Coalescence
Coalescence is this idea that I have. It is being explored simultaneously through philosophy and technology, through Cooperative Coalescence on the one hand, and the Coalescent Computer on the other.
Cooperative Coalescence
Cooperative Coalescence is a new cultural operating system for humans. Its purpose is to help humans more easily navigate complexity, and to create a stronger intuition of what it means to be an individual that is part of a larger social organism.
The core arguement of Cooperative Coalescence is that the foundational existential truths that the current dominant culture is built on are incomplete, and since they are foundational they are very difficult to question. The difference between these ideas we believe to be true and the actual truth leads to cognitive dissonance in the individual, and an inability for the larger society to effectively make the changes it chooses for itself.
The Old Truths
The foundational truths that I challenge are:
- The (human) organism is the highest and final organization in the hierarchy of life
- Change is created through a series of causes and effects
- There is a single, shared, objective reality that we all occupy together
These three truths together provide the basis for a worldview in which: (1) an individual human can morally make decisions for only themselves; (2) using a short term cost/benefit analysis based on cause and effect; (3) within a single shared reality of limited resources. This worldview is at the core of the current primary operating system, which is Competitive Individualism.
The New Truths
The updated truths that underlie Cooperative Coalescence are:
- The organism is both a whole being and a part of larger structures in the holarchy of life
- Change is created by the feedback loops of countless different complex systems that are highly interconnected, and circularly dependent
- Human "reality" is subjective and perceived differently by each person
These expanded truths paint the picture of a different worldview, where (1) individuals are naturally part of a larger whole, (2) the interplay between many complex systems guide decision making and understanding, and (3) each person experiences a different version of the world. This is the foundation of Cooperative Coalescence: "cooperative" meaning "working together", and "coalescence" meaning "coming together". Working together to come together. Combining all of our individual insights and understandings to get closer to "the truth", instead of fighting over which single perspective is correct.
The Coalescent Computer
I'm also building a from-scratch computing environment to explore these ideas through a technological lens. That effort has it's own website.
/coalescence Stream
May 25, 2023
/stream /coalescence
Moved some writing from my old website to the new page for /coalescence. Re-reading it now, I think a lot of it will have to be rewritten, but I think it's a good idea to have a starting point that matches the old site.
May 20, 2023
/stream /philosophy /coalescence /information
Explored the ideas of "pattern, information, and concepts" through drafting an essay. After some good conversations, I feel like I've developed some really strong connections between my definition of abstract concepts and the nature of information as "embodied" concepts.