This article is
not about Islam, but readers might be interested in it because it does have
relevance to Islam in three ways:- It looks at a modern idea from the Islamic
point of view, it is an explanation of Islamic ideas in modern terms, and the
idea itself could be seen as applicable in Islam.
A distinction
can be made between Structures and Behaviour and Principles. These three are
inter-dependent and also aspects of each other. They correspond roughly to the
distinction between body, mind and soul Structure refers to the dimensions of
space, behaviour to time, and Principles refer to some other category of
dimensions where such things exist as Laws and the characteristics that define
a thing. The behaviour of an organism, including man, depends on its structure,
but also has a pattern or structure of its own. But behaviour can change the
structure. The structure depends on certain Principles, but also generates
Principles and can alter them.
The behaviour of
entities are of three kinds:- (a) Direct reaction to forces acting on them. (b)
Modification in the structure that act as records of their experiences. (c)
Re-arrangements and changes in order than constitute transformation of the
entity into something else.
Human beings do
react directly at several levels, but they also accumulate memories and often
deliberately learn, cultivate and enhance them by seeking experiences,
exploring, training and education. Experiences can leave various kinds of
memory traces. Some may be compared to lines, points or groups on a canvas,
some form deeper grooves, and some accumulate around centres of association or
attraction. Memories are not static, but tend to change. Some are rigid and
others are more flexible. Some form patterns and some merge together so as to
reinforce common parts while the differences fade away. Some are analyzed into
separate units that can combine with others. Some are built on previous ones.
Memory is subject to (a) certain natural tendencies, but also to the effects of
human imagination controlled by (b) their desires and instincts or (c)
deliberately manipulated to serve some motive e.g. a scientific endeavour. The
search for knowledge and its accumulation often leads to phase changes such
that there is a sudden revolutionary qualitative change. Science, for instance,
has advanced through such changes as have other areas of civilization. It is
also possible to seek or create experiences and memories that will have a
transforming effect on the individual.
Evolutionary
history shows that there is a phase change from (a) physical processes directly
caused to the arising of (b) biological entities that have memories (records of
past experiences) and a degree of self-regulation to (c) psychological entities
that can cause changes consciously. Though this is the order of priority in
creation, within consciousness the order of priority is reversed. That is, they
can think about Principles and this affects behaviour, which in turn can
produce structural changes. Corresponding to these distinctions, living
organisms have three aspects:- a physical existence in relation to the physical
world, a social life in relation to other organisms and an inner psychological
life. These also affect each other. In the case of human beings social interaction
has become of greater importance in their evolution than their physical nature.
This is owing mainly to the development of language and other means of
communication. But as this involves the use of abstractions, concepts and
symbols, it has also stimulated the development of an inner psychological world
of thought and images that can be manipulated by the individual. This ability
is becoming ever more important in further human evolution.
But there is no
direct communication between what one person experiences and another. The
person P1 must translate an experience E1 of an object Ox into words W1 and
transmit them to another person P2, who hears them as W2 and translates them
into experiences E2. If these two persons live in the same environment where O1
exists and learn the same language then P1 will learn to associate Ox with E1
and W1, while P2 will learn to associate Ox with E2 and W2. There will be a
correspondence between the relationships O, E and W in the minds of P1 and P2.
But this does not mean that their experiences are identical. If, however, they
are not in the same environment and do not learn the same language in contact
with it, then there will not be an understanding between them. In fact, even if
there is, the two may process their experiences differently. This will apply
both to the direct experience of the object and of the words.
We now have a
distinction between three kinds of experiences:- (a) Direct experiences through
the outer and inner senses. (b) Ideas communicated verbally between people. (c)
Ideas that are results of the individuals own thinking.
Correspondingly,
there are also three kinds of behaviour:- (a) Behaviour Type 1 (BT1) - A person
may react directly to a direct experience. But he may also react to a verbal
signal in the same way and also to inner thoughts. (b) Behaviour Type 2 (BT2) -
He may think about the experience and consider its meaning. This will also
apply to all three kinds of experience. His actions will conform to social
norms. (c) Behaviour Type 3 (BT3) - He may process the experience still further
and evaluate and integrate it into a system of ideas. His behaviour will then
flow from this internally controlled source.
These three
forms of behaviour are quite distinct and human evolution involves a gradual
change from the BT1 to BT2 to BT3, changes that affect first a few and then increasingly
more people.
According to the
Biologist Richard Dawkins ("The Selfish Gene"), the behaviour of an
organism can be explained in terms of a "selfish gene" - it wants to
reproduce itself. This would keep all species the same but for random mutations
caused by various cosmic and other radiation and causes. Evolution, he thinks,
can be fully explained by the accumulation of selected small random mutations
and no God is required to explain it. But we can dismiss this claim because
genes cannot survive unless they serve the organism and mutations have causes
and are still a creative event.
An interesting
theory he puts forward in the realm of Sociology is that of the
"meme" which is similar to the "gene" in biology. Dawkins
writes:-
"The new
soup is the soup of human culture. We need a name for the new replicator, a
noun that conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission or a unit of
"imitation". 'Mimeme' comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a
monosyllable that sounds a bit like 'gene'. I hope my classicist friends will
forgive me if I abbreviate Mimeme to "meme". If it is any
consolation, it could alternatively be thought of as relating to 'memory', or
to the French word meme. It should be pronounced to rhyme with 'cream'.
Examples of
memes are tunes, ideas, catch phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or
of building arches. Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by
leaping from body to body via sperms or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in
the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad
sense, can be called imitation....”
Although, from the Islamic point of view, one
cannot agree with Dawkins about the selfish gene or evolution by random
mutations, the idea of the meme shows some insight.
There is too
much evidence to show that animals can sacrifice their impulse for reproduction
in favour of the welfare of the community or pack. All individuals have genes, but
they do not all reproduce. Among some pack animals only the dominant pair
reproduce. It is also true that the genes that survive are the ones that give
the organism an advantage. They are a means to an end. If the organism does not
survive then the genes are lost. We cannot, therefore, assert that the organism
is merely a medium by which the gene reproduces itself.
The forces that
cause mutation come from above, that is, from a higher system - the planetary
environment, the sun or the Cosmos. This makes mutations inevitable. The
selection is also done by the environment. But no selection of an advantageous
characteristic can take place unless such a mutation has previously taken
place. Different characteristics may be advantageous in different environments.
The advantageousness of a characteristic depends on the environment and how the
organism uses it. It is an advantage that there should be a variety of
mutations so that a variety of environments can be dealt with. Adaptable
characteristics develop for the same reason. Intelligence may be defined as
adaptability and this requires that there is multiplicity, variety and
flexibility from which selection can be made according to the needs of the
organism and the condition of the environment. Rather than suppose that
mutations are accidental and purposeless one could see nature as intelligent.
Apart from the
fact that natural selection is not random but directional, there is also inner
selection within the organism among the genes, which is not random. No change
can occur in a gene which it does not allow, and the genes collectively
determine to an extent what each will do. There are also dormant genes that
come into play when external conditions, or the motives of the organisms, make
demands on its services.
There is a
controversy between those who believe inherent genetic factors are more
important in forming the organisms and those who believe that environmental
factors are more important. In fact from the very beginning when the ovum is
fertilized and begins to grow, it does so in an environment, the womb, which
affects the development of the embryo, and is itself affected by the processes
in the rest of the body of the host mother. This individual is affected by its
immediate and remote environment. There is always an interaction between any
entity and its environment and the result of this depends on the nature of
both. Each entity is a system within a hierarchy of higher systems and is
divisible into sub-systems. There is a flow of influences upwards, downwards
and sideways.
A third factor,
the efforts made by the organisms, is usually left out of consideration. But
the fact is that exercise causes muscles to grow and other characteristics can
also be extended by their use or atrophy by disuse. An animal may gain
advantages over others because of developments through exercise without genetic
changes. Efforts are made because of motives.
The question we
need to ask is where do the urges for self-preservation, reproduction and
dominance come from, if we admit only dead mechanical forces. Indeed, “force”
implies something which enables”. They must derive from forces that are already
inherent in the matter of which the organisms are composed, but given different
forms by the organization. There would have been no tendency for the elongation
of the neck of the Giraffe unless it had preference for the top leaves of a
tree. The drive for self-preservation may arise from the inertia possessed by
all matter. But reproduction is not required for survival of individuals. It is
required for the species but no explanation has been provided as to how unaware
individuals can have such an urge. Yet reproduction also occurs in the mineral
world where crystallization is an example. Nor does the mere drive for
reproduction require that organisms should compete for dominance or choose
mates which would ensure some kind of superiority. There appears to be a
separate urge for self-extension. The growth of plants, animals and crystals
also shows this tendency. The expansion of the Universe itself appears to imply
an inherent drive.
Organisms are
not isolated, but interact to various degrees, organize and also form a unified
field. Evolution does not depend only on competition, but also on cooperation,
organization and unification.
The idea that
chance can produce the evolution of the Universe or of life rests on the
deliberate denial of God. This appears to be a case of human arrogance in that
it supposes that human beings are the highest form of intelligence and
consciousness and that these do not exist in nature. But there are great
difficulties in sustaining this view. All experience shows that events have
causes. They are not necessarily simple. The nest made by a bird requires quite
complex activities where intelligence is certainly required. It is only if we
reduce the complexity to many separate elements through analysis then each bit
looks simple. But doing so destroys the pattern that gives meaning to each
element. The elements by themselves have no significance and could not survive
except with respect to the whole pattern. In order that chance should exist, it
is necessary to postulate the existence of some fundamental more or less
permanent entities or particles P, and these must be regarded as being in
constant motion M. But if they are, then every time a combination takes place
it will change. There will be nothing stable or permanent. It will be necessary
to postulate the existence of a third factor, a force F, that makes the combination more permanent. But
the existence of F removes chance. “Chance” merely becomes a substitute for
“ignorance” or “inability to calculate”. We now have three unexplained factors
P, M and F. Mass is found to be the same thing as inertia and is also
inter-convertible with energy. The distinction between force and energy is also
very vague. One could possibly combine these PMF and postulate a factor A that
has the three properties denoted by the three factors. But how can the
existence of A be explained. It must either be self-existent or it arises from
something else.
If we wish to
explain existence as coming out of nothing, then “Nothing” is not non-existence
but refers to some unknown X . The emergence of A must also mean the arising of
an equal and opposite factor -A. But then we would have to explain why these
two opposites come into existence in the first place and do not annihilate each
other as soon as produced. This requires still another factor *A. We are always
reduced to a triad. This is because all knowledge is relative and this needs
three factors, two relata and a relating factor. The Absolute cannot be known. And
yet relativity itself is only explicable relative to the Absolute. The creative
factor *A arises from and represents the underlying self-existing Absolute X.
It is the unknown, the “nothing” which is not non-existent.
If we have a
system in complete equilibrium then nothing changes in it. An external impulse
must enter it in order to cause changes. These changes take place in order to
restore equilibrium, thereby neutralizing the disturbing force. Here the cause,
effect and purpose form a circle. The Cause produces the effect that is the
purpose of the cause.
But this is how
the mind works. We do not notice a state of homogeneity. A change or contrast
between A and B constitutes a stimulus and this arouses consciousness. The
purpose of this is to activate us in order to remove the disturbance. The
activity provides a third factor C that reconciles the two others and removes
the opposition. An explanation is an intellectual way of doing this. Indeed,
the idea of force is a mental necessity in order to explain change of motion.
No one ever required an explanation for constancy and uniformity. It is
assumed. Without it nothing makes sense. If we did not have a Principle of Conservation
underlying things, for instance, then things could be arising or disappearing
in a random and arbitrary fashion and nothing could be recognized or
controlled.
We see that what
is being spoken of is ideas about things rather than the objective facts
themselves. This is connected with the way the mind works. It may, however, be
argued that the mind has developed from the forces of nature and in adjustment
to the real world. That is why thinking allows one to deal with the world.
There must, therefore, be a correspondence between what goes on in the mind and
what goes on in the outer world, particularly when, as observation shows, there
is an interaction between the outer and inner world. These ideas may be
regarded as representatives or reflections of Reality. Here Reality means
existence apart from our ideas of it. But this Reality must be understood as
the whole of it, including outer, inner and the interaction between them. The
mind or consciousness and its contents are not unreal. But we can make mistakes
in supposing that something in our mind is outside it or in the realm of
interactions or vice versa. The only things we deal with are interactions or
relationships R, and ideas of things I, rather than the Real things T which are
produced by the Absolute X.
We may,
therefore, speak about units of ideas, their interactions, combinations,
structures and patterns. This applies to the notion of particles, atoms, genes,
cells and all other units. We have a built-in need to think in units and their
interactions and patterns. These units, interactions and patterns are also unit
ideas. We deal with the world through these. Our survival, welfare and
development depends on adjustment to the Real world and this is achieved by
having an appropriate system of ideas which correspond to an appropriate set of
interactions with the Real world.
Evolution cannot
take place in this world unless the total amount of order or negentropy is
increased. This must come from outside, from the greater system to which the
earth belongs. This depends partly on the radiation falling on the earth and
partly on the regulatory mechanisms of the earth itself – namely how it manages
the input into the earth, the transformation processes and the output into the
cosmos. The earth is not entirely passive towards what comes into it. Its
gravitational, magnetic and electrical fields do attract radiation and matter
poured out by the sun or floating about in the space through which it passes.
As this matter consists of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and other elements, the
amount of protoplasm on which life depends also increases. On the other hand
carbon may be locked up on the planet as coal or released by burning to again
produce life. Life is not independent of what happens in the rest of the Cosmos.
The gene is
something that has a self-preservative urge that gives it autonomy, a
reproductive urge, but also an urge towards self-extension that shows itself as
a tendency to unite with others. But it is not the only thing having these
tendencies. It is also found in crystals usually regarded as dead matter. They
also maintain themselves, reproduce and grow. There is a difference of level
between crystal and gene, from mineral to living organism, from the physical to
the biological level. There is another change of level from gene to meme, from
a biological to a psychological level.
Firstly, we have
to distinguish between three levels in man:- the physical, the mental and the
spiritual (or body mind and soul). Whereas the body refers to the physical
structure, the mind refers to behaviour and includes the faculties for thought,
motivation and action, and spirit refers to consciousness, conscience and will.
It is falsely supposed that the mind is located in the brain. The mind most
certainly does not depend only on the behaviour of the brain, but also on the
rest of the nervous system, the endocrine system, the circulation of blood, the
immune system, the muscles and the functioning of every cell in the body.
Consciousness is not the same thing as mind and is much more diffuse. Thought
is wrongly mistaken for consciousness. In fact thinking takes place
unconsciously and stops when one tries to be conscious of it.
Associated with
these levels there are three types of behaviour - (i) Instinctive behaviour
patterns IBP induced through genetic information transmission. (ii) Social
behaviour patterns SBP induced by social information transmission. (iii)
Conscious behaviour patterns CBP induced by conscious information transmission.
One could
propose the name Instons or Instenes for units of IBP; Psychons or Psychenes instead of Meme
for units of SBP; and Constons or Constenes for units of CBP. Whereas
Meme refer to a unit of memory, the psychon or psychene refers to a
psychological unit which is not just a memory but has thoughts, feelings and
urges for action associated with it. It can be built from memories, but may
also be the result of inventions, fantasies, desires, emotions, wishful
thinking, rationalizations etc. The memory bundle is held together by some kind
of force which may be an interest, desire or habit, or some kind of trauma or
strong impression which a particular physical, social or cultural environment
produces. Psychons can be regarded as psychological equivalents to cells,
viruses, and bacteria in the organic world producing various social
manifestations.
We can
distinguish between three types of Psychons:-
(1) Something
derived from and affecting social institutions such as science, politics,
commerce etc. These are ideas that we require in order to live in the world
created by man. We can call these CULTONS
(from the word Culture).
(2) Something
that derives from and affects psychological mechanisms such a addictions,
phobias, prejudices, fantasies, rationalizations based on these. These when
they reinforce each other erupt into epidemics of mass hysterics, persecutions,
riots, witch hunts, civil disorder and less destructively, waves of fashion in
clothing, manners, ideas etc. We can call these SATONS (from the word Satan).
(3) Something
which derives from and affects perception of the real world and depends on the
level of consciousness of people. We can call these THEONS (from the word Theos).
All of them have
a degree of autonomy owing to a self-preservative urge, they can reproduce,
grow, degenerate, die, self-extend, mutate, adapt, combine, divide, organize,
compete, cooperate and sets of them can war with other sets. They can form
clusters with various degrees of integration from loose and fluid associations
to more rigid mergers, and with various life cycles and duration. They can
reproduce, combine, divide, merge, and mutate. They can be induced, altered,
expelled, can cause infection and addictions, and they can be nourished,
starved or poisoned. They may be dormant or active, be pervasive to various
degrees and therefore unobtrusive or they can cause sudden unexpected changes
and cause epidemics. Some may stimulate, activate or suppress others or
manifest only in association with others. They should be regarded as parts of
larger systems which themselves are parts of still larger systems. They are
also divisible into smaller parts.
The purpose of
these notions could be to describe and assess communities and the individuals
in them and the changes that they undergo, and perhaps also to inform policies
designed to bring about more beneficial states.