Order & Chaos
Question:-
Science appears to confine its attention to regularities and laws, but there is a great amount of chaos in the world. But recently scientific attention has been drawn to Chaos which appears to be everywhere - in disorder in the atmosphere, in the turbulent sea, in the fluctuations of wildlife populations, in oscillations of the heart and brain.. There appears to be some degree of lawfulness in chaos and some chaos in the best regulated systems. I feel sure that there is an Islamic version to this aspect of existence. Have you any insights about this?
Comment:-
According to the Quran, Allah existed before creation. Creation is by the Word or Command of Allah, which is Truth. There is birth and growth as well as atrophication and death. There is development as well as degeneration. There are cycles throughout nature - Day and Night being symbols of this.
"Allah created the heavens and the earth with truth. Lo! therein is indeed a portent for believers." 29:44 Also see 16:3 and 46:3
"He has created the heavens and the earth with truth. He makes night to succeed day, and He makes day to succeed night, and He constrains the sun and the moon to give service, each running on for an appointed term. Is not He the Mighty, the Forgiver?" 39:5
If chaos is the original state "X" and order, regularity or Law "L" is introduced into it, then there will still be areas of chaos as you will see if you draw a circle "X" and within it another smaller for "L". We will have an area "X-L" which is still chaos. But the two areas should not be regarded as completely physically separate from each other. There is some order within chaos and some chaos within order. There is a continuous process of separation between the areas. The chaos within the area of order can be denoted by "S" for Satan, who was expelled from heaven but continues to operate in the mixed area.
If we have recognisable objects or systems then this is because these are described by "L". But as there are a variety of these and they interact with each other, we will get chaos. The world we experience is different from the world described by the text books of science. The former is chaotic while the latter is ordered. We impose order not only through thought but also by actions such as art, technology and organisations.
In fact, order and chaos coexist and the balance continues to shift. If we have complete chaos then nothing can be recognised, predicted or controlled. If we have complete order then we have complete rigidity and nothing new can ever happen. The possibility of development implies that there is some freedom. But this also implies that there is the possibility of degeneration.
Evolution can be regarded as increasing order (decreasing entropy) and Involution as decreasing order (increasing entropy). The Second Law of Thermodynamic requires that order should always decrease in physical systems (entropy, disorder should increase). This is caused by the fact that energy is required to bring energy from a place of low concentration to a place of high concentration. The tendency is for energy to flow from the area of high concentration to one of low concentration. This also gives us the direction of Time. The expansion of the Universe ensures that there is always an area of lower concentration.
But Evolution is also a fact. Things do not only disintegrate into chaos, we can also build things. This requires conscious efforts and involves creating more disorder elsewhere. Gravity and other attractive forces also appear to cause a concentration thus reversing the tendency for dispersal. If the Universe is expanding it must at one time have been in a state of high density. How was that possible?
Or else there is a constant introduction into it of Truth, information (negentropy).
It could be that Evolution and Involution are balanced and there is fundamentally a Principle of Conservation of Information. Then involution and evolution would be inter-dependent. All construction requires destruction and vice versa. The physical expansion of the Universe would then be the result of increasing organisation of matter and vice versa.
Perhaps there is a pendulum like swing in balance between these two factors, chaos and order, from one extreme to the other.
The Universe should probably be regarded as something that is a mixture of order and chaos, where a process of distillation or separation is occurring. This produces three areas - one of maximum order, one of mixture and one of maximum chaos and there is motion both ways from one extreme to the other.
However, it is necessary to realise that we cannot know what things are like apart from our perception. The world we see is the product of three interacting factors - the observer, the object, and the medium that affects the relationship between them. The distinction between chaos and order is relative to the perceiving consciousness. This can be regarded as changing, travelling in this, what might be called, "Theological Space" over a period that might be called "Theological Time".
The area "L" is expanding as technology, organisation and education advances. But this is gained at the expense of increasing disorder elsewhere at the social and political level for instance. The expansion of technology is gained at the expense of increasing pollution, wastage and ecological disruption.
However, as every system is part of a greater system, forces coming from higher systems cause evolution at lower levels and determine the balance between chaos and order. But there is also a reverse process where forces coming from the parts ascend and affect the greater system. Forces from the sun, or from the Solar system as a whole, cause evolution on earth. But transformed forces from the earth rise into the Solar system and affect it.
"He knows that which goes down into the earth and that which comes out of it, and that which comes down from the heaven and that which goes up to it; and He is the Merciful, the Forgiving." Quran 34:2
The Solar system, likewise depends on the Galaxy. And so on. The Sun not only provides us with light and heat but also all kinds of other radiations and also materials such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and other elements that increase the amount of protoplasm and lead to growth and expansion of the biosphere.
If we consider the amount of information, order, negentropy or Truth at any given time to be a certain quantity, X. then this could be distributed to produce order of various kinds. One type of order could be obtained at the expense of another. e.g. Psychological order, social order, physical order owing to technology, and environmental order could be inter-changeable. Progress in one place would mean deterioration in another. Psychological or social welfare could be sacrificed to material or economic welfare or vice versa. The increase in the population of higher order organisms such as human beings would occur as a result of reduction in a lower order organisms. But reduction in human population through birth control could result in an increase in insects and rodents. But increase in quality of human beings could be inversely proportional to the quantity of population. Political events such as wars and civil disturbances could be the result of materialism and moral bankruptcy in a much more direct naturalistic way.
Question:-
There is much chaos in Iraq and Afghanistan, caused by US invasion. There is also turmoil in Sudan and also disasters caused by the weather in many parts of the world. All these can be understood in terms of the balance between chaos and order described above. But can you elaborate on the explanation in some of these man made cases?
Comment:-
We are living in relatively primitive times. The United States Government and its puppets, by pursuing their own selfish interests in a stupid and irresponsible manner have certainly succeeded in bringing destruction and chaos to many parts of the world. There is armed resistance, opposition and retaliation as can be expected, causing further turmoil, uncertainty, death, destruction and suffering.
One could say that the Iraqi clerics and others seem rather irresponsible in that they are leading their followers to their death without doing anything to help stabilise Iraq. They ought really to work to get an elected Iraqi government. However, there must be provocation in that the country is still under the rule of non-Muslim invaders. There is really no difference between the Tyrant Sadam Hussain's former Government and the present American Puppet Government in Iraq. In fact, conditions are worse now because the US Government that sent these invaders is foreign, alien and certainly a terrorist organisation that has no concern for Iraqis but only its own interests.
However, we can learn much from this event.
For one thing, it is an interaction between two systems and the result cannot depend only on one of them. The responsibility for what has happened to Iraq also rests on the Iraqis. It is they who allowed themselves to be ruled by a Tyrant before the US invasion. His regime can also be regarded as alien with respect to the people he dominated. Perhaps strong arm tactics were necessary to govern an unruly people.
Islam requires that there should be no compulsion in religion and that every person should be autonomous and responsible for his own knowledge, motives and actions. This requires freedom and free association. The community cannot then be governed by rigid rules, but will be chaotic within a framework provided by a common ideology.
The Quran tells us:-
"Every nation (or community) has its appointed term, and when their appointed term is completed they cannot delay it an hour, nor can they advance it." Quran 7:34
"Have they not pondered upon themselves? Allah created not the heavens and the earth, and that which is between them, save with truth and for a destined end. But truly many of mankind are disbelievers in the meeting with their Lord." 30:8
"Who created death and life that He may try you as to which of you is best in conduct." 67:2 and 18:7
"He it is who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and His Throne (or authority, control) was (first) upon the Water that He might try you, which of you is best in conduct." 11:7
"Have you not seen that Allah has created the heavens and the earth with truth? If He will, He can remove you and bring (in) some new creation;" 14:19
The Universe and all things in it are evolving. This is not a smooth, continuous or gradual process. It involves the arising of new objects or systems that grow, live for a term and die, to be replaced by others. There is construction, testing and destruction.
According to the Quran:-
"Allah changes not the condition of a people until they change what is in their heart." (13:11)
Things are arranged and adjusted according to the nature of people.
That is to say all systems S1 tend to find a state of equilibrium within the larger system S2 that is their environment. Impulses, influences or forces coming from outside, i.e. from a still greater System S3 will disturb the equilibrium. If these forces are gradual then the adjustment is gradual. But if the force is massive, sudden and revolutionary then S1, the people in this case, may not be able to adjust sufficiently quickly. The power of adaptation can be defined as intelligence. It varies. It is obstructed by habits of thought, motivation and behaviour.
When foreign or alien things are imposed on the people that is not consistent with their nature then there are reactions against these. These can be regarded as oppressive forces. There is turmoil until a state of equilibrium is again reached. This means that either the nature of the people is modified or the system S2 under which they live is modified or both are modified to various degrees. But if S2 is modified it will also affect S3, the system from which the oppressive impulses come. And that will have to adjust also. It is also true that the system S1 produces forces to which S2 must adjust and this would involve the adjustment of S3. In other words, there is two way traffic of forces from above to below and from below to above. A community or nation, for instance, can be motivated by consciously accepted values obtained from a single Messenger. This has affect the rest of humanity and the development of the planet.
Today, however, throughout the Muslim world those who have the power and control affairs are oppressive forces - they have little in common with the people, including culture, ideas, values, ideals and goals. The interests of these rulers are wholly integrated with Western Political and Economic Interests which is really the interest of the few who have the power and wealth in the USA.
We appear to be in an age where, owing to the rapid development of science, technology, and organisation, disequilibrium has been caused by:- (a) The inability to adjust sufficiently quickly. (b) Owing to national borders there is uneven adjustment among the nations leading to stresses and tensions that explode periodically. (c) There is a widening gap between values, morality and motives on the one hand and ability and power on the other.
A large section of the people are still in a state adapted to a past era while the ruling group can controls affairs to remain immune from the consequences of their actions and become or remain psychologically primitive, barbaric, psychopathic and depraved. Do they not kill and maim thousands, cause deprivation, suffering, destruction and chaos, practice deception, bullying and oppression, all in their material interests without conscience? Do they not employ criminals and psychopaths as henchmen, spies and agents to undertake intrigue, subversion, lying, trickery and mischief world wide. And do not the whole of the media they control make propaganda, create and select events for information and news, distort, suppress, invent information and use slanted words, to control people and render them ignorant, trapped in fantasy and docile in the interest of this group that controls their livelihood?
It is all this that is responsible for increasing chaos. Satan is rampant.
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