A phenomenological revision of E. E. Harris's Dialectical Holism

Description

Contents List of Figures Part I: An Introduction to Dialectical Holism Chapter 1: The Need for a New Metaphysics 1.1 The Historical Development of Dialectical Holism 1.1.1 Ancient Philosophy 1.1.2 Spinoza 1.1.3 Hegel 1.1.4 Pragmatism 1.1.5 Whitehead 1.1.6 Gestalt Psychology 1.1.7 Phenomenology 1.2 Process-Phenomenology and Contemporary Science 1.2.1 Phenomenological Methods 1.2.2 General Systems Theory 1.3 Overview of the Arguments to Follow 1.4 Conclusion Works Cited Chapter 2: Harris’s Holism and Contemporary Analogues 2.1 Harris’s Holist Metaphysics 2.1.1 Internal Relations and Process Ontology 2.1.2 The “Concrete Universal” and “Explicative Process” 2.1.3 Epistemic Implications 2.2 Analogies with Autopoietic Enactivism 2.2.1 The Metaphysics of Autopoiesis 2.2.2 Embodiment Theory and Neurophenomenology 2.2.3 Embedded and Extended Theories 2.3 Analogies with Bohm’s Holism 2.3.1 Irreducible Holism and Internal Relations 2.3.2 E and the “Holomovement” 2.4 Towards a Converging Paradigm 2.5 Conclusion Works Cited Part II: Dialectical Holism in Contemporary Cosmology Chapter 3: Dialectical Holism in Space-Time and Particle Physics 3.1 Harris’s Space-Time Holism 3.1.1 Prospects for Interpreting Space-Time as a Unifying Principle 3.2 Harris’s Appeal to Unity and Irreducibility in Quantum Theory 3.2.1 Reductive Versus Synthetic Unity 3.2.2 Entanglement as a Purported Example of a Unifying Principle 3.3 What Does Cosmology Have to Do with Consciousness? 3.3.1 Anthropic Reasoning 3.4 Conclusion Works Cited Chapter 4: The Anthropic Principles of Dialectical Holism 4.1 The Weak Anthropic Principle 4.1.1 Levels I and II Multiverses 4.1.2 Weak Anthropic Reasoning 4.2 The Participatory Anthropic Principle 4.2.1 Level III Multiverse 4.2.2 Participatory Anthropic Reasoning 4.3 The Final Anthropic Principle 4.4 The Teleological Anthropic Principle 4.4.1 Level IV Multiverse 4.4.2 Teleological Anthropic Reasoning 4.5 Conclusion Works Cited Part III: Towards a Dialectical Holist Theory of Evolution Chapter 5: Levels of Complexity Within the Cosmos 5.1 Cosmogenesis (E) 5.1.1 Metaphysical Implications of GST The Universe as a Complex System 5.1.2 Empirical Evidence for E: Towards an Enactivist Cosmology 5.1.3 Implications for the “Law(s) of Nature” Argument from Absolute Chaos 5.2 Updating Harris’s Scale of Forms 5.2.1 What Is a Scale? 5.2.2 What Kind of Emergence? First-Order Emergence Second-Order Emergence Third-Order Emergence Fourth-Order Emergence 5.2.3 A Clarification of Harris’s Unifying Principle 5.3 Conclusion Works Cited Chapter 6: Towards a Teleonomic Philosophy of Biology 6.1 Harris’s Scale of Life 6.1.1 The Nature of Living Being 6.1.2 Agency and Formal Governance Conceptualizing Minimal Cognition and Intentionality 6.2 Dialectical Evolution 6.2.1 Evolution According to Systems Biology The Telos of Mind and Life 6.2.2 Ecopoiesis and Evolutionary Selection The Gaia Theory 6.3 Conclusion Works Cited Part IV: Dialectical Holism and the Metaphysics of Mind Chapter 7: Harris’s Reformation of the “Hard Problem” 7.1 Harris’s Anticipation of an Enactivist Strategy 7.2 Ideatum: The Idea of the Body 7.2.1 Sensorimotor-Enactivism and Affectivity 7.3 Conatus: The Self-preservation of Consciousness 7.3.1 Embedded Persons and Responsible Minds 7.4 Conclusion Works Cited Chapter 8: Bridging Philosophies of Consciousness and Cosmology 8.1 Consciousness as a Phase of Matter 8.1.1 Neurodynamic Field Theory 8.1.2 The “Φ”, Phase, and Scale of Consciousness 8.2 Ontological Individuation: Chasing the Slippery Serpent 8.2.1 Pragmatism, Coherence Theory, and Transdisciplinarity: Towards a Unity-in-Diversity of Nature 8.2.2 Towards a Topo-logic of Phenomenology 8.3 Dialectical Holism 8.3.1 On the Topology of Self-transcendence 8.3.2 Ethical Implications: The Responsibility of Being a “Philosopher” 8.4 Conclusion Works Cited Index