Emergent Design

Explorations in Systems Phenomenology in Relation to Ontology, Hermeneutics and the Meta-dialectics of Design SYNOPSIS A Phenomenological Analysis of Emergent Design is performed based on the foundations of General Schemas Theory. The concept of Sign Engineering is explored in terms of Hermeneutics, Dialectics, and Ontology in order to define Emergent Systems and Metasystems Engineering based on the concept of Meta-dialectics. ABSTRACT Phenomenology, Ontology, Hermeneutics, and Dialectics will dominate our inquiry into the nature of the Emergent Design of the System and its inverse dual, the Meta-system. This is an speculative dissertation that attempts to produce a philosophical, mathematical, and theoretical view of the nature of Systems Engineering Design. Emergent System Design, i.e., the design of yet unheard of and/or hitherto non-existent Systems and Metasystems is the focus. This study is a frontal assault on the hard problem of explaining how Engineering produces new things, rather than a repetition or reordering of concepts that already exist. In this work the philosophies of E. Husserl, A. Gurwitsch, M. Heidegger, J. Derrida, G. Deleuze, A. Badiou, G. Hegel, I. Kant and other Continental Philosophers are brought to bear on different aspects of how new technological systems come into existence through the midwifery of Systems Engineering. Sign Engineering is singled out as the most important aspect of Systems Engineering. We will build on the work of Pieter Wisse and extend his theory of Sign Engineering to define Meta-dialectics in the form of Quadralectics and then Pentalectics. Along the way the various ontological levels of Being are explored in conjunction with the discovery that the Quadralectic is related to the possibility of design primarily at the Third Meta-level of Being, called Hyper Being. Design Process is dependent upon the emergent possibilities that appear in Hyper Being. Hyper Being, termed by Heidegger as Being (Being crossed-out) and termed by Derrida as Differance, also appears as the widest space within the Design Field at the third meta-level of Being and therefore provides the most leverage that is needed to produce emergent effects. Hyper Being is where possibilities appear within our worldview. Possibility is necessary for emergent events to occur. Hyper Being possibilities are extended by Wild Being propensities to allow the embodiment of new things. We discuss how this philosophical background relates to meta-methods such as the Gurevich Abstract State Machine and the Wisse Metapattern methods, as well as real-time architectural design methods as described in the Integral Software Engineering Methodology. One aim of this research is to find the foundation for extending the ISEM methodology to become a general purpose Systems Design Methodology. Our purpose is also to bring these philosophical considerations into the practical realm by examining P. Bourdieu’s ideas on the relationship between theoretical and practical reason and M. de Certeau’s ideas on practice. The relationship between design and implementation is seen in terms of the Set/Mass conceptual opposition. General Schemas Theory is used as a way of critiquing the dependence of Set based mathematics as a basis for Design. The dissertation delineates a new foundation for Systems Engineering as Emergent Engineering based on General Schemas Theory, and provides an advanced theory of Design based on the understanding of the meta-levels of Being, particularly focusing upon the relationship between Hyper Being and Wild Being in the context of Pure and Process Being

Special Systems Theory

A new advanced systems theory concerning the emergent nature of the Social, Consciousness, and Life based on Mathematics and Physical Analogies is presented. This meta-theory concerns the distance between the emergent levels of these phenomena and their ultra-efficacious nature. The theory is based on the distinction between Systems and Meta-systems (organized Openscape environments). We first realize that we can understand the difference between the System and the Meta-system in terms of the relationship between a ‘Whole greater than the sum of the parts’ and a ‘Whole less than the sum of its parts’, i.e., a whole full of holes (like a sponge) that provide niches for systems in the environment. Once we understand this distinction and clarify the nature of the unusual organization of the Meta-system, then it is possible to understand that there is a third possibility which is a whole exactly equal to the sum of its parts that is only supervenient like perfect numbers. In fact, there are three kinds of Special System corresponding to the perfect, amicable, and sociable aliquot numbers. These are all equal to the sum of their parts but with different degrees of differing and deferring in what Jacques Derrida calls “differance”. All other numbers are either excessive (systemic) or deficient (metasystemic) in this regard. The Special Systems are based on various mathematical analogies and some physical analogies. But the most important of the mathematical analogies are the hypercomplex algebras, which include the Complex Numbers, Quaternions, and Octonions, with the Sedenions corresponding to the Emergent Meta-system. However, other analogies are the Hopf fibrations between hyperspheres of various dimensions, nonorientable surfaces, soliton solutions, etc. These Special Systems have a long history within the tradition since they can be traced back to the imaginary cities of Plato. The Emergent Meta-system is a higher order global structure that includes the System with the three Special Systems as a cycle. An example of this from our tradition is in the Monadology of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz. There is a conjunctive relationship between the System schema and the Special Systems that produce the Meta-system schema cycle. The Special Systems are a meta-model for the relationship between the emergent levels of Consciousness (Dissipative Ordering based on the theory of negative entropy of Prigogine), Living (Autopoietic Symbiotic based on the theory of Maturana and Varela), and Social (Reflexive based on the theory of John O’Malley and Barry Sandywell). These different special systems are related to the various existenitals identified by Martin Heidegger in Being and Time and various temporal reference frames identified by Richard M. Pico. We also relate the special systems to morphodynamic and teleodynamic systems of Terrence Deacon in Incomplete Nature to which we add sociodynamic systems to complete the series of Special Systems

Mathematical Structure of the Emergent Event

Exploration of a hypothetical model of the structure of the Emergent Event. Key Words: Emergent Event, Foundational Mathematical Categories, Emergent Meta-system, Orthogonal Centering Dialectic, Hegel, Sartre, Badiou, Derrida, Deleuze, Philosophy of Scienc

Studies in the ontology of emergence

These working papers led to the PhD “The Structure of Theoretical Systems in Relation to Emergence” which is available in LSE Theses Online

The structure of theoretical systems in relation to emergence

A thesis concerning the ontology underlying the formation of structural-dialectical systems based on the implications of the phenomenon of Emergence is presented. Emergence refers to the unexpected appearance of discontinuities which segment on-going traditions. The Western philosophical tradition is used as an example focusing on motifs introduced in the Phaedo, the transition from Hume to Kant, and contemporary ontology. Emergence (as structurally coded artificial novelty) is posited to be the opposite of the phenomenon of Nihilism (erratic change projected by the structural system rendering the formal system visible), and both are functions of the ideational process. The ontological basis of Emergence is sought by exploring the articulation of the form of the ideational process, through which structural theoretical systems are produced, called the 'ideational template'. It has three parts: 1) SHELL—The expanding wave of logical connections by means of triadic formalisms seen on the Nihilistic background; 2) CORE-—The unfolding structural dialectical underpinning to the formal system in which artificial emergences appear; 3) CENTRE OF THE CORE—Fragmentation of the concept of 'Being' which provides the ontological foundation for the Formal/Structural system. The ideational template is destructured in order to show the feasibility of an alternative metaphysical model based on disconnecting opposite qualities instead of focusing on form and structure as the ideational process does. This brings attention to the principle of 'No Secondary Causation' as a means of tracing back artificial emergence within structural systems to a genuine emergence of all entities and qualitative opposites to a single source (called by Plato 'the Good') indicated by the methodology of logical disconnection rather than syllogistic connection. The alternative to logical ideational connection is called the 'logic of disconnection'. The metaphysical basis of a qualitative science as distinct from quantitative Western science is posited

Where’s the Data? Using Data Convincingly in Transdisciplinary Doctoral Research

Aim/Purpose The aim of this paper is to identify some of the issues in writing a transdisciplinary doctoral thesis and to develop strategies for addressing them, particularly focusing on the presentation of data and data analysis. The paper, based on the authors’ own experience, offers guidance to, and invites further comment from, transdisciplinary doctoral candidates, their supervisors and their examiners, as well as the broader field of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary researchers. Background The paper uses the authors’ experience of writing four very different transdisciplinary doctoral theses to examine the diverse responses received from examiners and what this means for the thesis writing process. The theses and examiners’ reports span an array of disciplinary and transdisciplinary epistemologies, ontologies, and world views. Methodology A preliminary review of the examiners’ reports revealed a common concern with the definition of ‘data’ and with ‘data analysis’. The examiners’ reports were then more formally coded and thematized. These themes were then used to reflect critically on the four theses, within a broad interpretive framework based on the idea of writing ‘convincingly’, and in light of current literature on the meaning of ‘data’ and the idea and aims of transdisciplinarity. Contribution The paper offers specific strategies for doctoral candidates, their supervisors, and examiners in working with the burgeoning number of doctoral research projects that are now taking place in the transdisciplinary space. Findings Doctoral candidates engaged in transdisciplinary research need to define what they mean by data and make data visible in their research, be creative in their conceptions of data and in how they communicate this to examiners, specify the quality criteria against which they wish their work to be assessed and hold discussions with their supervisors about examiner appointments and briefing, and communicate to examiners the special value of transdisciplinary research and the journey on which it takes the researcher. Our conclusion connects these findings to the development of an emerging concept of transdisciplinary research writing. Recommendations for See below under ‘Recommendations for Researchers’ (For the purpose of Practitioners this paper, practitioners are the researchers). Recommendations The paper makes the following recommendations for transdisciplinary for Researchers doctoral researchers: • Make the data visible and argue for the unique or special way in which the data will be used • Make clear the quality criteria against which you expect the work to be judged • Be creative and explore the possibilities enabled by a broad interpretation of ‘data’ • Transdisciplinary research is transformative. Communicate this to your examiner. Impact on Society As more complex and ‘wicked’ problems in the world are increasingly addressed through transdisciplinary research, it is important that doctoral research in this area be encouraged, which continues to develop transdisciplinary theoretical frameworks, methodologies and applications. The strategies proposed in this paper will help to ensure the development of high quality transdisciplinary researchers and a greater understanding of the value of transdisciplinary research in the wider research community. It also draws attention to the potential benefits of similar strategies in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research. Future Research Further exploration is needed of how researchers across disciplines can ‘talk’ to one another to resolve complex problems, and how the solitary transdisciplinary scholar, such as the doctoral student, can effectively communicate their research contribution to others. These issues could also be explored for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research teams

Arabic-Speaking Worlds and Media

Interest in Arabic media is nothing new, but the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States heightened and broadened publicly stated interest in relation to public opinion in Arabic and, more generally, Islamic countries, including in numerous recent academic publications and collections (Ayish, 2003; Hafez, 2001; Hafez, 2002; Schlesinger, Mowlana, 1993 ; Middle East Report, 1993; Middle East Journal, 2000; Sakr, 2001). These have addressed, for example, Arabic media systems, representati..

Mondes arabophones et médias

Si s’intéresser aux médias arabophones n’est pas nouveau, les attaques du 11-Septembre aux États-Unis ont accentué et élargi l’intérêt porté publiquement à tout ce qui concerne l’opinion des populations arabophones ou, plus largement, islamiques. D’ailleurs, il a nourri nombre de recueils ou de dossiers universitaires récents (Ayish, 2003 ; Hafez, 2001 ; Hafez, 2002 ; Schlesinger, Mowlana, 1993 ; Middle East Report, 1993 ; Middle East Journal, 2000 ; Sakr, 2001) qui, par exemple, ont traité d..

Le conflit Israélo-Palestinien : médias occidentaux, « revendications de vérité » et antisionisme

À partir de l’analyse de la couverture médiatique d’événements individuels, il est possible de démontrer des biais réciproques. Il faudrait plutôt partir d’une analyse systématique d’un échantillon aussi représentatif que possible. Les analystes anglo-saxons des médias anglophones montrent que, là où il y a un biais pour ou contre Israël ou la cause palestinienne, ces médias penchent plutôt du côté israélien, même si la marge de préférence s’est réduite sur une période de 25 ans. Du point de vue méthodologique, ces études sont fondées soit sur la revendication d’une vérité qui démontrerait la nature fautive ou lacunaire des comptes rendus médiatiques, soit sur la démonstration de l’exclusion d’opinions pertinentes, ce qui ferait d’une partialité incompatible avec le devoir de représentativité. Pour des raisons historiques, le biais en question se lie potentiellement à la légitimation de l’État d’Israël, donc à la relation controversée entre l’antisionisme et l’antisémitisme.The analysis of the media coverage of individual events easily leads to the assertion of opposite biases. It is preferable to start from the systematic analysis of a sample as representative as possible. Anglo-US analyses of English language media show that where there is bias for or against Israel or the Palestinian cause, these media have tended to favour the Israeli side, even if the margin of preference has been reduced over the last 25 years. Methodologically, these studies are based either on a truth claim that is held to show how the media version of events is partial or incorrect, or on the demonstration of exclusion of relevant points of view, which shows a lack of representative coverage, basic to media performance. For historical reasons, this type of bias is potentially linked to the legitimacy of the state of Israel, and therefore to the controversial relationship between anti-zionism and anti-semitism

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Chloroplast Dna Restriction Site Data At Higher Taxonomic Levels: An Example From The Asteraceae

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137492/1/evo04314.pd