Philosophical Musings

Philosophical Musings

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Newton vs Darwin: Basis for Worldviews

I see 2 basic foundations for world views:
  1. Newtonian.  The universe is orderly, with immutable laws governing its processes.
  2. Darwinian.  The universe is constantly changing, there are no absolutes, & everything is relative.
Newton continued the quest for scientific truth started by Copernicus, the father of modern science.  Some say the Copernican Revolution, the birth of modern science, concluded with Newton's laws.  This worldview is the basis for all of our modern discoveries, & they laid the foundation for all the technological, medical, & scientific discoveries for the last 200 years.  This was the Age of Reason, where empirical truth overcame superstition, & science explained the world we live in.  It was an instrumental factor in dragging western civilization from the dark ages, & was the foundational basis for the American experiment, Natural Law, & other Enlightenment values.  Physics, Astronomy, Mathematics, & other sciences had a basis in empirical facts, derived from an orderly universe.  Most of these early scientists believed in a Creator, who made all things, & created Laws to govern the universe.  There was no conflict between science & faith.  Science was seen as a way to explain the universe, & to understand what God had wrought.

In contrast, Darwinian theory was based on change.. constant change.  Nothing was absolute, & laws could vary & change with the environment or other variables.

The Newton pattern is science’s holy grail: universal laws, fixed interactions described by tightly causal equations. The Darwin pattern is fundamentally different: universal processes whose logic, applied locally, creates a looser causality, including parts with behaviors that aren’t fixed, often involving choice and change. Hence detailed outcomes aren’t as mathematically describable or predictable.  ~JAG BHALLA

America was founded under Newtonian principles & the Enlightenment.  Marxism, Progressivism, & Socialism (among others) came from the Darwinian world view.  That is why the left is unconcerned with Truth, as a principle.  They are only concerned with the end result, & the means of getting there.  Expediency, not accuracy, is their focus.  Facts can be spun to make a point, or accomplish a goal.  Lies are ok, if they further the Cause.  The end justifies the means.  Hence, the pattern of mandated 'truth' by the left.  Evidence & scientific methodology are not important, but crafting a plausible belief system, that works with an agenda.
  1. Naturalism is the only explanation for origins, science, & the existence of life.  Evolution is proven fact.  Those who are superior should rule.
  2. Global warming (or climate change) is settled science, & show the need to give power to the superior elite.
  3. Facts are irrelevant in examination of an issue.. Obama's birth certificate, Hillary's emails, Benghazi, all ask for trust, not critical examination & due process.  The Expert elite should be trusted, & the superior should rule.
  4. Smear campaigns against ideological enemies are not base on empirical fact, but accusation & phony narratives.  'Racist!', 'Denier!', and other pejoratives are used in place of facts.  Trust the experts.  They are superior, & they should rule.
As long as the foundation for this worldview remains, the ideology will continue.  Unless a return to empiricism occurs, we will continue the slide away from the scientific method, back to science by decree.  Critical thinking has given way to belief in the elite, & opinion of 'experts'.  The constant argument is over credentials of the claimant, not the accuracy or evidence of the content.  But Truth is not a democratic process, or a matter of consensus. 

The only conclusion that can be made is the superiority of the evolved elite, & a mandate for them to rule.  This is contrary to American principles of self rule, & human equality.  It is a stark difference in worldview, but it has become the State Religion, & is indoctrinated in everyone from every institution in modern society.  It portends the end of America, & a return to the dark ages.


I do not see the election of Trump as an indicator of a return to Enlightenment principles.  I see it as a temporary setback for the progressive agenda, & a nostalgic gesture for 'the good old days' of American values.  The root is still there, & the indoctrination continues for darwinian, marxist principles.  As long as progressivism is seen as a benign or even preferable world view, the decline of America & the principles of human equality, freedom, & self rule will continue.

Although it is developed in the crude English style, this is a book which contains the basis of natural history for our views.
Karl Marx on Darwin's On the Origin of Species
December, 1860

Dear Sir:
I thank you for the honour which you have done me by sending me your great work on Capital; & I heartily wish that I was more worthy to receive it, by understanding more of the deep and important subject of political Economy. Though our studies have been so different, I believe that we both earnestly desire the extension of Knowledge, & that this is in the long run sure to add to the happiness of Mankind.
I remain, Dear Sir
Yours faithfully,
Charles Darwin
Letter from Charles Darwin to Karl Marx, October, 1873





6 comments:

  1. 'Science' is NOT about constant change.. that is a pre dark ages view, based on superstition & unknowable mysteries of the universe. Newton (and many other before & since), argued that the universe was consistent & immutable.. it did not vary whimsically, but followed absolute Laws, which were consistent everywhere.

    The newtonian view is still the one used when doing ANY real science, of observation, measuring, repetition, & methodology. If you believe that there can be no consistency when doing a scientific experiment, how can you come to any conclusion, or use the scientific method? That is your 'darwinist' indoctrination talking.. we have all been programmed into this worldview of constant change & chaos, going away from the newtonian world view. That is why EVERY nature show, astronomy, biology, cosmos, and any & all books, theories, & classroom teachings ALL pitch this philosophy. But when doing actual application, they rely on the newtonian view. IOW, their theory is set aside to use reality for technical advances.

    If you get random results from applying a signal to silicon, you could not have computers. If gravity varied randomly, you could not have aerospace engineering. If plants & animals varied randomly, you could not have breeding & hybridization. ALL of the universe is subject to consistent, constant laws, which we can only define & observe. This notion that the universe is random chaos is absurd.. that is not what we observe, nor do we base any of our real science on it.

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  2. Those who 'burn you at the stake' are the modern 'science by decree' crowd.. from the darwinian world view. They mandate belief, not prove anything by scientific methodology. Oh, they will spout big words, & obfuscate with techno babble, but for anyone who actually researches & examines the facts, their conclusions are not compelled.

    REAL science is absolutely 'settled'. We base all of our technological culture on it. Everything in physics & nature is studied & there is a consistency to what we observe. We can calculate everything from the capacity of barges, to the structural materials needed in bridges, to the size of wire needed for electrical transmission. We arrive at complex compounds for medicine, to treat heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, etc. Now, maybe there were factors that we did not know about at one time, or variables that were overlooked, but the immutable Laws of Nature are still there, operating with uniformity & consistency. This is in sharp contrast to the indoctrination from the state mandated 'religion' of darwinian change, chaos, & relativity. EVERYTHING of value in this world is based on hard science.. proofs from experimentation that enable us to harness technology to improve life & reach a goal. Darwinian theory is useless in this.. it preaches chaos & fluidity, not order. None of our technology is based on the darwinian world view of randomness & chaos.

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  3. Seventy years ago communists easily (and, as it turned out, for a long time) seized power in Russia. Without hesitation they undertook to build a new society, hitherto unprecedented in the history of mankind, and announced the construction of Communism throughout the whole world to be their final goal.

    In this society there was to be no private property, it was to be a-religious: denying God, denying the existence of the immortal soul and recognizing only the material aspect of life as real. The society was to be free of ethnic affiliations, and communists were to have unlimited power over that society.

    Unprecedented methods were used to build this unprecedented society. It was decided to create a new man. This man was to be free from ethnic affiliations, see no sense in private property, be always ready to sacrifice himself for the benefit of society, have no doubts that he originated from an ape or something like it (certainly from a beast) and that nothing will remain of him after his death. In other words, he was to be a one-hundred percent materialist and atheist and must know that the meaning of life is in the person's usefulness to society and the supreme goal is in a better, wealthy and happy life of future generations. Recognizing this, he would necessarily be happy.

    It was obvious to initiators of the new society and creators of the new man that several existing classes of people would delay the implementation of this task. So, it was decided to destroy millions of these people "as a class ," i.e., to kill them. To "destroy as a class" is not just a reckless cynical phrase; in fact, it is a guide to practical action. This was done in Russia, and in this way began construction of the new society in every country as soon as the communists seized power. ~Sergei Khodorovich, 1987

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  4. Here is an interesting quote from Darwin himself, that shows the correlation of darwinism with racism, manifest destiny, eugenics, & other 'evolved supremacy' beliefs that were en vogue late 19th through the 20th century.

    “With savages, the weak in body or mind are soon eliminated; and those that survive commonly exhibit a vigorous state of health. We civilised men, on the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor-laws; and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of every one to the last moment. There is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved thousands, who from a weak constitution would formerly have succumbed to small-pox. Thus the weak members of civilised societies propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man. It is surprising how soon a want of care, or care wrongly directed, leads to the degeneration of a domestic race; but excepting in the case of man himself, hardly any one is so ignorant as to allow his worst animals to breed.

    The aid which we feel impelled to give to the helpless is mainly an incidental result of the instinct of sympathy, which was originally acquired as part of the social instincts, but subsequently rendered, in the manner previously indicated, more tender and more widely diffused. Nor could we check our sympathy, if so urged by hard reason, without deterioration in the noblest part of our nature. The surgeon may harden himself whilst performing an operation, for he knows that he is acting for the good of his patient; but if we were intentionally to neglect the weak and helpless, it could only be for a contingent benefit, with a certain and great present evil. Hence we must bear without complaining the undoubtedly bad effects of the weak surviving and propagating their kind; but there appears to be at least one check in steady action, namely the weaker and inferior members of society not marrying so freely as the sound; and this check might be indefinitely increased, though this is more to be hoped for than expected, by the weak in body or mind refraining from marriage.”

    “As man advances in civilization, and small tribes are united into larger communities, the simplest reason would tell each individual that he ought to extend his social instincts and sympathies to all members of the same nation, though personally unknown to him. This point being once reached, there is only an artificial barrier to prevent his sympathies extending to the men of all nations and races.”

    Notice the roots of globalism, & the strong collectivist view within. So who said this? Woodrow Wilson? Sanger? Mao? Marx? No, it was Darwin. He provided the basis for the others.

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  5. 1. The ToE is indoctrinated by the same people as AGW: The progressive left, academia, govt, PBS, etc.
    2. The ToE has had a 50 yr head start, and has been pounded into us from infancy, & those who base their world view upon it are just as zealous as the newer AGW climate pushers.
    3. Science & facts are not used to rebut any challenges, but ridicule, labels, & eye rolling. 'Deniers!!' is a favorite dismissal from both.
    4. Truth is not threatened by facts or science. It is indifferent to the emotional feelings of people's world views, & just is.
    5. The ToE has become the ONLY naturalistic explanation for origins, & any challenge to it is met with rage & indignation, not a scientific rebuttal.
    6. I see the EXACT same responses, in debating either topic: Outrage, ridicule, & personal attacks, rather than anything logical or factual.
    7. This is a thread about the source of the ideology, not an in depth examination of the science. I've done that in other threads.
    8. Too much loyalty is given to the ideology, & especially, atheism, which is perceived to be threatened by any challenge of the claims of the ToE.
    9. Darwin 1809-1882... Marx 1818-1883 Marx & Darwin were contemporaries, & fed on each other, ideologically. They both promoted a naturalistic view of the universe, & both hated the supernatural one.
    10. Instead of ridicule & personal attacks, the MO of the progressive left, any rebuttal to my points should contain reason, facts, & rational arguments, hallmarks of the age of reason, the enlightenment, & the scientific method. Using progressive tactics to address intellectual arguments only shows the real source of the world view.
    11. The older 'believers' in the ToE are just as zealous as the newer believers in AGW. Ask any millennial & you will get a canned response about AGW, even if they can't spell words, or know any history. The older generation is indoctrinated in the ToE, but still had the older remnants of newtonian philosophy left over from the WW2 era. That is mostly gone, now, as all public institutions are steeped in the naturalistic, darwinian world view.
    12. All the 'proofs' of either theory are extrapolated & speculated, with no compelling evidence. They are imagined scenarios, with no scientific methodology to support them.

    Here is the father of progressivism in the US, correlating his world view to darwinian principles.
    "..government is not a machine, but a living thing. It falls, not under the theory of the universe, but under the theory of organic life. It is accountable to Darwin, not to Newton." Woodrow Wilson.

    'Living political constitutions must be Darwinian in structure and in practice. Society is a living organism and must obey the laws of life, not of mechanics; it must develop. All the progressives ask or desire is permission—in an era when “development:... “evolution,” is the scientific word—to interpret the Constitution according to the Darwinian principle…' Woodrow Wilson'

    Reason, science, & American values of human freedom, equality, & Natural law come from the newtonian world view.

    Propaganda, mandated belief, emotion, elitism, & totalitarianism come from the darwinian world view.

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  6. I am not talking about the personal philosophies of either Darwin or Newton, but the world view that each has come to represent. Their names are merely labels, that point somewhat to the source. Much of the darwinian view is also rooted in marxism, & a collectivist view of society. And most of the newtonian view is based on other enlightenment philosophers.

    But, if you go to the real science, the darwinian view is based completely on theory & speculation. The newtonian view is based on reason & hard science. You repeat & observe, via scientific methodology, & arrive at a conclusion. The darwinian world view is based on credentials, mandates, & speculation. The assumption of chaos & disorder is provided, & the foregone conclusion that nothing can be known.. it is all mind boggling & unknowable.. IOW, the same as the 'scientists' in the dark ages, where superstition ruled, & mandates for scientific beliefs were made.

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