*Does Science + Spirit = Almost Everything?
Can any 200 page book live up to the ambitious goal of considering everything? (Morowitz's title reminds me of Wilber's Brief History of Everything ). Although page 1 declares that 'something new and exciting is taking place in analytical thought, and it promises different ways of looking at philosophy, religion and world view' two thirds of the book only briefly touches on these big picture themes. Nevertheless, Morowitz covers an impressive range of topics in 28 linear steps from stars, solar systems and geospheres to cells, neurons, animalness, vertebrates, hominization, language, philosophy and spirit. The overarching paradigm is that 'emergence' is an inherent property of complex systems which, faithful to his title, inexorably evolve towards complexity.
In my opinion the book reveals a tension between the author's 'rigorous' scientific training which encourages the bottom up 'reductionist approach [which] leads us continually to seek solutions at lower and lower hierarchical levels' and his philosophical openness to top down holistic, big picture world views. For example he declares that a 'clear distinction between mind and natures simply does not exist' and, in the first three chapters he approvingly cites Teilhard de Chardin, for 'his attempt to read something deeper in the evolutionary unfolding of our universe' (i.e., 'the spirit as the next evolving stage').
Morowitz is more at home with physics and the biochemistry of metabolism and cells than he is with macro-biological topics such as the emergence of amphibians from their fishy predecessors. Consequently he devotes longer chapters to microbiological detail and allows spelling and factual errors to creep into his discussion of whole organism evolution. Amphibians are aquatic -not marine! (p. 122) and the Origin of Species was published in 1859 (not 1849). Nonetheless, Morowitz effectively weaves holistic treatment of Gaia, homeostasis and Lyn Margulis's symbiogenesis into his evolutionary odyssey. Where he runs into inevitable difficulty is in identifying exactly which evolutionary shifts are examples of 'emergence.' However, as he states 'emergence is a process, not a thing' and so is often hard to pinpoint. Emergences such as increased diversity of cell types in 'higher' organisms are clear cut in their manifestations, though the emergence process remains obscure. Morowitz invokes 'pruning rules' by which nature 'selects' novel structures, but he confesses they are not well understood or 'numerically exact as in the classic sciences.' They essentially amount to metaphors. I agree, and so take issue with the implication that 98.4% similarity between chimp and human DNA defines a precise quantitative measure of overall similarity. Complexity ain't so simple!!
Complexification is interesting as a dynamic process that goes beyond a linear 'series of frozen accidents.' (p. 83) Morowitz suggests, apologetically, that such dynamic processes do have teleological goals, a claim likely to annoy many scientists, as he is well aware. Moreover, if we were to replay the evolutionary tape of life (as suggested by the late Stephen J. Gould) we would, ( contra Gould) get similar results. I agree: growth and evolutionary dynamics have inherent 'formal' properties of order that create remarkable convergences unexplained by random mutation and 'functional' selection. Morowitz knows this as an inherent part of his thesis, but still relies heavily on Darwinian functionalism and 'fitness' vocabulary.
The chapter on 'the spirit' claims a formal scientific validation of Teilhard's two energies (of mind and matter) in terms of 'Gibbs free energy' equations* and E.T. Jaynes's integration of information theory and statistical mechanics. Morowitz confesses to not always following Teilhard, and I confess not following Morowitz beyond the general 'noetic property' idea that 'in physics the human mind has become a part of the formalism. A probability distribution becomes an event by interaction with a human observer.' Here I am reminded of previous claims to have validated Teilhard's thought through mathematical formulation of Omega Point Theory (Tippler, 1994), which, I note, has the delicious, free will acronym OPT!! Thus Morowitz, like Tippler, gives Teilhard the approbation of being 'closer to the [scientific] solution than he knew. Chalk one up for Teilhard's mystic, scientific insight!
On a simpler note Morowitz admonishes simplistic dialogue between science and religion, painted as a polar conflict between concepts of accident/chance and determinism/design, and diplomatically concludes that the truth lies in between. Discussing the conceptual polarity between a transcendent God (Father), remote from man (son), and the immanent God in natural law ( a la Spinoza) he boldly suggests that 'selection' (i.e., pruning) process leading to emergence is 'the Spirit' (holy spirit). If I follow his rationale, 'our evolving minds are the transcendence of the immanent God' (natural law) and we are a special case of transcendent emergence, carrying with it all the responsibilities of choice and free will: 'we are partners of the immanent God.'
I give Morowitz credit for the scope of his exposition and for venturing beyond mainstream science to the point where he will draw criticism, as he anticipates. An interesting and provocative read, especially for those with a strong rationalistic bent. However, I felt there was something missing. Perhaps Morowitz would enjoy Erwin Laszlo's Grand Evolutionary Synthesis where the hierarchy and interrelationships of emergent structures are nicely mapped out. Such ideas could integrate well and soften the somewhat clumsy, Darwinian selectionism explanations, which I found rather dissonant with the complexity message. So not quite 'everything' emerges from Morowitz's valiant exposition.
Tippler, F. J. The Physics of Immortality: modern cosmology, God and the resurrection of the Dead. Doubleday, 1994, New York.
*A thermodynamic quantity representing the energy that would be released (or absorbed) during a reversible process.
Professor Martin Lockley teaches evolutionary studies at the University of Denver in Colorado.