Saturday, September 18, 2010

Axioms of Evolution



We have heard many observations and interpretations on the evolution. It is the time to synthesize them to some ultimate laws or axioms that govern the evolution.

Observation of Evolution
The evolution is caused by Random Events and there is No Purpose involved. Events with long lasting qualities remain. Long lasting qualities depend on the environment. Long lasting qualities tend to accumulate when time goes by. This gives a kind of impression of Direction. If this can be called Direction, it has nothing to do with good or bad, superior or inferior, forward or backward, 進 步 or 退 化 etc. Events with very short-lived qualities extinguish and species disappear from the earth. Here are the Axioms of Evolution.

Axiom 1: Regeneration
In order to last a long time in an environment, a species has to grow and maintain its health. It has to absorb energy to grow, renew or restore. This can be called Short Term Existence.

Axiom 2: Reproduction
A necessary condition for a species to grow in number is reproduction. An organ in the nature will eventually wear out due to constant usage. An individual of a species will die out when time goes by. The only way a species can last long is by reproduction. This can be called Long Term Existence.

Axiom 3: Interest
In order to maintain its long lasting qualities, a species must have a drive or desire to improve or enhance the well being of Regeneration and Reproduction. This Drive or Desire is called Interest. Since the state of well being is affected by the environment, the Interest also changes when time goes by. Without Interest, a species will die out eventually.

Axiom 4: Inheritance
The long lasting qualities tend to accumulate when time goes by. Some of these qualities may carry on to the next generation through Reproduction.

From the above axioms, we can try to explain or interpret the following:

(a) Regeneration and Reproduction lead to "Struggle for Existence (物競)"
(b) Interest and Inheritance lead to Natural Selection (天擇)
(a)+(b) lead to Survival of the Fittest (適著生存)

Regeneration + Reproduction: Matter (物,唯物論)
Interest + Inheritance: Mind (心,唯心論)
Regeneration + Reproduction + Inheritance + Interest: Matter + Mind (心物合一論)

Regeneration + Reproduction: 子曰 "食 色 性 也", "飽 暖 思 淫 慾". To an individual, Regeneration (short term existence) has a higher priority than the Reproduction (long term existence).

Interest: Between countries and business circles, there is no permanent friends and there is no permanent enemies, only Interest matters.

沒 有 永 久 的 朋 友, 没 有 永 久 的 敵 人. 祇 有 利 害 關 係.

Interest: How you stand depends on where you sit. (Your opinion and action depend on your position/status in the environment [society])

"An Inquiry into the Nature & Causes of the Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith
Interest governs the economic activities. It becomes an Invisible Hand (冥冥中有一隻不可目見之手) in our society.

World History and human activities are part of Natural Evolution, governed by the Four Axioms of Evolution. Almost all human activities can be explained by the conflicts and interactions among people with different Interests. In order to do Axiom 1 and 2 effectively and efficiently, the people form Interest that generates Political Policy. The execution of the policies forms the History.

6 comments:

Mark Lin said...

In 1798, Thomas Malthus published “An Essay on the Principle of Population”. He said “ First, that food is necessary to the existence of man. Secondly, that the passion between the sexes is necessary and will remain nearly in its present state. These two laws, ever since we have had any knowledge of mankind, appear to have been fixed laws of our nature, and ….”. So in fact, the Principle of Population is based on the Axioms of Evolution since Regeneration & Reproduction are the necessary conditions for a species to survive in the nature. The population increases in a geometric progression fashion, it will outrun the availability of the resources. So the population can not increase indefinitely. We know the fish produces millions of eggs & only small amount of them survive.

To counter the consequence of the Principle of Population, man introduces contraceptive devices & discourages people to have many babies. It is easy to explain this behavior since the Regeneration (Short Term Existence) is more urgent than the Reproduction (Long Term Existence). Before 20th century, the ways to check the population growth were war, disease, hunger etc.

markyang said...

Very keen observations and well said.

Actually, birth control pills are one of the, if not the, greatest inventions by human beings. Nature may never think this was possible. When we were in our 20th, population explosion was the biggest worry everywhere, especially in Taiwan. The slogan was 「兩個孩子恰恰好,一兩個孩子也不少」. Now population shrinkage is the biggest worry in many countries. For example, in Taiwan, they suggest a $NT20,000 reward for the second baby. (why not start with the first one?) The slogan is 「祝妳好孕」.

However, nature will not let men get away from this. Without nature selection, the bad genes will accumulate. Many biological experiments have shown that after 100 generations without nature selection, the whole population will deteriorate into a miserable state. People may live longer, but they will need drugs from cradle to grave. Genetic engineering may be able to replace the bad genes, but it won't be esay.

Mark Lin said...

A species without a desire to do reproduction will eventually extinct. But too much reproduction leads to resource problem. Nature has its own way to regulate this. But man finds a way to do it in his own way. This is part of Interest (Axiom 3) in the working. Man has urge to do sex because after million years of evolution, this gene (love of sex) has been built in to assure the reproduction. But man finds that he can do the sex without actually producing the offspring. This is still a part of the evolution. If a group of people keep doing this (low birth rate) for a long time, they may find that someday the other group with different interest may overrun them. They will either try to reverse the trend or may find it too late and get wiped out. Singapore & Taiwan are doing the same to reverse the trend. In fact, this is equivalent to MarkYang’s statement: Nature will not let men get away from this. There is nothing right or wrong with this behavior. It is simply the work of evolution. If man finds a way to balance between population & resources, he certainly achieves a great feat.

New interpretation of:
人 在 江 湖, 身 不 由 己
In an environment, your interest is subject to the iron rule of evolution---Regeneration & Reproduction.

我 思 故 我 在
我 is a species, 思 is Interest (Mind part of evolution). A species has Interest or act with its interest, so it comes down generation after generation up to now.

Wei Chen said...

The axioms seem applicable to all living species; human is just one among others. Following this, let's consider the roaches. This species has been around probably much longer than us humans, and they are still goning strong wherever the climate is warm. No matter how we try to eradicate them, they have always been capable of surviving and even flourishing. Does this mean that roaches are far superior or fitter than humans based upon the axioms? I know it's humiliating to think humans being an inferior species to roaches.

Mark Lin said...

There is no purpose involved in the evolution. There is no good or bad, superior or inferior in the dictionary of evolution. This is the reason we now use 演 化, instead of 進 化. A species exists for a long time does imply that it can adapt to the change of environment. Can we say a species fitter in the nature smarter? The terms like smart, superior etc are all related to the intelligence. But in evolution, only Existence & Interest matter. Perhaps the cockroach is fitter than human being. But that does not mean we are inferior. Horse runs much faster, bird knows how to fly, lion has more mustle. Are we inferior to them? Good or bad, superior or inferior are subjective. We can say human being is more intelligent because of its brain. Does this make human being fitter in the nature? Perhaps not, some scholars think the human civilization will not last more than 10 thousand years. Why? Because human beings are stupid in dealing with each other due to different Interest among them. Someday they will annihilate each other & destroy the civilization.

StefaniLimZ said...

Kini hadir Permainan baru di Pianopoker.net🤩🤩🤩
Bandar66
Bandar66 merupakan game terbaru yang paling diminati saat ini , buruan login dan rasakan permainan baru yang fantastis yaitu Bandar66 hanya di Pianopoker.net

Dan Dapatkan Jutaan Rupiah Dengan Mudah Hanya Di Pianopoker.net
Real Website, Real Player Vs Player, Real Winner
Buktikan Sekarang Juga Bersana kami hanya di PianoPoker

Raih Bonus Extra Jumbo :
- Bonus Extra Jumbo Rollingan ( dibagikan setiap 5 hari sekali )
- Bonus Refferal Seumur Hidup

CS Ramah & Profesional Siap Melayani 24 Jam
Proses Transaksi Di Jamin Super Cepat
Kartu Bagus (Easy To Winn)
Support 5 Bank Local :
- BCA
- MANDIRI
- BNI
- BRI
- DANAMON

Minimal Deposit & Withdraw Hanya 20Rb
Jangan Mikir Lagi Bos !!
Jalan dan Kesempatan Sudah Ada Di Depan Mata
Jangan Sia-Siakan Kesempatan Yang Ada bos !!
Ingat Bahwa Kemenangan Bergantung Kepada Pilihan Anda.
Jangan Sampai Salah Pilih Situs , Untuk Jadi Jutawan Pianopoker.net Solusimya !!

Link : PianoPoker.Net

Join Sekarang Juga !! Kami Tunggu Kehadirannya Para Calon Jutawan