Category Archives: Philosophy

“Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death”, a Review and Thoughts on this Life

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I begin this post in my usual way of attempting to incorporate the science presented in Lane’s book into my own understanding of life. That’s what I do through the first portions of this piece. Then I stray….discussing how I understand the process of homeostasis and what I see as the extension of this, relationship as integral to complexity itself, developing from necessary sensitivity, the ‘awareness’, necessary for internal communication,  signaling, responsiveness and, ultimately, the coordination of internal functioning and cognition, sentience and ,ultimately, intelligence. It is a process of accretion, with increasing complexity. The links between related ‘things’ are then not just physical, they are energetically connected. I’ll leave this now for later.

I’ve just finished reading evolutionary biochemist, Nick Lane’s latest book, “Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death”.  It is not light reading. There are diagrams of chemical reactions, often with descriptions that urge the reader to not get overly hung up on them, the terms and steps. They are not simple processes. One transformation following another, necessarily, in precise order, until removed for other processes, other needs, the remainder augmented by what is required to continue on. Uninterrupted. Billions of times per second. He writes about the quantum hopping occurring in reactions instantaneously. Shared electrons. The flow of protons in the continuous ‘flux’ of life. The processes changing ‘directions’, spinning off secondary products, closing and reopening paths as the cell and organism works to maintain homeostasis, interpreting the seeming chaos of activity into the sustenance of life. It is a ‘story’ of constant metabolic change, patterned and ‘free’, the work of homeostasis that takes place within every organism. There is a lot here I write of not in the book, but which I’ve picked up in my other reading. And, again, I’ll remind you that as an intuiter, I combine ideas, works from disparate sciences and follow my own paths. This is another part of my journey to understanding this world.

His other books have been more accessible, for this reader anyway, but to move ahead in one’s understanding of life’s complexity, one has to have an understanding of the concepts and big ideas involved. Life isn’t magic. Its study can be simultaneously intimidating and fascinating as well as a wondrous process when look closely. I’ll be rereading this one to pick up more bits later. Continue reading →

The Comfort Crisis, Thoughts on one of those books that just resonated

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I have always been physical. There’s a picture of me and my brother, I must have been four or five, sitting on a pile of boulders, on a hilltop. We had raced, which was common for us, to be the first to the top. I won. I’m grinning and my knee is bloody. It didn’t matter. 

I remember another time playing football in the yard with the older, bigger, kids, being excited after tackling one of them, no pads, no helmet, with my well earned bloody nose. No tears. I wasn’t masochistic, it was a sense of physical accomplishment, of doing something, beyond myself. Such events, not generally ending in blood, but having required physical effort, the outcome unassured, became habitual, even necessary…Sometimes I did get hurt, never catastrophically, although, in retrospect, there was some degree of luck or ‘grace’ in my efforts not having ended with more permanent physical consequences. It was a regular testing of myself. These were important learning experiences, a learning of my limits, the kind of lessons that stay with you. Continue reading →

On the Danger of Being ‘Normal’ and Exclusive: The ‘Queer’, Diversity and its Essential Nature

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  • I’m a thematic reader, certain topics appeal to me. My tendency is to dive in when they fit into the puzzle that intrigues me, particularly the big one about life; what it means to be alive; what organisms share in terms of their biological function as well as what connects us…all of us, as a species and more broadly across species; the ecology of life, how we fit together, necessarily; how this life would not exist  were we truly individuals, separate, isolated, independent organisms and how we delude ourselves when we insist otherwise. One book often leads me to the next. Sometimes several. So I read about quantum physics and how as we integrate that into biology, it transforms that science, adds an element of ‘magic’ to it. Neurobiology. Ecology. Evolution, The embryogenesis of that single egg cell into the the dividing undifferentiated blastula, to a mature organism with its multiplicity of differentiated cells, unique tissues and specialized organs. Metabolism. Gender and sexuality. Perception and consciousness, its complexity and variety. Relationship, function, communication, internal ‘signaling’ and ‘switching’.  How concepts of sentience and beauty, language and art, the soul, all spring from the complex act of living…. Integral to it. How species and individuals all play roles, simultaneously in every level of ‘community’ in which they belong/participate, indispensable and irreplaceable, all related parts of an ongoing, evolving, process; one that we are so embedded in that we cannot possibly discern the value of anyone ‘member’s’ contribution, each an element in the larger dance, a ‘process’ which itself, is the point. As Shakespeare once wrote in, “As You Like It”:

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts….

We do not and cannot know the ending. There is none, or rather each ending marks a beginning, any guess that we might offer of an ultimate purpose, of a goal, remains unknowable, beyond the continuing unfolding of life…endless change.. Progress? It’s difficult to say as the earth system collapses and ‘reboots’ over time. The expression of the whole is observable only in moments, in its parts.

The aphorism, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, begins to get at what it means to be alive, that we all depend on each other, connected, related through the dynamic processes of being, the flow of energy and its ‘in-forming’, the translation of matter and form. We are each a unique expression of this process. If we are ever to fulfill our potential, if we will ever be able to discern what that might be, we must recognize these connections. Our individuality is a selfish story we tell ourselves, one that fires our ambition to differentiate ourselves, to put ourselves ‘above’ others, to claim exceptionalism, and in so doing, lose the larger game playing out before us. As ‘individuals’ we are incomplete, hobbled in our larger social and ecological roles, we devalue ourselves when we fail, individuals rather than the ‘collectives’ that we are. We may act individually, even ‘freely’, but our actions will always be informed by both our past and the actions of all around us. We forever linked across time and space, directly by lines of dependency, recognized or not. We are inevitably part of something much larger than ourselves. We are bounded composites, never truly independent, as both individuals and a species, communities integrated into unique wholes. Even our consciousness is a product of this collective relationship. ‘Shaped’ by and shaping the conditions in which we live. The synapses in our brains, responding and working to shape the world around us and with in. We are connected in countless unseen ways, essential and impactful never the less. Continue reading →

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, A Review

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Robin Wall Kimmerer is a botanist, ecologist, a teacher and a member of the Potawatomi people of the Great Lakes region, from whom she learned her people’s particular world view, one once common amongst many indigenous peoples and in stark contrast to that of our present day dominant culture, which has lead us to powerfully shape our our world today. Her three popular books, “Gathering Moss”, “Braiding Sweetgrass” and her latest, “The Serviceberry”, present to the reader a glimpse into the natural world as seen from this ‘alternative’ world view. All three are enlightening reads and not overly technical. They are ‘invitations’ to see the world from a different perspective. The latest is the smallest, a book barely over 100 pages, with large type and in a small page format…a quick read, unless you pause to give what she presents some additional thought. The best, and the one I read first, is “Braiding Sweetgrass”.  Continue reading →

Redmond’s New Community Center/Pool and the Anti-Government Bias: This is What Community Failure Looks Like

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This is the rendering of the new facility’s south entry. It’s the banner on the RAPRD’s announcement of Novembers funding levy for the new facility.

Much of what I write of and post here are topics concerning ‘place’, its centrality to life, including our own. This post is specific and narrow, focusing on a non-gardening, non-horticulture, activity important in my life, swimming. I am recently turned 70 years old and their are many physical things I can no longer do and others I have had to modify, given my record of injuries and ‘weaknesses’ of my body particular to it. I have always ben physically active, craved movement and enjoyed the sensations of moving through ‘space’, of strength and competence, of engagement with….I would run, climb over things in my path, do things to prove that I could, explore the world in front of me; physically, and test that understanding. I enjoyed, and still do, the feeling of being ‘capable’. It is a necessity for me, just as is my mental engagement. It is of the same piece. As I age now, while my physical capacities have lessened, sometimes because of my past efforts, I, like a machine, have been wearing out. But, unlike machines, that physical activity, that stressing and testing of ourselves, allows us to stay capable and strong, a response within limits, to the stressing we subject ourselves to, as long as we get enough rest, have a healthful diet and recognize our own limits.’

I haven’t been able to run or participate in sports that require it, without significant consequence, for quite a few years now. The recognition of my own limits, lead me first to yoga, which I practiced regularly and incorporated into the physical movement of my daily work during my working years. While not ‘slavish’ to my practice, I still do this adding in some specifically core strengthening exercises. When, almost thirty years ago, a local public pool was significantly renovated, I began to lap swim, to help with my upper body and core strength as well as my flexibility. The demands of my work were such that if I didn’t do something, the physical demands of my work, which were greatly lessened during the continuous running around of summer, lead to a weakening of my upper body, just as I would be back to placing it under most demand. As I was aging my spinal anomaly was becoming an ever bigger limitation and I was looking about for solutions. I wanted to be able to continue my work in horticulture/parks and was afraid my career might end with me in chronic pain and incapable of doing the things that gave my life purpose and direction. I overcame the idea of boredom and tediousness of swimming face down in a pool lap after lap, as well as my unease with breathing while face down in water, and both my health and sense of well being improved. I still swim. It has become essential. I know what stopping for a significant amount of time means for me. So when we moved, having ready access to a pool was a top priority for me. We bought a home in a community with a lot on which I could garden, with a view of the Cascades and a pool…at least the promise of one. The pool has not yet been built. Continue reading →

On Healing: Life, Place and Relationship in Oregon’s Great Basin Country

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The massive fault block of Hart Mountain, Poker Jim Rim in the distance to the north. The gravel county road switchbacks up the more than 3,000′ beginning from the center in the distance here. From here this is how you get to Steens Mountain without doing miles of backtracking.

I woke up this morning to the sound of bird song…nothing else. There were Western Meadowlarks and a multitude of others, I’m sorry to say I don’t know, but beautiful and distinct. I was laying in bed, atop our truck, thinking about how rare an event this is for so many of us…not that the birds aren’t here greeting the morning every day, but that so many of us aren’t ‘available’ to hear them, sequestered away safely in our homes, otherwise occupied or, more commonly, the birds literally excluded from our urbanized and ‘modern’ places of residence, their own places developed/destroyed. Entire neighborhoods and cities excluding all but the most common songbirds and passerine species.  Little quarter is afforded most wildlife in modern development…and that upon which their lives depend.  Continue reading →

Weeds, Weeding and the Health of Our Public and Private Landscapes: an example from the ‘hood

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Every gardener is a weeder. Gardens are created landscapes, often expressions of the individual gardener or, lacking of intent and design sense, those of a chosen designer. We live in our landscapes as active, responsible, creators, participants and stewards. Gardeners are trying to create a particular look or to grow particular plants native to their area, or with ornamental value or food plants to feed themselves and their families. Some of us are simply pursuing what we understand to be a healthy relationship with one’s place, to undo the damage and allow a new healthy and vital landscape to grow. These are landscapes of our choice. Our intention and control results in various volunteers and weeds finding their own place and so follows the need for weeding. 

We watch carefully, monitor the impacts of our work, attempt to understand what result is moving us closer to our goal and which might be indicators of further loss. Landscapes and gardens are incredibly complex systems and anyone who claims to have all of the answers is fooling himself and you. Our landscapes are broken, by us and our predecessors. The Pandora’s Box of weeds and disruption was burst open long ago. The only way ahead is to find a new path.  Weeds are here filling the niches we have collectively made and maintain for them. The more one is surrounded by aggressive, well adapted weeds, the more time we must spend controlling them. While this can be significant, gardeners mostly take the work in stride, a necessity to reach our goal, a goal which may be the simple act itself, of working in concert with our place…open to its teachings. Gardening, is a way of life, a smaller scale version of farming and the management of large ‘natural areas’ with their attendant commitment, rhythms and demands. Continue reading →

Notes on Complexity: A Scientific Theory of Connection, Consciousness and Being, Thoughts on the Book

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[My ‘reviews’ are not strictly book reviews. I’m not trying to distill the author’s ideas down into a simpler ‘bite-sized’ piece or discuss their ‘style’. These are my thoughts after having read these books. My attempts to make sense of them, usually after several rewrites, as I work to fit them into what I already ‘know’, an attempt to make the ideas presented in this book, consistent with those which I’ve read by other authors. They include ideas not covered by this author. Rarely, if ever, can you come to an understanding from a singular perspective. This is a link to an annotated bibliography on my Blog of several of the more significant books which have  influenced me on this topic,]

Complexity theory? Do we need a theory to determine what is complex? No, that’s not what this is about. Theise’s book does not layout a system for determining what should be considered complex/complicated or not. This is a book about systems and structures in nature and how they come about. He discusses how mainstream science has fallen short in explaining this and why, the author believes, without changes in approach, we will continue to fall short. He goes on to present an alternative, or, rather, a ‘sister’ approach which can provide a previously excluded way of ‘knowing’, and in so doing, can account for the ‘gaps’. The problems are not just that this is a difficult concept to understand, but that at the most basic, quantum, level, that at which nothing can be divided smaller, where all things ‘begin’, actions and processes do not follow human logic and contemporary expectation….

I remember reading the book “The Limits to Growth” in the early ’80’s, which introduced me to ‘systems theory’, an approach which required looking at all of the parts and actions within a system, consider their relationships and how they work together, in order to understand its ‘working’. A system could be ‘modeled’, mathematically and the long complex equations run on a computer. There were generally multiple possible models to run. This gave us a degree of ‘predictive’ power, but these would always be approximations, because no model could be perfect and every situation, every starting point, would result in a somewhat different ‘answer’.  I followed this with James Gleick’s book on Chaos Theory and its ‘ability’ to explain certain types of patterns, which appear spontaneously in nature, while introducing me to the idea and maths of ‘fractals’. There were multiple  books on ecology which necessarily take a wholistic approach. James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis, published their book on Gaia Theory, a product of their collaboration which began in the 1970’s, a theory of the Earth itself functioning as a self-regulating system, as if it were a gigantic, single, organism of which we ourselves are a part. All of these were related, coming out over a short span of years. These were ‘new’ hypotheses and theories, never before seriously considered by science back then, but now being investigated, their validity, and the answers they suggest, impossible to ignore.

Science often advances this way. Seemingly radical ideas, rejected by the majority of the mainstream…until resistance worn down, their validity demonstrated through thoughtfully conducted and reviewed experimentation, the scientific community then coming around to more broadly adopt them and reshape science and our understanding. (Some argue that this ‘process’ requires some number of the old guard to literally die, younger minds being more free to consider the new.)  Margulis and Lovelock’s ideas were just too far out there for most at the time. For many, such thinking then belonged to the realm of metaphysics, or fanciful science fiction, frivolous exercises in thought and belief. Exploring these ideas, testing their validity, only became possible with the computational capacity of ever more powerful computers and an openness to branches of thought once rejected by science. ‘Game Theory’ and cybernetics played a role in all of this as well. Complexity Theory has far more capacity to explain how matter and functional systems emerge, or manifest, than mainstream science could historically. Nature, through the conditions and forces in play at any given moment, ‘drive’ the universe toward order along with the ‘creation’ of complex structures and functions, at the cost of energy spent, ‘held’ in the new structures and dissipated away as lost heat. All of countless processes linked to one another through a myriad of relationships and the feedback loops which comprise them. The universe continues to evolve, and as it does, it continuously spins off everything in it, from sub-atomic particles to human beings over time, a process which it itself is directly influenced by its evolving ‘self’.

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Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, a Review and Look Into its Consistency With the Sciences

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Long ago I took a couple philosophy classes at U of O; one on existentialism, in which we read several novels and discussed their themes; and another, an upper division, class on ethics, because I was curious…I dropped the ethics class after sitting around the table in seminar discussing particular authors’ thoughts, like Kierkegaard and Butler. Majors seemed to take pleasure in making fun of what I got from them in discussions. Hated this. I still have trouble reading philosophy. It seemed like a game to them in which they argued a position to show off their cleverness, their superiority, the ideas themselves of relatively little importance…while hiding their biases. It must have been so self-assuring for them to ‘know’ these author’s precise thoughts and bash those who don’t get it…or saw something different (like the newbie, me). To quote someone isn’t to understand, it is only miming, presumably in hope of getting a reward. I read for understanding. It’s not a competition. So, this book, “Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will”, taking a science approach to evaluate a philosophical concept, was difficult to begin. The author, neuro-biologist Robert Sapolsky, argues that those philosophers and theologians who claim that people have free will to do whatever they desire or set their minds to, are wrong. This appealed to me immediately. Continue reading →

The Dawn of Everything: The History of Humanity; a Review

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David Graber, an anthropologist, and David Wengrow’s, an archeologist, book, “The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity”, is more than ‘just’ a history of humanity, which would on its own suggest a massive tome of thousands of pages. it is an examination of how we ‘do’ history drawing many examples of peoples and societies across time from the Paleolithic through the colonization of North America. It is not simple reportage, rather a look into the correctness or accuracy, of how we have been telling history. I enjoy such questions and their capacity to rock the academic and intellectual ‘boat’. My reading has spurred the formation of links to two other books I’ve read recently, Stephen Jay Gould’s, “The Burgess Shale” and Pekka Hamalainen’s, “Indigenous Continent”. All three of these call into question previously widely accepted thinking on their subjects. More than this, they question foundational ideas upon which the science they examine are founded. This appeals to me. But more than this, there is an idea central to them all which really rings ‘true’ for me. Continue reading →