October 9, 2014
Stanford/Accelerating
Asides
Summa Firestorm / Examiner
The Summa Metaphysica Firestorm
Why Atheism frantically tried to undermine
David Birnbaum’s Theory of Potential
June 12, 2014
Why Atheism frantically tried to undermine the Theory of Potential
David Birnbaum’s seminal philosophical treatise Summa Metaphysica (1988, 2005, 2014) achieves the holy grail of academia sought-after for millennia: It unifies Science, Spirituality and Philosophy.
In-the-mix Birnbaum’s seminal work proposes (see ExaminerPurpose.com) a new metaphysical foundation for the cosmic order; it fills-in hitherto elusive gaps in cosmological theory; it has been applauded globally; it portends a new era in academe – across-the-board.
Why then has a small clique of British hard-line atheist academics recently launched a rabid campaign to anonymously undermine it? Independent scholar David Birnbaum’s Theory of Potential has set off a firestorm of anonymous vitriol emanating from the hard-line Atheist community, particularly from a small circle from within British academia which advocates its pet Randomness/Atheistic doctrine.
Summa Metaphysica’s pro-scientific theory of Potentialism – which has now 100% withstood academic scrutiny for over 25 years since November 1988, suddenly in 2013 found itself the target of a vicious and ad homenim attack campaign of almost unbridled and primitive virulence. Curiously, these attacks have been detached from any specific scientific critique – whatsoever. And all the anonymous virulence mysteriously seems to emanate from the offices of several British Atheism-friendly universities.
And why was the vitriol always anonymous? And why were the antagonists afraid to publicly confront the quite-formidable David Birnbaum? And why are the antagonists so-fearful of actual face-to-face debate? Indeed, so curious is the Randomness/Atheistic academic crew which is clearly orchestrating the juvenile smear campaign.
Birnbaum’s Potentialism (see Sequence1000.com) does anchor the metaphysical authenticity of hypothesizing a religious approach to life (Summa Metaphysica volume I, Ktav Publishing, 1988), but the theory also metaphysically anchors a Spiritual life (Summa Metaphysica volume II, New Paradigm Matrix, 2005) – and, indeed, as well, a totally Secular life (Summa Metaphysica volume III, New Paradigm Matrix, 2014). All vector towards one unique and original sophisticated theme proposed by the author from the Get-Go. However, the overall theory, while proposing an underlying dynamic cosmic dynamic of infinite divine potential, is ultimately completely religion-neutral. It neither propounds nor challenges the existence of the classic Divine.
The Summa Metaphysica treatise (see SummaMetaphysica.com) had, indeed, totally ignored hard-line Atheism – which itself negates en toto any possibility whatsoever of any direction or impetus to the cosmos; Theory of Potential proponents on the other hand view this absolutist, hard-line Atheistic stance – with its militant invalidation of any ‘direction’ or ‘drive’ or ‘purpose’ whatsoever to the cosmic order – as more akin to Fundamentalist religious zealotry than to serious science.
Is the Randomness theory simple to ‘absorb’? Yes; it is quite simple: All is random.
Is it sort-of, a ‘Theory of No Theory’?
Is Randomness Theory ultimately serious?
Is it at all scientific?
Was it simply the product of over-intellectualized and self-congratulatory Group-Think run amok?
Has the Randomness/Atheist group (per their absolutism) indeed scientifically checked every last quadrant and dimension of the cosmic order – in its doctrine’s blanket and militant certitude that there is definitely no motivating dynamic whatsoever inherent in the cosmic order? Indeed, does this militant hard-line absolutist Left-wing Atheistic stance not seem to truly mirror the fanatic zealot religious Fundamentalism of the absolutist extreme far Right-wing (itself the favorite whipping-boy of British atheists)?
The ideology of hard-line Atheism, which is supported by the slightest, narrowest sliver of the global population (~1%), has been artificially implanted in academe over the last several decades by a small clique; it has been propped-up as the (sole) politically-correct global dogma by British Atheistic academe. This antiquated Randomness/Atheist schema has been propped-up as a dogma which could only be challenged at extreme political/academic risk by anyone across global academe. But, of course, outsider conceptual theorist and independent scholar David Birnbaum, was not beholden to this formalized global academic club.
In April 2012, Bard College (Upstate NY) hosted a multi-day international academic conference focused on Birnbaum’s Summa Metaphysica /Theory of Potential. The conference sent shock-waves around the world; it was an adroit, effective and, indeed lethal, end-run by Birnbaum and Bard around the British Randomness/Atheist-controlled academic journals and their de facto global academic intellectual blockade. Bard (college motto-“a place to think”) had turbo-charged Birnbaum’s global (see PotentialismTheory.com/ParadigmChallenge/). Bard College itself was subsequently callously and brazenly threatened with academic isolation by the British academic junta for hosting the major conference and projecting the new theory throughout global academe, but that’s a sub-saga. The Conference effectively marked “the beginning of the end” for Randomness (pseudo-) theory, previously foisted on global academe.
David Birnbaum’s Potentialism describes a universe driven not by randomness, as the atheist community purports, but by purpose. That purpose is hypothesized by conceptual theorist Birnbaum (see David1000.com) as the Quest for Potential (shorthand: Q4P). Birnbaum posits that the universe is, by definition, driven to seek ever greater and greater arrays of Potential – and then, ever-increasing levels of Complexity/Sophistication, onward and onward.
House of glass
But notice that there is no mention of the classic Divine in the core Theory of Potential. Why then, the unwavering animus and ceaseless crass vitriol of the British Randomness/Atheists? To answer that question we must consider both Potentialism’s overarching qualities and the ‘house of glass’ which hard-line Randomness/Atheism has constructed for itself.
Birnbaum’s Potentialism does not live or die depending on whether or not the classic Divine exists. Whether the classic Divine exists or not, Potentialism presents a universal metaphysics – of infinite divine potential. However, the antiquated Randomness/Atheistic construct not only cannot support a place for religion, it cannot even reasonably exist in a world where even the possibility of Divine design might exist. And to preclude even the possibility of the divine on any front, British academia has adopted ‘hard line atheism’ which negates even the possibility of any purpose or drive or direction whatsoever to the cosmic order. Critics might say – ‘a bridge too far.’ For, both from an intellectual as well as a strategic perspective, it would almost certainly have been far more prudent for the Atheistic junta to have allowed for at least the possibility of direction/purpose, even if their schema negated en toto the existence of the classic Divine.
Thus British academia had set itself up for total disaster if a non-supernatural ‘direction’ could ever be discerned to the universe. Birnbaum’s Summa Metaphysica discerns such a non-supernatural dynamic – Quest for Potential; Birnbaum’s masterwork – and its centerpiece theme of Potential – checkmates the core assertion of hard-line Atheism. Potential is a cosmic force of nature driving the cosmos forever inexorably with direction and purpose. It is not Random and it is not a Supernatural Entity. Randomness/Atheism had been dead wrong. And the aforementioned Bard College Conference bestowed international blue-chip global academic legitimacy on Summa Metaphysica’s avant garde theory and extraordinary paradigm challenge.
Thus, the entire power-edifice of British academia-Randomness-Atheism, carefully built-up and disingenuously fortified over decades, implodes after a 3-day conference alongside the gentle Hudson River. Via one elegant concept, Potentialism, independent scholar David Birnbaum brings down the entire arrogant totalitarian academic regime and its antiquated dogma which had terrorized global academia for over 50 years via their vacuous schema – Randomness.
Note that this bizarre Randomness construct proposes that the route to high level humans in the 21st Century – tracking forward from the Big Bang thru the emergence of the Elements, primordial star systems, myriad galaxies, supernovas, the sun, our solar system, life, photosynthesis, DNA, organisms, sexual reproduction, multi-cellular life, the Cambrian Explosion, amphibians, forests, reptiles, mammals, dinosaurs, birds, flowers, hominids, homo sapiens, and ever-increasing consciousness/emotion – is just simply the result of random chance and happenstance. We just ‘happened’ to get to this point. Randomness pseudo-theory thus makes medieval Alchemy (turning lead into gold) look like hard science in comparison.
Note that our ‘original point-of-departure’, the Big Bang, is itself ultimately inexplicable by Randomness Theory. The realms of probability are simply not large enough to accommodate its unfolding by chance happenstance inter-related extraordinary sequence-of-events. Even an infinite number of allegedly random universes could not get us near to this point (see Paul Davies’ 2006 book The Goldilocks Enigma). Only an extraordinary dynamic (try Q4P) – with an end-goal – could possibly have gotten us here.
Birnbaum’s cutting-edge Potentialism, describes a cosmos not of chaos and pointless randomness, but rather one of direction. Birnbaum posits that the cosmos seeks the line of optimal realization of potential. That is, the cosmos will seek the most optimally efficient path in its quest for the most extraordinary denouement. The Theory of Potential discerns a teleological (purpose-driven) system of the cosmos – and the very intentional way the universe always moves towards greater and greater complexity/sophistication. Birnbaum coins the term Extraordinariation for the ultimate goal of the cosmos. As such, Potentialism discerns that indeed some dynamic is driving the universe in a very, very particular direction towards a goal. And this dynamic is Birnbaum’s hypothesized Quest for Potential.
The pinnacle British Randomness/Atheist academics had a good game going. Via their control of the major journals they had not only managed to stifle debate and crush dissenting voices, but had been able to erect a back-slapping ‘my-hand-washes-your-hand’ ideological cookie-cutter political club at the very pinnacle of academe; like-minded ‘insider club’ members would bestow honors upon one another, and box-out any intellectual dissenters from ‘the clubhouse’ altogether. Then the anointed of the press would be selectively let into the club house to be mesmerized by the ‘genius-wunderkind-star power’ of the ‘award-winning’ pinnacle academics. Complete departments in Cambridge and Oxford would be co-opted. The incestuous system would feed upon itself. Year after year. The apex player ‘insider group’ British Randomness/Atheists drilled-down into academe globally that the only alternative to Randomness was zealot fundamentalist Creationism. Global academe was thus given a YES/NO choice: Randomness/Atheism – or ‘the outcast, radioactive religious Creationist fundamentalist zealotry.’ Us – or ‘them.’ This ongoing stacked-deck would be foisted on academe for decades.
Then, along comes one guy, one outsider to this closed system, and via one treatise and one 3-day international academic conference ‘ends the party.’ Post-Bard’s international academic conference there was now, indeed, a bona fide alternative. Potentialism indeed provides a pro-scientific alternative to both the old zealotry on the fringe religious Right (militant religious Fundamentalism) and to the new zealotry of the fringe Left (militant Randomness/Atheism). The ‘new kid on the block’ was ‘Potentialism.’ And Potentialism looked pretty good. And pretty powerful. And pretty elegant.
The British Randomness/Atheists had a collective temper tantrum. Destroy this Harvard interloper! Destroy this Harvard boy who is ending our little British party. Destroy this Harvard boy who dares to de facto expose iconic Cambridge and Oxford as Cathedrals of Group-Think. Destroy this Harvard boy who has ‘called-our-card.’ Destroy this yeshiva-educated scholar who dares to simultaneously unify Spirituality, Philosophy and Science. Destroy this hombre who did an end-run around our precious little journals. Destroy this hombre who has exposed us for the scheming-politicos cum intellectual-lightweights which we always were. Destroy this Manhattan guy who has now potentially undermined all our books, lectures, Twitter-followings, awards, knighthoods….and, indeed, legacies. In short, our glory. Destroy this chutzpah-nik ‘New Yorker’ who has exposed our ‘highfalutin Oxford-proper’ egregious abuse of the public trust. De-legitimize him – at all costs. Erase him – if we can.
David v. Goliath
While the British zealot atheists comes out in full scale vitriolic attack – like a swaggering Goliath – intent on de-legitimization of Birnbaum and destruction of Potentialism, the American group does not take the bait. Rather, it comes back like the nimble and serenely confident biblical David confronting the marauding Goliath. This David – and his intellectual allies at MIT, Harvard, Yale, NYU, Brandeis and UCLA needs not respond in kind, because elegant reasoning is the greatest weapon of Potentialism. And in the arena of ideas, Potentialism’s elegance and intellectual power, grant its sword-bearer trump positioning on the battlefield.
Thus the obstreperous Goliath of Randomness is felled by David’s slingshot of Potential. In its ‘death knell’, Randomness clumsily, but vainly, attempts to crush the adroit ‘challenger David’.
Asymmetrical internal power
There is a fundamental difference between hard-line Atheism and Potentialism that is irrefutable. Randomness/Atheism is, by necessity, built on tenuous presuppositions. The core imperative of Randomness/Atheism is that there can be no possible room for any direction or drive whatsoever to the universe; If there indeed is any such ‘direction’ or ‘design’, then the entirety of their pseudo-theory stack-of-cards falls apart. Al their dominoes topple in succession. In contradistinction, Potentialism does not have to gird itself relentlessly against the presentation of any competing idea. Potentialism is a fully-integrated and fully-vetted theory – and its hallmark is its inclusiveness; Potentialism has ample space and place for the religious, the spiritualist and the agnostic. It most certainly does tremble at any and all new ideas.
Potentialism has survived a quarter century of (anonymous) ad homenim attacks from the hitherto apex predator atheist academic junta. Potentialism has withstood its trial by fire and it has come out unscathed. If anything, its Theory of Potential has only come out stronger; the futility and bizarreness of the ad homenim attacks upon it have projected Potentialism across the global stage.
As for Birnbaum himself, he has been unflinching in his conviction in the intellectual elegance and universality of his powerful and unique theory. He has been unwavering in his willingness to debate any and all comers – for the greater sake of ‘the integrity of the crucible of debate’.
Galileo v. The Church
It’s somewhat ironic to think that Birnbaum stands in a similar place vis à vis Atheists, where once Galileo stood against the overbearing Church (the old arch-enemy of Atheism). In their own zealous and bare-knuckled tactics, hard-line Atheists have adopted the worst zealotry and toxicity of the medieval Church – which tried to de-legitimize and then erase all competing thought and ideologies from Europe.
Somewhere along the way British academia apparently forgot that their mandate is the pursuit of truth, and not the zealous and abusive accrual of academic political power – and personal glory. In any event, ultimately reason is ultimate power in academe. That is why Birnbaum can speak softly – and was calmly confident to take on the entire rabid British hard-line Atheistic hierarchy – initially solo.
The core Birnbaum theory
As noted, the core theme of David Birnbaum’s works is that one elegant dynamic and one elegant dynamic, alone (Quest for Potential) both instigates and drives the entire cosmic order (see TheoryCore.com) According to the author “Potentialism proposes that there is, indeed, a protagonist to the cosmic order, but that the protagonist is a ‘quest,’ and not a ‘classic entity.’ The universe quests for its maximal potential. The core dynamic Quest for Potential∞ strives with purpose and direction towards ever-greater and higher potential. At the ‘beginning of time,’ eternal Quest for Potential harnessed the eternal equations of Physics-Mathematics to ignite our universe via the Big Bang. This same symbiotic dynamic – Quest for Potential in league with Physics-Math – then acted as a catalyst for life, evolution, language, emotion, consciousness, and, indeed, for all the key dynamics which have evolved in the universe.”
Over a dozen institutions of higher learning have assigned Summa Metaphysica as a Course Text ranging from UCLA to Brandeis to Hebrew University (Israel). In the past 12 months alone, there have been over 30 feature articles across myriad journals focused on Birnbaum’s Theory of Potential (see SummaCoverage.com).
Reprise
In short, the drive to optimize Potential drives the entire cosmic order. Potential. A relatively simple, but powerful concept, finessed by Birnbaum’s Summa Metaphysica. One simple – albeit elegant – concept then pulls-the-plug on one of the most disingenuous academic political gambits of the last several centuries.
There is indeed a pro-scientific alternative to the pseudo-science Randomness/Atheism. Potentialism.
The Humpty-Dumpty of Randomness has been bumped off of the wall – and has indeed taken a great fall; And, back in so-Royal England, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men are certainly unlikely to be able to ever put the Humpty Dumpty of Randomness back together again.
Summa module
Summa module
Summa 1 Testimonials
Superlaw
David Birnbaum’s Metaphysics:
The Superlaw of Potentialism
By Garem
Q4P > E+: The overarching dynamic of the Cosmic Order
The Quest for Infinite Potential is a ground-breaking, theory of cosmology for the 21st Century. Envisioned by private scholar and metaphysicist David Birnbaum, its principles are laid out in the three part series, Summa Metaphysica I, II and III (Ktav, 1988; New Paradigm Matrix, 2005; New Paradigm Matrix, 2014). See www.SummaMetaphysica.com.
Birnbaum states that the universe is driven by an inherent need to grow ever increasingly more Complexification – more complex/sophisticated/varied/wondrous.
This Complexification (shorthand notation: C+) is driven by one simple ‘axiom’:
Quest for Potential seeks-after Extraordinariation, or symbolically by formula:
Q4P > E+.
This overarching dynamic expresses that the Quest for Infinite Potential (Q4P) in all things in the universe follows a scripted path towards Extraordinariation (E+). E+ itself Birnbaum describes as the ultimate state of Complexification.
Birnbaum uses his coined term of Complexification to distinguish it from mere complexity. (Simple) complexity is an expression of the mechanistic complexity of a system – the workings of molecular bonding, the organic complexity of living entities, etc. Complexification covers both measurable complexity as well as more abstract complexity – human emotion, reason, spirituality, altruism, etc. But the very nature of the Potential dynamic lends itself to be both the foundations of Cosmic Law as well as the Cosmic Drive (see Sequence1000.com).
Potentialism is the central drive of the cosmos. It permeates every facet of existence. It is omnipresent and it is pervasive. From the formation of life to the more abstract formation of reason and art, it’s hand in creation can always be witnessed. Birnbaum states that the universe continually changes and that change is governed by the Quest for Infinite Potential. It is not only a universal, infinite drive – but it is the only drive. There is nothing in the universe that cannot be explained in terms of Potential-driven Complexification. But the very nature of Potential begs the question as to the origins of the laws themselves which govern the universe.
As discussed, Potential not only drives Complexification, but it does so with intention – towards universal Extraordinariation. That much can be seen by simply observing the direction of evolution as well as unfolding complexity on a day to bay basis. From the spitting of cells, to the birth of a child, to the growing, higher reasoning of a developing human. More interesting though, is observing Complexification unfolding within the laws of the universe itself. It begs the question – How is the nature of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology just perfect to allow complexity to unfold as it needs to?
The answer is profound in its simplicity. The laws of physics, like every other thing in the universe, are driven by Potential as well. To put it simply, the laws are optimized because, as a rule of Potentialism, they must be. There was never an alternative because the universe itself, as a whole, must strive towards Extraordinariation. It cannot seek a “near perfect” level of Extraordinariation – that will never suffice. Only one end-goal will do – perfect Extraordinariation however elusive that horizon-goal might be.
If the atomic forces were any stronger or weaker, atoms could not have formed properly. If atoms bonded differently, the necessary molecular structures we see now could not have been created – thus humanity could not have existed. But humanity itself is a necessary stepping stone in cosmic evolution. So humanity had to happen. Potential follows Extraordinariation, there is no runner up or secondary path that will do.
To Potentialists, the laws of the universe are without exception and immutable. They are eternal and unchanging. That is the nature of Potentialism itself. When speaking of great changes in the universe, it may seem this rule can be broken – but this is not so. Think instead of cosmic law like a legal code – a constitution governing the universe itself. The laws themselves are permanent and unchanging. But like humans who draft a constitution, Potential has left the ability for amendments. The reasoning is the same for a human drafted constitution. It is foreseen that, in the future, situations may arise never envisioned when the original laws were drafted. For instance, it the time before molecules, it was not necessary to have a law beyond that which governed the formation of atoms.
As such, the universe leaves itself free to add new laws in response to ever increasing complexity. When the universe gelled below Planck values, physics split and crafted the laws of gravity and quantum mechanics. When temperatures cooled enough for particles to become atoms, atomic laws was born; when the environment was ready for the formation of molecules, thus was born the rules governing molecular bonding; and when human evolution has was sufficiently advanced, thus was born the laws governing art and reason and emotion (see PotentialismTheory.com/ParadigmChallenge/).
It is the pervasive nature of Potential that gives it the ability to hide in plain sight. When something is so intrinsic in the universe, on so fundamental a level, it is easily overlooked. But Potential is both the drive for cosmic Complexification as well as the creator of the laws which govern the universe itself. It is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, the drive of Potential and the distant realization of Extraordinariation (see www.SummaCoverage.com).
Tegmark v. Birnbaum
August 20, 2014
focus: Potentialism Theory by David Birnbaum
Tegmark v. Birnbaum
focus: David Birnbaum’s Potentialism Theory
The ‘Free Lunch’
August 19, 2014
The ‘Free Lunch’
The Independent
David Birnbaum Metaphysics
www.GlobalBattleMeta.com
March 2, 2014
The Independent
David Birnbaum Philosophy
The “0”-Point Portal
April 14, 2014
The “0”-Point Portal
Summa Metaphysica’s cosmic gateway
Birnbaum ‘cosmic portal’ is the metaphorical ‘star gate’ through which our universe was actualized.
By Bryce Lowry on 14 April, 2014 9:44 am in Uncategorized / no comments
Potentialism is a fully integrated metaphysics proposed in the Summa Metaphysica treatise.
A distinctive and uniquely-presented feature of Potentialism is the “0”-Point Portal. Author and metaphysicist David Birnbaum’s “0-point” is his proposed ‘cosmic portal’. As proposed, a purely metaphysical dynamic enters the portal; a physical dynamic – ultimately our universe – emerges from out of the portal.
Birnbaum ‘cosmic portal’ is the metaphorical ‘star gate’ through which our universe was actualized. Intellectual revolutionary Birnbaum transforms ancient philosophical musings into modern-day ultimate hard science and rigorous metaphysics. Like so many other aspects of Potentialism, the “0”-Point serves an overarching, multifunctional role in Potentialist cosmology
The “0”-Point is commonly confused with the singularity of cosmic origin – the super-dense, super-heated point which gave birth to the Big Bang. This is quite understandable, as there is a relation between the two. The singularity at the birth of the universe is, in fact, one aspect of the “0”-Point.
Potentialism is a field conceptualized and concretized by yeshiva-educated and Harvard-educated Manhattan private scholar David Birnbaum. The field was introduced in 1988 via the publication by Ktav (NJ) of Birnbaum’s first philosophical work, the first volume of his to-be 3-volume treatise: Summa Metaphysica I: Religious Man (1988), Summa Metaphysica II: Spiritual Man (2005) and Summa Metaphysica III: Secular Man (2014). In-the-mix, Potentialism also unifies Science, Spirituality and Philosophy.
According to Birnbaum “Potentialism proposes that there, indeed, is a protagonist to the cosmic order, but that the protagonist is a ‘quest’ and not a ‘classic entity.’ The universe quests for its maximal potential. The core dynamic Quest for Potential∞ strives with purpose and direction towards ever-greater and higher potential. At the beginning of time,’ eternal Quest for Potential harnessed the eternal equations of Physics-Mathematics to ignite our universe via the Big Bang. This same symbiotic dynamic – Quest for Potential in league with Physics-Math – then acted as a catalyst for life, evolution, language, emotion, consciousness, and, indeed, for all the key dynamics which have evolved in the universe.”
The outdated scientific/academic/philosophical paradigm is Randomness/atheistic. According to this schema all is random chance – the igniting of the universe, the emergence of billions of galaxies, the emergence of life, evolution, language, emotion and consciousness. They all ‘just happened.’ According to this schema there is no design or direction or purpose whatsoever to the cosmic order.
To explain “0”-Point’s purpose in the Potentialism model, it is first necessary to understand the Potentialist model of the Big Bang. Of conceptual importance here, Potentialists do not recognize the strong divisions between thought and matter prevalent in the older physical science models of the last few centuries. These belong to more antiquated physical concepts associated with the more primitive classical and Newtonian models of the universe. Potentialists, by comparison, adhere to a more unified model of thought and matter pioneered and championed by the elites of quantum physics.
Thought systems
Forerunners of late 20th and early 21st century science more properly understand the Potentialist dynamic of mind and matter. David Bohm is one such example. Bohm is an extraordinary heavy weight in the realm of quantum physics. Bohm actually had the peculiar distinction of having graduated with a Ph.D. without completing, or even starting, his doctoral thesis. His work on deuteron and proton collisions proved so useful to the Manhattan Project during WWII, the US government seized his doctorate work and classified it. Oppenheimer himself would be forced to testify to Berkeley that he had completed his doctorate requirements.
Bohm was not only a pioneer in quantum physics, he also applied the same principles in his research to the concept of thought itself. This led to his research of ‘thought as a system’. Bohm’s research found a pervasive, systemic nature in thought. Bohm isolated the ways in which thoughts followed structures and systems of expression – their inherent shared nature. His work unveiled two very important aspects of thought. Firstly, his work highlighted the active nature of information. He investigated how distinct organism could interchange information freely to form inter-relational networks and structures of ideas. This structural concept gives rise to not only individual thought, but a cognitive aspect to society as a whole. That is, humanity can be seen to move as if it were one organism in thought above and beyond how each individual expressed their own thoughts.
The relationship between matter and thought
The second discovery active information lead to was the extension of this “thought process” to the inorganic. As Bohm expressed it, “the whole notion of active information suggests a rudimentary mind-like behavior of matter”. The “active informational” model of Bohm’s goes far to provide a cognitive vehicle for teleological work from such highly awarded scientists as James Lovelock, who proposed in the 1960s, as a result of his work at NASA, the Gaia hypothesis. The Gaia hypothesis analyzes the apparent regulatory effect flora, fauna and even geological phenomena have on the earth’s environmental stability, concluding that there is some mechanism to help it regulate itself like a living organism. Lovelock couldn’t put a finger on what the vehicle for communication for this “organism” was, but Bohm’s work provides the means of communication via “active information”.
What this all means to “0”-point and potentialism
Potentialists, in line with Bohm’s and Lovelock’s cutting edge work, recognize the artificial lines between thought and matter inherent in the more archaic cosmological models such as randomness theory. As such, while Potentialists and randomness proponents might both say the Big Bang created the universe, they don’t mean the same thing. To those who still cling to the older randomness model, the Big Bang created matter and energy as we know it today.
By definition, the universe is everything. There is nothing that can be expressed that is outside the universe. And anything that even could exist, even just potentially, is still part of the universe – that is to say, there is no time in the future which will exist outside the universe, so something not existing yet is a meaningless distinction when speaking of universal totality. Thus, when Potentialists say the Big Bang created the universe, they mean the whole of the universe – not just the tiny bit of it the older cosmological theories wished to include.
So, there are similarities in the “0”-Point and the quantum singularity. “0”-Point is the birth of our current universe. The quantum singularity that is the beginning of matter and energy and, by extension, time and relativity is all encompassed as a subset of the totality of the “0”-Point, which also encompasses the birth of thoughts and concepts: what is and, as discussed, what necessarily will be.
A quest for infinite potential
The “0”-Point is the unleashing point of the universal Potential – when the universe dropped below Planck values and issued forth, congealing the laws of the physical universe, from relativity to sub-Planck value quantum mechanical physics, to teleological cosmology and naturalistic duality. The Potentialist teleology model is a realization of Lovelock, Bohm and other scientists work towards a universal direction. Potentialists call this the Quest for Infinite Potential, or Q4P.
The naturalistic duality of cosmology is simply a noted quality of universality that Potentialism acknowledges – the observably necessary cosmic interplay of opposition/contrast: light and dark, matter and anti-matter, positive and negative. However, given the necessarily homogenous nature of the cosmos, teleological systems, biological systems and, by extension, conceptual systems must share any dynamics present on a physical level. Hence, the natural duality of the “0”-Point must incorporate not only material phenomena, but equally must incorporate conceptual duality: good and evil, female and male, passive and active.
Thus the “0”-Point is the cosmic point of origin. It is the start of the universe itself. To Potentialists, the universe is not the end result of the Quest for Infinite Potential, just its current expression as it moves infinitely forward to express itself with increasing complexity.
Trajectory/Complexification
February 10, 2015
Trajectory/Complexification
Summa Firestorm / Examiner
The Summa Metaphysica Firestorm
Why Atheism frantically tried to undermine
David Birnbaum’s Theory of Potential
June 12, 2014
Why Atheism frantically tried to undermine the Theory of Potential
David Birnbaum’s seminal philosophical treatise Summa Metaphysica (1988, 2005, 2014) achieves the holy grail of academia sought-after for millennia: It unifies Science, Spirituality and Philosophy.
In-the-mix Birnbaum’s seminal work proposes (see ExaminerPurpose.com) a new metaphysical foundation for the cosmic order; it fills-in hitherto elusive gaps in cosmological theory; it has been applauded globally; it portends a new era in academe – across-the-board.
Why then has a small clique of British hard-line atheist academics recently launched a rabid campaign to anonymously undermine it? Independent scholar David Birnbaum’s Theory of Potential has set off a firestorm of anonymous vitriol emanating from the hard-line Atheist community, particularly from a small circle from within British academia which advocates its pet Randomness/Atheistic doctrine.
Summa Metaphysica’s pro-scientific theory of Potentialism – which has now 100% withstood academic scrutiny for over 25 years since November 1988, suddenly in 2013 found itself the target of a vicious and ad homenim attack campaign of almost unbridled and primitive virulence. Curiously, these attacks have been detached from any specific scientific critique – whatsoever. And all the anonymous virulence mysteriously seems to emanate from the offices of several British Atheism-friendly universities.
And why was the vitriol always anonymous? And why were the antagonists afraid to publicly confront the quite-formidable David Birnbaum? And why are the antagonists so-fearful of actual face-to-face debate? Indeed, so curious is the Randomness/Atheistic academic crew which is clearly orchestrating the juvenile smear campaign.
Birnbaum’s Potentialism (see Sequence1000.com) does anchor the metaphysical authenticity of hypothesizing a religious approach to life (Summa Metaphysica volume I, Ktav Publishing, 1988), but the theory also metaphysically anchors a Spiritual life (Summa Metaphysica volume II, New Paradigm Matrix, 2005) – and, indeed, as well, a totally Secular life (Summa Metaphysica volume III, New Paradigm Matrix, 2014). All vector towards one unique and original sophisticated theme proposed by the author from the Get-Go. However, the overall theory, while proposing an underlying dynamic cosmic dynamic of infinite divine potential, is ultimately completely religion-neutral. It neither propounds nor challenges the existence of the classic Divine.
The Summa Metaphysica treatise (see SummaMetaphysica.com) had, indeed, totally ignored hard-line Atheism – which itself negates en toto any possibility whatsoever of any direction or impetus to the cosmos; Theory of Potential proponents on the other hand view this absolutist, hard-line Atheistic stance – with its militant invalidation of any ‘direction’ or ‘drive’ or ‘purpose’ whatsoever to the cosmic order – as more akin to Fundamentalist religious zealotry than to serious science.
Is the Randomness theory simple to ‘absorb’? Yes; it is quite simple: All is random.
Is it sort-of, a ‘Theory of No Theory’?
Is Randomness Theory ultimately serious?
Is it at all scientific?
Was it simply the product of over-intellectualized and self-congratulatory Group-Think run amok?
Has the Randomness/Atheist group (per their absolutism) indeed scientifically checked every last quadrant and dimension of the cosmic order – in its doctrine’s blanket and militant certitude that there is definitely no motivating dynamic whatsoever inherent in the cosmic order? Indeed, does this militant hard-line absolutist Left-wing Atheistic stance not seem to truly mirror the fanatic zealot religious Fundamentalism of the absolutist extreme far Right-wing (itself the favorite whipping-boy of British atheists)?
The ideology of hard-line Atheism, which is supported by the slightest, narrowest sliver of the global population (~1%), has been artificially implanted in academe over the last several decades by a small clique; it has been propped-up as the (sole) politically-correct global dogma by British Atheistic academe. This antiquated Randomness/Atheist schema has been propped-up as a dogma which could only be challenged at extreme political/academic risk by anyone across global academe. But, of course, outsider conceptual theorist and independent scholar David Birnbaum, was not beholden to this formalized global academic club.
In April 2012, Bard College (Upstate NY) hosted a multi-day international academic conference focused on Birnbaum’s Summa Metaphysica /Theory of Potential. The conference sent shock-waves around the world; it was an adroit, effective and, indeed lethal, end-run by Birnbaum and Bard around the British Randomness/Atheist-controlled academic journals and their de facto global academic intellectual blockade. Bard (college motto-“a place to think”) had turbo-charged Birnbaum’s global (see PotentialismTheory.com/ParadigmChallenge/). Bard College itself was subsequently callously and brazenly threatened with academic isolation by the British academic junta for hosting the major conference and projecting the new theory throughout global academe, but that’s a sub-saga. The Conference effectively marked “the beginning of the end” for Randomness (pseudo-) theory, previously foisted on global academe.
David Birnbaum’s Potentialism describes a universe driven not by randomness, as the atheist community purports, but by purpose. That purpose is hypothesized by conceptual theorist Birnbaum (see David1000.com) as the Quest for Potential (shorthand: Q4P). Birnbaum posits that the universe is, by definition, driven to seek ever greater and greater arrays of Potential – and then, ever-increasing levels of Complexity/Sophistication, onward and onward.
House of glass
But notice that there is no mention of the classic Divine in the core Theory of Potential. Why then, the unwavering animus and ceaseless crass vitriol of the British Randomness/Atheists? To answer that question we must consider both Potentialism’s overarching qualities and the ‘house of glass’ which hard-line Randomness/Atheism has constructed for itself.
Birnbaum’s Potentialism does not live or die depending on whether or not the classic Divine exists. Whether the classic Divine exists or not, Potentialism presents a universal metaphysics – of infinite divine potential. However, the antiquated Randomness/Atheistic construct not only cannot support a place for religion, it cannot even reasonably exist in a world where even the possibility of Divine design might exist. And to preclude even the possibility of the divine on any front, British academia has adopted ‘hard line atheism’ which negates even the possibility of any purpose or drive or direction whatsoever to the cosmic order. Critics might say – ‘a bridge too far.’ For, both from an intellectual as well as a strategic perspective, it would almost certainly have been far more prudent for the Atheistic junta to have allowed for at least the possibility of direction/purpose, even if their schema negated en toto the existence of the classic Divine.
Thus British academia had set itself up for total disaster if a non-supernatural ‘direction’ could ever be discerned to the universe. Birnbaum’s Summa Metaphysica discerns such a non-supernatural dynamic – Quest for Potential; Birnbaum’s masterwork – and its centerpiece theme of Potential – checkmates the core assertion of hard-line Atheism. Potential is a cosmic force of nature driving the cosmos forever inexorably with direction and purpose. It is not Random and it is not a Supernatural Entity. Randomness/Atheism had been dead wrong. And the aforementioned Bard College Conference bestowed international blue-chip global academic legitimacy on Summa Metaphysica’s avant garde theory and extraordinary paradigm challenge.
Thus, the entire power-edifice of British academia-Randomness-Atheism, carefully built-up and disingenuously fortified over decades, implodes after a 3-day conference alongside the gentle Hudson River. Via one elegant concept, Potentialism, independent scholar David Birnbaum brings down the entire arrogant totalitarian academic regime and its antiquated dogma which had terrorized global academia for over 50 years via their vacuous schema – Randomness.
Note that this bizarre Randomness construct proposes that the route to high level humans in the 21st Century – tracking forward from the Big Bang thru the emergence of the Elements, primordial star systems, myriad galaxies, supernovas, the sun, our solar system, life, photosynthesis, DNA, organisms, sexual reproduction, multi-cellular life, the Cambrian Explosion, amphibians, forests, reptiles, mammals, dinosaurs, birds, flowers, hominids, homo sapiens, and ever-increasing consciousness/emotion – is just simply the result of random chance and happenstance. We just ‘happened’ to get to this point. Randomness pseudo-theory thus makes medieval Alchemy (turning lead into gold) look like hard science in comparison.
Note that our ‘original point-of-departure’, the Big Bang, is itself ultimately inexplicable by Randomness Theory. The realms of probability are simply not large enough to accommodate its unfolding by chance happenstance inter-related extraordinary sequence-of-events. Even an infinite number of allegedly random universes could not get us near to this point (see Paul Davies’ 2006 book The Goldilocks Enigma). Only an extraordinary dynamic (try Q4P) – with an end-goal – could possibly have gotten us here.
Birnbaum’s cutting-edge Potentialism, describes a cosmos not of chaos and pointless randomness, but rather one of direction. Birnbaum posits that the cosmos seeks the line of optimal realization of potential. That is, the cosmos will seek the most optimally efficient path in its quest for the most extraordinary denouement. The Theory of Potential discerns a teleological (purpose-driven) system of the cosmos – and the very intentional way the universe always moves towards greater and greater complexity/sophistication. Birnbaum coins the term Extraordinariation for the ultimate goal of the cosmos. As such, Potentialism discerns that indeed some dynamic is driving the universe in a very, very particular direction towards a goal. And this dynamic is Birnbaum’s hypothesized Quest for Potential.
The pinnacle British Randomness/Atheist academics had a good game going. Via their control of the major journals they had not only managed to stifle debate and crush dissenting voices, but had been able to erect a back-slapping ‘my-hand-washes-your-hand’ ideological cookie-cutter political club at the very pinnacle of academe; like-minded ‘insider club’ members would bestow honors upon one another, and box-out any intellectual dissenters from ‘the clubhouse’ altogether. Then the anointed of the press would be selectively let into the club house to be mesmerized by the ‘genius-wunderkind-star power’ of the ‘award-winning’ pinnacle academics. Complete departments in Cambridge and Oxford would be co-opted. The incestuous system would feed upon itself. Year after year. The apex player ‘insider group’ British Randomness/Atheists drilled-down into academe globally that the only alternative to Randomness was zealot fundamentalist Creationism. Global academe was thus given a YES/NO choice: Randomness/Atheism – or ‘the outcast, radioactive religious Creationist fundamentalist zealotry.’ Us – or ‘them.’ This ongoing stacked-deck would be foisted on academe for decades.
Then, along comes one guy, one outsider to this closed system, and via one treatise and one 3-day international academic conference ‘ends the party.’ Post-Bard’s international academic conference there was now, indeed, a bona fide alternative. Potentialism indeed provides a pro-scientific alternative to both the old zealotry on the fringe religious Right (militant religious Fundamentalism) and to the new zealotry of the fringe Left (militant Randomness/Atheism). The ‘new kid on the block’ was ‘Potentialism.’ And Potentialism looked pretty good. And pretty powerful. And pretty elegant.
The British Randomness/Atheists had a collective temper tantrum. Destroy this Harvard interloper! Destroy this Harvard boy who is ending our little British party. Destroy this Harvard boy who dares to de facto expose iconic Cambridge and Oxford as Cathedrals of Group-Think. Destroy this Harvard boy who has ‘called-our-card.’ Destroy this yeshiva-educated scholar who dares to simultaneously unify Spirituality, Philosophy and Science. Destroy this hombre who did an end-run around our precious little journals. Destroy this hombre who has exposed us for the scheming-politicos cum intellectual-lightweights which we always were. Destroy this Manhattan guy who has now potentially undermined all our books, lectures, Twitter-followings, awards, knighthoods….and, indeed, legacies. In short, our glory. Destroy this chutzpah-nik ‘New Yorker’ who has exposed our ‘highfalutin Oxford-proper’ egregious abuse of the public trust. De-legitimize him – at all costs. Erase him – if we can.
David v. Goliath
While the British zealot atheists comes out in full scale vitriolic attack – like a swaggering Goliath – intent on de-legitimization of Birnbaum and destruction of Potentialism, the American group does not take the bait. Rather, it comes back like the nimble and serenely confident biblical David confronting the marauding Goliath. This David – and his intellectual allies at MIT, Harvard, Yale, NYU, Brandeis and UCLA needs not respond in kind, because elegant reasoning is the greatest weapon of Potentialism. And in the arena of ideas, Potentialism’s elegance and intellectual power, grant its sword-bearer trump positioning on the battlefield.
Thus the obstreperous Goliath of Randomness is felled by David’s slingshot of Potential. In its ‘death knell’, Randomness clumsily, but vainly, attempts to crush the adroit ‘challenger David’.
Asymmetrical internal power
There is a fundamental difference between hard-line Atheism and Potentialism that is irrefutable. Randomness/Atheism is, by necessity, built on tenuous presuppositions. The core imperative of Randomness/Atheism is that there can be no possible room for any direction or drive whatsoever to the universe; If there indeed is any such ‘direction’ or ‘design’, then the entirety of their pseudo-theory stack-of-cards falls apart. Al their dominoes topple in succession. In contradistinction, Potentialism does not have to gird itself relentlessly against the presentation of any competing idea. Potentialism is a fully-integrated and fully-vetted theory – and its hallmark is its inclusiveness; Potentialism has ample space and place for the religious, the spiritualist and the agnostic. It most certainly does tremble at any and all new ideas.
Potentialism has survived a quarter century of (anonymous) ad homenim attacks from the hitherto apex predator atheist academic junta. Potentialism has withstood its trial by fire and it has come out unscathed. If anything, its Theory of Potential has only come out stronger; the futility and bizarreness of the ad homenim attacks upon it have projected Potentialism across the global stage.
As for Birnbaum himself, he has been unflinching in his conviction in the intellectual elegance and universality of his powerful and unique theory. He has been unwavering in his willingness to debate any and all comers – for the greater sake of ‘the integrity of the crucible of debate’.
Galileo v. The Church
It’s somewhat ironic to think that Birnbaum stands in a similar place vis à vis Atheists, where once Galileo stood against the overbearing Church (the old arch-enemy of Atheism). In their own zealous and bare-knuckled tactics, hard-line Atheists have adopted the worst zealotry and toxicity of the medieval Church – which tried to de-legitimize and then erase all competing thought and ideologies from Europe.
Somewhere along the way British academia apparently forgot that their mandate is the pursuit of truth, and not the zealous and abusive accrual of academic political power – and personal glory. In any event, ultimately reason is ultimate power in academe. That is why Birnbaum can speak softly – and was calmly confident to take on the entire rabid British hard-line Atheistic hierarchy – initially solo.
The core Birnbaum theory
As noted, the core theme of David Birnbaum’s works is that one elegant dynamic and one elegant dynamic, alone (Quest for Potential) both instigates and drives the entire cosmic order (see TheoryCore.com) According to the author “Potentialism proposes that there is, indeed, a protagonist to the cosmic order, but that the protagonist is a ‘quest,’ and not a ‘classic entity.’ The universe quests for its maximal potential. The core dynamic Quest for Potential∞ strives with purpose and direction towards ever-greater and higher potential. At the ‘beginning of time,’ eternal Quest for Potential harnessed the eternal equations of Physics-Mathematics to ignite our universe via the Big Bang. This same symbiotic dynamic – Quest for Potential in league with Physics-Math – then acted as a catalyst for life, evolution, language, emotion, consciousness, and, indeed, for all the key dynamics which have evolved in the universe.”
Over a dozen institutions of higher learning have assigned Summa Metaphysica as a Course Text ranging from UCLA to Brandeis to Hebrew University (Israel). In the past 12 months alone, there have been over 30 feature articles across myriad journals focused on Birnbaum’s Theory of Potential (see SummaCoverage.com).
Reprise
In short, the drive to optimize Potential drives the entire cosmic order. Potential. A relatively simple, but powerful concept, finessed by Birnbaum’s Summa Metaphysica. One simple – albeit elegant – concept then pulls-the-plug on one of the most disingenuous academic political gambits of the last several centuries.
There is indeed a pro-scientific alternative to the pseudo-science Randomness/Atheism. Potentialism.
The Humpty-Dumpty of Randomness has been bumped off of the wall – and has indeed taken a great fall; And, back in so-Royal England, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men are certainly unlikely to be able to ever put the Humpty Dumpty of Randomness back together again.
Summa module
Summa module
Summa 1 Testimonials
Superlaw
David Birnbaum’s Metaphysics:
The Superlaw of Potentialism
By Garem
Q4P > E+: The overarching dynamic of the Cosmic Order
The Quest for Infinite Potential is a ground-breaking, theory of cosmology for the 21st Century. Envisioned by private scholar and metaphysicist David Birnbaum, its principles are laid out in the three part series, Summa Metaphysica I, II and III (Ktav, 1988; New Paradigm Matrix, 2005; New Paradigm Matrix, 2014). See www.SummaMetaphysica.com.
Birnbaum states that the universe is driven by an inherent need to grow ever increasingly more Complexification – more complex/sophisticated/varied/wondrous.
This Complexification (shorthand notation: C+) is driven by one simple ‘axiom’:
Quest for Potential seeks-after Extraordinariation, or symbolically by formula:
Q4P > E+.
This overarching dynamic expresses that the Quest for Infinite Potential (Q4P) in all things in the universe follows a scripted path towards Extraordinariation (E+). E+ itself Birnbaum describes as the ultimate state of Complexification.
Birnbaum uses his coined term of Complexification to distinguish it from mere complexity. (Simple) complexity is an expression of the mechanistic complexity of a system – the workings of molecular bonding, the organic complexity of living entities, etc. Complexification covers both measurable complexity as well as more abstract complexity – human emotion, reason, spirituality, altruism, etc. But the very nature of the Potential dynamic lends itself to be both the foundations of Cosmic Law as well as the Cosmic Drive (see Sequence1000.com).
Potentialism is the central drive of the cosmos. It permeates every facet of existence. It is omnipresent and it is pervasive. From the formation of life to the more abstract formation of reason and art, it’s hand in creation can always be witnessed. Birnbaum states that the universe continually changes and that change is governed by the Quest for Infinite Potential. It is not only a universal, infinite drive – but it is the only drive. There is nothing in the universe that cannot be explained in terms of Potential-driven Complexification. But the very nature of Potential begs the question as to the origins of the laws themselves which govern the universe.
As discussed, Potential not only drives Complexification, but it does so with intention – towards universal Extraordinariation. That much can be seen by simply observing the direction of evolution as well as unfolding complexity on a day to bay basis. From the spitting of cells, to the birth of a child, to the growing, higher reasoning of a developing human. More interesting though, is observing Complexification unfolding within the laws of the universe itself. It begs the question – How is the nature of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology just perfect to allow complexity to unfold as it needs to?
The answer is profound in its simplicity. The laws of physics, like every other thing in the universe, are driven by Potential as well. To put it simply, the laws are optimized because, as a rule of Potentialism, they must be. There was never an alternative because the universe itself, as a whole, must strive towards Extraordinariation. It cannot seek a “near perfect” level of Extraordinariation – that will never suffice. Only one end-goal will do – perfect Extraordinariation however elusive that horizon-goal might be.
If the atomic forces were any stronger or weaker, atoms could not have formed properly. If atoms bonded differently, the necessary molecular structures we see now could not have been created – thus humanity could not have existed. But humanity itself is a necessary stepping stone in cosmic evolution. So humanity had to happen. Potential follows Extraordinariation, there is no runner up or secondary path that will do.
To Potentialists, the laws of the universe are without exception and immutable. They are eternal and unchanging. That is the nature of Potentialism itself. When speaking of great changes in the universe, it may seem this rule can be broken – but this is not so. Think instead of cosmic law like a legal code – a constitution governing the universe itself. The laws themselves are permanent and unchanging. But like humans who draft a constitution, Potential has left the ability for amendments. The reasoning is the same for a human drafted constitution. It is foreseen that, in the future, situations may arise never envisioned when the original laws were drafted. For instance, it the time before molecules, it was not necessary to have a law beyond that which governed the formation of atoms.
As such, the universe leaves itself free to add new laws in response to ever increasing complexity. When the universe gelled below Planck values, physics split and crafted the laws of gravity and quantum mechanics. When temperatures cooled enough for particles to become atoms, atomic laws was born; when the environment was ready for the formation of molecules, thus was born the rules governing molecular bonding; and when human evolution has was sufficiently advanced, thus was born the laws governing art and reason and emotion (see PotentialismTheory.com/ParadigmChallenge/).
It is the pervasive nature of Potential that gives it the ability to hide in plain sight. When something is so intrinsic in the universe, on so fundamental a level, it is easily overlooked. But Potential is both the drive for cosmic Complexification as well as the creator of the laws which govern the universe itself. It is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, the drive of Potential and the distant realization of Extraordinariation (see www.SummaCoverage.com).
Tegmark v. Birnbaum
August 20, 2014
focus: Potentialism Theory by David Birnbaum
Tegmark v. Birnbaum
focus: David Birnbaum’s Potentialism Theory
The ‘Free Lunch’
August 19, 2014
The ‘Free Lunch’
The Independent
David Birnbaum Metaphysics
www.GlobalBattleMeta.com
March 2, 2014
The Independent
David Birnbaum Philosophy
The “0”-Point Portal
April 14, 2014
The “0”-Point Portal
Summa Metaphysica’s cosmic gateway
Birnbaum ‘cosmic portal’ is the metaphorical ‘star gate’ through which our universe was actualized.
By Bryce Lowry on 14 April, 2014 9:44 am in Uncategorized / no comments
Potentialism is a fully integrated metaphysics proposed in the Summa Metaphysica treatise.
A distinctive and uniquely-presented feature of Potentialism is the “0”-Point Portal. Author and metaphysicist David Birnbaum’s “0-point” is his proposed ‘cosmic portal’. As proposed, a purely metaphysical dynamic enters the portal; a physical dynamic – ultimately our universe – emerges from out of the portal.
Birnbaum ‘cosmic portal’ is the metaphorical ‘star gate’ through which our universe was actualized. Intellectual revolutionary Birnbaum transforms ancient philosophical musings into modern-day ultimate hard science and rigorous metaphysics. Like so many other aspects of Potentialism, the “0”-Point serves an overarching, multifunctional role in Potentialist cosmology
The “0”-Point is commonly confused with the singularity of cosmic origin – the super-dense, super-heated point which gave birth to the Big Bang. This is quite understandable, as there is a relation between the two. The singularity at the birth of the universe is, in fact, one aspect of the “0”-Point.
Potentialism is a field conceptualized and concretized by yeshiva-educated and Harvard-educated Manhattan private scholar David Birnbaum. The field was introduced in 1988 via the publication by Ktav (NJ) of Birnbaum’s first philosophical work, the first volume of his to-be 3-volume treatise: Summa Metaphysica I: Religious Man (1988), Summa Metaphysica II: Spiritual Man (2005) and Summa Metaphysica III: Secular Man (2014). In-the-mix, Potentialism also unifies Science, Spirituality and Philosophy.
According to Birnbaum “Potentialism proposes that there, indeed, is a protagonist to the cosmic order, but that the protagonist is a ‘quest’ and not a ‘classic entity.’ The universe quests for its maximal potential. The core dynamic Quest for Potential∞ strives with purpose and direction towards ever-greater and higher potential. At the beginning of time,’ eternal Quest for Potential harnessed the eternal equations of Physics-Mathematics to ignite our universe via the Big Bang. This same symbiotic dynamic – Quest for Potential in league with Physics-Math – then acted as a catalyst for life, evolution, language, emotion, consciousness, and, indeed, for all the key dynamics which have evolved in the universe.”
The outdated scientific/academic/philosophical paradigm is Randomness/atheistic. According to this schema all is random chance – the igniting of the universe, the emergence of billions of galaxies, the emergence of life, evolution, language, emotion and consciousness. They all ‘just happened.’ According to this schema there is no design or direction or purpose whatsoever to the cosmic order.
To explain “0”-Point’s purpose in the Potentialism model, it is first necessary to understand the Potentialist model of the Big Bang. Of conceptual importance here, Potentialists do not recognize the strong divisions between thought and matter prevalent in the older physical science models of the last few centuries. These belong to more antiquated physical concepts associated with the more primitive classical and Newtonian models of the universe. Potentialists, by comparison, adhere to a more unified model of thought and matter pioneered and championed by the elites of quantum physics.
Thought systems
Forerunners of late 20th and early 21st century science more properly understand the Potentialist dynamic of mind and matter. David Bohm is one such example. Bohm is an extraordinary heavy weight in the realm of quantum physics. Bohm actually had the peculiar distinction of having graduated with a Ph.D. without completing, or even starting, his doctoral thesis. His work on deuteron and proton collisions proved so useful to the Manhattan Project during WWII, the US government seized his doctorate work and classified it. Oppenheimer himself would be forced to testify to Berkeley that he had completed his doctorate requirements.
Bohm was not only a pioneer in quantum physics, he also applied the same principles in his research to the concept of thought itself. This led to his research of ‘thought as a system’. Bohm’s research found a pervasive, systemic nature in thought. Bohm isolated the ways in which thoughts followed structures and systems of expression – their inherent shared nature. His work unveiled two very important aspects of thought. Firstly, his work highlighted the active nature of information. He investigated how distinct organism could interchange information freely to form inter-relational networks and structures of ideas. This structural concept gives rise to not only individual thought, but a cognitive aspect to society as a whole. That is, humanity can be seen to move as if it were one organism in thought above and beyond how each individual expressed their own thoughts.
The relationship between matter and thought
The second discovery active information lead to was the extension of this “thought process” to the inorganic. As Bohm expressed it, “the whole notion of active information suggests a rudimentary mind-like behavior of matter”. The “active informational” model of Bohm’s goes far to provide a cognitive vehicle for teleological work from such highly awarded scientists as James Lovelock, who proposed in the 1960s, as a result of his work at NASA, the Gaia hypothesis. The Gaia hypothesis analyzes the apparent regulatory effect flora, fauna and even geological phenomena have on the earth’s environmental stability, concluding that there is some mechanism to help it regulate itself like a living organism. Lovelock couldn’t put a finger on what the vehicle for communication for this “organism” was, but Bohm’s work provides the means of communication via “active information”.
What this all means to “0”-point and potentialism
Potentialists, in line with Bohm’s and Lovelock’s cutting edge work, recognize the artificial lines between thought and matter inherent in the more archaic cosmological models such as randomness theory. As such, while Potentialists and randomness proponents might both say the Big Bang created the universe, they don’t mean the same thing. To those who still cling to the older randomness model, the Big Bang created matter and energy as we know it today.
By definition, the universe is everything. There is nothing that can be expressed that is outside the universe. And anything that even could exist, even just potentially, is still part of the universe – that is to say, there is no time in the future which will exist outside the universe, so something not existing yet is a meaningless distinction when speaking of universal totality. Thus, when Potentialists say the Big Bang created the universe, they mean the whole of the universe – not just the tiny bit of it the older cosmological theories wished to include.
So, there are similarities in the “0”-Point and the quantum singularity. “0”-Point is the birth of our current universe. The quantum singularity that is the beginning of matter and energy and, by extension, time and relativity is all encompassed as a subset of the totality of the “0”-Point, which also encompasses the birth of thoughts and concepts: what is and, as discussed, what necessarily will be.
A quest for infinite potential
The “0”-Point is the unleashing point of the universal Potential – when the universe dropped below Planck values and issued forth, congealing the laws of the physical universe, from relativity to sub-Planck value quantum mechanical physics, to teleological cosmology and naturalistic duality. The Potentialist teleology model is a realization of Lovelock, Bohm and other scientists work towards a universal direction. Potentialists call this the Quest for Infinite Potential, or Q4P.
The naturalistic duality of cosmology is simply a noted quality of universality that Potentialism acknowledges – the observably necessary cosmic interplay of opposition/contrast: light and dark, matter and anti-matter, positive and negative. However, given the necessarily homogenous nature of the cosmos, teleological systems, biological systems and, by extension, conceptual systems must share any dynamics present on a physical level. Hence, the natural duality of the “0”-Point must incorporate not only material phenomena, but equally must incorporate conceptual duality: good and evil, female and male, passive and active.
Thus the “0”-Point is the cosmic point of origin. It is the start of the universe itself. To Potentialists, the universe is not the end result of the Quest for Infinite Potential, just its current expression as it moves infinitely forward to express itself with increasing complexity.
Trajectory/Complexification
February 10, 2015
Trajectory/Complexification