf. own on action their take to appropriately, and spontaneously act to organisms allows that experience and sentience of quality a of embodies life that recognise to necessary is it beings, behaviour living and properties observed the accommodates which and agency, and intentionality of experience own our be we are to yet have a concept of organisms that cannot is consistent with that if that question clear seems it However, certainty. any a with answered is required, are action of principles new whether or mechanics), quantum (including be can science this current with consistent are that terms in articulated How computation. and causality mechanical and prespecification selection. That is, organisms function in algorithmic ways that go beyond on depend not does that than computeit?Itmeanstomakechoicesinsomemanner rather life your live to mean it does what But them. compute not do they lives, their live Organisms advance. in described finitely be cannot possibilities of set the some because criterion, to according optimising and actions possible of set the computing by not so do They behalf. own take their on action organisms is: phrase His agency. living of nature the autopoiesis. as this defined (1987) Varela and Maturana organisation. of type distinctive their perpetuates Their them. by which closure logical self-defining the determined from results autonomy not but environments their to coupled are they Hence depend. they which on boundaries, their across energy and matter of flow systems a to open closed are which logically is therefore this are for They term reproduction. biological The organisation. same the of more produce they that property the with systems are organised they is, that agents; autonomous are organisms First, aspects. two has position His (1999). Kauffman in found be agents? A detailed argument elaborating on this concept can it. for account to required is that theory of type the and unities, efficacious causally as generated are organisms that evidence this to point simply but here, embryonic argument the of of details present not aspects different will I Goodwin(1996). and Webster in and given is development, organism different of of variety types a for articulated wholes, integrated of emergence the as 1972). morphogenesis of Berrill, description detailed A 1956, Waddington, e.g., (see, view conforms this to development embryonic on literature traditional into the adult form as a condition of dynamic coherence. The and of process this throughout maintained course is organism the unity of the initial The during (morphogenesis). development structures embryonic distinct of emergence arise organism an from an undifferentiated unity, the zygote, by the progressive of parts component the say, to is That 8 tk te oiin ht hr i a rpry f elh of health of property a is there that position the take I h scn apc o Kufa’ agmn concerns argument Kauffman’s of aspect second The intentional are organisms that claim the about What Network Review Network Winter 2009/10 Winter

This points to a holistic aspect of the organism with causal with organism the of aspect holistic a to points This parts. its of behaviour the transcends that organism whole the of property a reflect this to appears It clear. not is of behaviour origin The intervals. longer by followed be to intervals tends interbeat short activity of series a of that such balance heart the subtle in a maintains that coherence in or property The pattern. order long-range of type this a as characterised be can question have not do apnoea with sleep Individuals variations. of law scaling well-defined a of chaotic of characteristic occurrence the is and self-similarity by characterised signature systems, that generic order same dynamic the subtle share of pattern all distinct they a variability, has of individual healthy each while that found They controls. healthy during matched with compared sleep) breathing (interrupted apnoea sleep from suffering people of study a in (1996) al et Ivanov by addressed was question This ways? distinctive in healthy they are or health, danger. of indicative is order inappropriate and disease, dynamic of notion the get thus We needs. changing constantly body’s tend to fall into patterns of order which does fail to respond to the hand, other of the pattern on heart, particular diseased a A order. in dynamic stuck gets never it that so rate its changing continuously by body the of rest the from it on heart healthy demands unpredictable The to sensitivity continuous follows. maintains as unexpected is this behaviour of physiological interpretation functional The bounds. strange within of motion of trajectories the properties constrain which attractors, the by determined mathematically but unpredictable is that irregularity by characterised being dynamics the subtle, The indeed is chaos. chaos by deterministic manifested order of but the noise, have of not does characteristics interval interbeat the of variability that claim the (1997) other Merrill and these Poon organism. of the of influences parts collective order dynamic the subtle might transcends a that variability of signature healthy some hand, it within other carry modulate the activities On rate. whose other heart systems by other heart and the endocrine, muscular respiratory, on nervous, the - exerted body the of influences from systems resulting of ‘noise’ of sum kind the a is individuals healthy in danger! of sign a is order, of kind wrong the much or order, too which in case a is This rate persons. healthy heart in the than in order and regularity more is there cases cardiac arrhythmias or congestive heart disease. In the latter as such condition, heart of types various with people in than individuals healthy in greater significantly is variability this that was surprise a of something as came What heartbeats. successive between interval the is in there variability considerable electrocardiogram, an in recorded as conditions, these of one any for heartbeats of series a examines one if that out turns it However walking. an or lying or of still sitting as rate heart mean such activity, particular any The for constant reliably is individual heartbeat. the of dynamics complex the of on work properties from comes This the interaction. in transcends parts that dynamic whole a the of of evidence condition provides that disease and health therapeutic appropriate an relationship. by facilitated be and can that recognised state coherent a of presence not disease, of absence is model medical the in Health methodically. work an emergent property of the whole organism with which one can such systematically develops that students medical to Do healthy people all share the same dynamic signature of intervals interbeat the of irregularity the that possible is It of study the in development recent a describe me Let Network Review Winter 2009/10 9 articles efficacy; i.e., the observed dynamic is an emergent property of observer scoring patterns in a multidimensional space of the whole that affects the parts, maintaining a condition using transformations that identify mathematical invariants of coherence throughout the organism. These studies in the data. Analytical details are presented in the paper by are of considerable interest and importance in indicating Wemelsfelder et al (1999). ways of diagnosing different conditions of the body by The results of the pig study were very striking. There was a detailed dynamic analysis of particular physiological a high degree of consistency in the evaluations between variables. Traditional diagnostic procedures use a similar different people of pigs from the two groups, barren and approach, but the condition of the whole is observed through enriched. Evidently human beings are pretty good at a different aspect of dynamic behaviour of the organism. To qualitative judgements of this kind. This is not surprising; illustrate this, consider next an example that indicates the we live our lives primarily in terms of such judgements, procedure in a context that extends the notion of health to of one another and of situations generally. Where it can include behaviour generally. be carried out, quantitative assessment is a very useful addition to qualitative judgement, but often it is not possible Reclaiming Qualities in Science or convenient. In science, however, it is regarded as the sine What type of theory and praxis go with the recognition of qua non of data acquisition. organisms as causally efficacious, emergent wholes? The The pig study employed an analytical procedure to argument that I shall now develop is logically independent evaluate consensus between different observers. This of whether or not one accepts the case that organisms involves an effective blend of qualitative and quantitative have whole emergent properties, though there is logical procedures. However, it is reasonable to suggest that a consistency between them. How might we approach the group of practitioners who are focussed on the qualitative question of assessing the quality of life that an animal assessment of animal behaviour could reach consensus has experienced in the past from observation of its without this analytical step, after systematically cultivating current behaviour? We actually do this frequently. On the the development of evaluative skills. With or without the whole, people have little difficulty in choosing a dog from analytical procedure, the evaluators would be practising a a rescue home that exhibits behaviour indicative of a life systematic science of qualities. They would be using their without serious deprivation or cruelty, which elicits fear and capacity for evaluation of the quality of life exhibited by aggression. However, we also make mistakes. That is, our animals through observation of their behaviour. The primary individual evaluations can be unreliable. Is there a way of data used in this evaluation is not measurable with an being systematic about such evaluations? One approach is instrument; it requires a human subject as the observer, to develop a method of intersubjective consensus applicable assessing quality. This is not to argue that some purely to this problem. This involves systematic comparison of quantitative measure of behaviour might not subsequently the evaluations made independently by different individuals be found that correlates with the qualitative assessment. observing the same animal. I present here an example of However, the qualitative evaluation is necessarily primary this type of study carried out by Wemelsfelder et al (1999) and would probably remain more reliable and effective for on farm animals. this type of evaluation. The study was carried out on two groups of pigs, one of Doctors and therapists do something similar to this in which had been living in barren conditions (a small pen with a evaluating the health of the people that come to them bare concrete floor) and the other in an enriched environment for healing. They pay attention to posture, tone of voice, (a large pen with straw and various objects to play with, such complexion, and other aspects of the person that reflect as fresh branches, car tyres and metal chains). People were the condition of the whole in ways that cannot be measured asked to observe by instruments. Quantitative data on body temperature, the pigs behaving in standard conditions and to assess their behaviour using qualitative descriptors of their choice to describe the pigs’ style of behaviour. This procedure is known as ‘Free Choice Profiling’ and is widely used in food science and sensory research. A multivariate statistical technique called Generalised Procrustes Analysis was used to assess consensus between different observers in their evaluations. This identifies the degree of clustering

www.scimednet.org 10 Network Review Winter 2009/10

heart rate, blood pressure, blood cell counts, etc., can union much more extensive than philosophy and science. add significantly to a diagnosis, but qualitative evaluation With qualities and feelings as essential aspects of science, of the condition of health remains a very important aspect the door is open to a rethinking of the relation between of diagnostic skill which is developed through practice the arts and the sciences in our culture. The move will be and experience. It could be cultivated more systematically beyond holistic science to a holistic culture. However, there during training by some type of intersubjective consensual is a great deal of work to be done if we are to get there in procedure of the kind described above in the pig study. This an effective way. As the Sufi poet, Rumi, put it: would extend scientific data to include both quantitative and articles qualitative information, without losing the essential scientific This talk is like stamping new coins. They pile up, principles of comparison of results within a community of While the real work is done outside persons using agreed procedures of assessment. Qualitative By someone digging in the ground. experience would then be recognised as a potentially reliable indicator of real situations, subject to consensus among trained practitioners. Acknowledgement: There are many communities of investigators into qualitative I am grateful to Stuart and Elisabeth Kauffman for methodology that are already pursuing such procedures. inspiration, assistance and hospitality during the writing However, they work under the shadow of a science that has of this essay, and to Françoise Wemelsfelder for useful honed the quantitative study of natural process to a very comments. fine art, while qualitative procedures, though by no means new within science, are still being explored and developed. Furthermore, the metaphysical assumptions about reality The late Professor Brian Goodwin was Professor of Biology that have emerged within conventional science exclude at the Open University, Scholar in Residence at Schumacher qualities from the real and locate them within subjective, College and Founder of the MSc in Holistic Science. He was a hence idiosyncratic and objectively unreliable, experience. Vice-President of the Network. A science of qualities requires a fundamental reappraisal of the very nature of real process, because it recognises experience as real and primary. But this is also required if we are to accept the reality of our own experience as feeling, intending, conscious organisms. If these properties are real, then they can only arise from a reality that embodies References some form of sentience as the precursor of this condition; Bergson, H. (1911) Creative Evolution. Trans. A. Mitchell. New otherwise they can be construed only as unintelligible York: Henry Holt and Co. miracles of emergence from dead matter. It seems better Berrill, N.J. (1972). Developmental Biology. New York: Sinauer to extend our basic description of reality than to have to Associates believe in this type of miracle. Griffin, D.R. (1998). Unsnarling the World Knot: Consciousness, Freedom, and the Mind-Body Problem. Berkeley: University Qualities Require a New Science of California Press. The change required in our conception of ‘reality’ to Hartshorne, C. (1972). Whitehead’s Philosophy: Selected accommodate subjective experience has been the subject Essays, 1935-1970. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. of many articles and I cannot add significantly to what has Ivanov, P. Ch., Rosenblum, M.G., Peng, C-K, Mietus, J., Havlin, already been said by others. However, I can indicate which S., Stanley, H.E., and Goldberger, A. L. (1996). Scaling lines of argument I think will provide a metaphysical basis behaviour of heartbeat intervals obtained by wavelet-based for a science of qualities of the type sketched above. A time-series analysis. Nature 383, 323-327. foundation for the requisite rethinking comes from the Kauffman, S.A. (1999). Investigations. Oxford: Oxford University writings of Bergson (1911) and Whitehead (1929), with Press. subsequent developments by Hartshorne (1972) and, most Maturana, H., and Varela, F. (1987). The Tree of Knowledge. recently, by Griffin (1998). The essentials of the position Boston: Shambala. are that ‘matter’ has sentience and ‘mind’ exists only Poon, C-S., and Merrill, C.K. (1997). Decrease of cardiac chaos as an aspect of ‘matter’. What resolves these apparent in congestive heart failure. Nature 389, 492-495. antinomies is process, in which present mind gives rise de Quincey, C. (1999). Past matter, present mind; a to past matter as spent experience, to use the useful and convergence of worldviews. J. Consc. Studies 6, 91-106. evocative phrases of de Quincey (1999). There is a rough Silberstein, M. (1998). Emergence and the mind-body problem. analogy here with electromagnetic waves as described in J. Consc. Studies 5, 464-482 Maxwell’s equations in which the electric field gives way to Waddington, C.H. (1956). The Principles of Embryology. the magnetic field which in turn generates the electric field London: Allen and Unwin. in a never-ending cycle of unfolding. Likewise ‘mind’ and Webster, G. and Goodwin, B. (1996). Form and Transformation; ‘matter’ transform one into the other, mind (experience, Generative and Relational Principles in Biology. Cambridge: sentience) being the creative pole that incorporates past Cambridge University Press. matter into a new unfolding involving a degree of freedom Wemelsfelder, F., Hunter, E.A., Mendl, M.T., and Lawrence, and choice, this creative act then expiring in matter which A.B. (1999). The spontaneous qualitative assessment of produces the conditions for a new creative emergence. behavioural expressions in pigs: first exploration of a novel Working out the details of this new cosmology is a task methodology for integrative animal welfare measurement. that will occupy many a philosopher and scientist, the two Applied Animal Behaviour Science. areas of enquiry necessarily joining forces to define a new Whitehead, A.N. (1929). Process and Reality. Cambridge: conception of reality. But this new conception involves a Cambridge University Press.

www.scimednet.org