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Biocosm: The New Scientific Theory of Evolution: Intelligent Life Is the Architect of the Universe by James N. Gardner
Publisher's Biocosm challenges both sides of the controversy over evolution and creationism. This carefully reasoned book proposes that life and intelligence have not emerged as a series of random accidents, as Darwinists like Stephen Jay Gould have maintained, but are hardwired into the cycle of cosmic creation, evolution, death, and rebirth. Gardner's theory of an exponential coevolution of biological and electronic intelligence, designed and directed, offers an extraordinary vision of a universe of point and purpose.
Hardcover
First published July 17, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 13, 2014
The premise of Biocosm is that the universe is oddly life-friendly for scientifically sound reasons that do not include God.
Biocosm is a challenging read. Gardner likes technical terminology and tends to get carried away with it. Thankfully, he appended an excellent glossary to assist the layman. He is also versed in a wide range of exotic subjects, and his synthesis of ideas from disparate sources is interesting, and lends a measure of excitement to his theory as one built "on the shoulders of giants." He quotes those giants profusely and, and while those quotations are useful and often easier to grasp than his own musings, Biocosm would have been a MUCH shorter book if it had been Gardner's words only.
Gardner presents his Selfish Biocosm hypothesis fully intending to show that we can explain the emergence of life and intelligence without falling back on misplaced belief in a creator or supreme being, and, in his mind, he accomplishes this. From my perspective as a religious believer, he "succeeds" only by allowing for what I would call "God" in his theory. He meticulously avoids confessing this outright (and perhaps honestly can't see the forest for the trees), but we see God referenced obliquely throughout. Here are a few examples (SPOILER ALERT; sorry--it is long):
"the physical laws and constants of nature are cunningly structured..." (by whom?)
"the laws of the universe have been engineered..." (by whom?)
" every atom of cosmic dust is vitaly infused with a life-generating force..." (Mormons call this the Light of Christ.)
"God has put a secret art into the forces of Nature..." (quoting Kant)
"...having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms..." (quoting Darwin)
"...the universe must have known we were coming..." (quoting Freeman Dyson. It takes a Mind to know something.)
"I do not make a distinction between mind and God." (quoting Dyson)
"Any sufficiently advanced ETI is indistinguishable from God." (quoting Schermer)
"The most straightforward explanation for the astonishing array of life-friendly coincidences embedded in the laws and constants of nature was that a superintellect located somewhere in space and time had somehow deliberately engineered the laws of physics to make it possible for carbon-based life and intelligence to evolve." (A superintellect ... hmmmm.)
"A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology..." (quoting Hoyle. There's that interfering superintellect again.)
"The very comprehensibility of the universe to the human mind might be a subtle clue that the universe was, in fact, designed by minds basically similar to our own." (Humans that were "made in God's image" would have that basic similarity.)
"The world around us was created by something like us, and is structured, as if deliberately, to produce us and nurture us." (quoting Louis Crane. Sounds like something God would "deliberately" do.)
"According to the Selfish Biocosm hypothesis, the appearance of human-level and vastly higher intelligence is a highly robust phenomenon, virtually foreordained by the basic laws of physics." (Foreordained is an appealing word. The existence of laws suggests a law-giver.)
"What Teilhard calls radial energy, Kauffman would call the universe’s innate propensity for self-organization, its irrepressible instinct for order." (Again, this is what Mormons might call the Light of Christ. I don't think I've ever seen a plausible definition of instinct that does not include the idea of intelligent design by Someone.)
"Through conscious beings the universe has generated self-awareness. This can be no trivial detail, no minor byproduct of mindless, purposeless forces. We are truly meant to be here." (quoting Paul Davies. Not mindless; not without purpose. Hence, not without a Creator.)
"The Selfish Biocosm hypothesis takes this analysis to a new level and suggests that broad-based altruism is, in effect, a cosmic necessity.... Only a "selfish" biocosm that is, paradoxically, capable of the most profound act of altruism imaginable would satisfy the selectional constraint logically imposed by the altruistic anthropic principle." (No one makes a better case for good behavior than a loving God. And the "most profound acts of altruism imaginable" are exemplified in Christ.)
"...mortal minds will one day ascend into the intellectual stratosphere that will be the domain of superminds—what Dyson would call the realm of God." (Mormon thought is comfortable with this idea, though many Christian friends find it blasphemous.)
This review is very superficial. I conclude that the book is worth an honest read. Gardner strains for atheistic, scientific persuasiveness, but the reader finds such a wealth of insight that corroborates faith as well as science that it is not likely to dissuade the religious thinker nor convert the unbeliever. Gardner would agree that science, religion, and philosophy will ultimately be circumscribed into one great truth. Biocosm will make you think.
By the way, if you like this book, you may find "The Lucifer Principle" by Howard Bloom interesting. It is another godless approach to explaining the world that yields remarkable fruit when read from a believer's point of view.
Biocosm is a challenging read. Gardner likes technical terminology and tends to get carried away with it. Thankfully, he appended an excellent glossary to assist the layman. He is also versed in a wide range of exotic subjects, and his synthesis of ideas from disparate sources is interesting, and lends a measure of excitement to his theory as one built "on the shoulders of giants." He quotes those giants profusely and, and while those quotations are useful and often easier to grasp than his own musings, Biocosm would have been a MUCH shorter book if it had been Gardner's words only.
Gardner presents his Selfish Biocosm hypothesis fully intending to show that we can explain the emergence of life and intelligence without falling back on misplaced belief in a creator or supreme being, and, in his mind, he accomplishes this. From my perspective as a religious believer, he "succeeds" only by allowing for what I would call "God" in his theory. He meticulously avoids confessing this outright (and perhaps honestly can't see the forest for the trees), but we see God referenced obliquely throughout. Here are a few examples (SPOILER ALERT; sorry--it is long):
"the physical laws and constants of nature are cunningly structured..." (by whom?)
"the laws of the universe have been engineered..." (by whom?)
" every atom of cosmic dust is vitaly infused with a life-generating force..." (Mormons call this the Light of Christ.)
"God has put a secret art into the forces of Nature..." (quoting Kant)
"...having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms..." (quoting Darwin)
"...the universe must have known we were coming..." (quoting Freeman Dyson. It takes a Mind to know something.)
"I do not make a distinction between mind and God." (quoting Dyson)
"Any sufficiently advanced ETI is indistinguishable from God." (quoting Schermer)
"The most straightforward explanation for the astonishing array of life-friendly coincidences embedded in the laws and constants of nature was that a superintellect located somewhere in space and time had somehow deliberately engineered the laws of physics to make it possible for carbon-based life and intelligence to evolve." (A superintellect ... hmmmm.)
"A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology..." (quoting Hoyle. There's that interfering superintellect again.)
"The very comprehensibility of the universe to the human mind might be a subtle clue that the universe was, in fact, designed by minds basically similar to our own." (Humans that were "made in God's image" would have that basic similarity.)
"The world around us was created by something like us, and is structured, as if deliberately, to produce us and nurture us." (quoting Louis Crane. Sounds like something God would "deliberately" do.)
"According to the Selfish Biocosm hypothesis, the appearance of human-level and vastly higher intelligence is a highly robust phenomenon, virtually foreordained by the basic laws of physics." (Foreordained is an appealing word. The existence of laws suggests a law-giver.)
"What Teilhard calls radial energy, Kauffman would call the universe’s innate propensity for self-organization, its irrepressible instinct for order." (Again, this is what Mormons might call the Light of Christ. I don't think I've ever seen a plausible definition of instinct that does not include the idea of intelligent design by Someone.)
"Through conscious beings the universe has generated self-awareness. This can be no trivial detail, no minor byproduct of mindless, purposeless forces. We are truly meant to be here." (quoting Paul Davies. Not mindless; not without purpose. Hence, not without a Creator.)
"The Selfish Biocosm hypothesis takes this analysis to a new level and suggests that broad-based altruism is, in effect, a cosmic necessity.... Only a "selfish" biocosm that is, paradoxically, capable of the most profound act of altruism imaginable would satisfy the selectional constraint logically imposed by the altruistic anthropic principle." (No one makes a better case for good behavior than a loving God. And the "most profound acts of altruism imaginable" are exemplified in Christ.)
"...mortal minds will one day ascend into the intellectual stratosphere that will be the domain of superminds—what Dyson would call the realm of God." (Mormon thought is comfortable with this idea, though many Christian friends find it blasphemous.)
This review is very superficial. I conclude that the book is worth an honest read. Gardner strains for atheistic, scientific persuasiveness, but the reader finds such a wealth of insight that corroborates faith as well as science that it is not likely to dissuade the religious thinker nor convert the unbeliever. Gardner would agree that science, religion, and philosophy will ultimately be circumscribed into one great truth. Biocosm will make you think.
By the way, if you like this book, you may find "The Lucifer Principle" by Howard Bloom interesting. It is another godless approach to explaining the world that yields remarkable fruit when read from a believer's point of view.
February 1, 2011
Poorly written, amateurish, and unconvincing. Even the book's layout, editing, and production values are amateurish. Not since I was grading high school English papers have I read so much direct quotation; seriously, I believe at least one third of the book consists of others' words. I don't mind highly speculative ideas that verge on science fiction. But someone like Paul Davies writes in that vein with much weightier authority, on a solid foundation of deeper thought, better organization, and more skilled writing.
November 20, 2019
A tese do Selfish Biocosm (Biocosmo Egoísta), apresentada pela primeira vez para a comunidade científica no Congresso Internacional de Astronáutica, no Rio-Centro, Rio de Janeiro em outubro de 2000, é o objeto deste primeiro livro de James Gardner.
Ele vislumbra um estado final para o cosmos no qual uma forma muito evoluída de inteligência social - uma comunidade cósmica - reorganiza os patrimônios de massa e energia herdados da Grande Explosão e cria uma renovação cósmica: o nascimento de um novo universo bebê (baby universe) estabelecidos com a mesma propensão à vida que o nosso cosmos desfruta.
Gardner, a partir dos questionamentos gerados pelo Principio Antrópico e da tese do astrofísico Lee Smolin lançada em seu livro "The Life of the Cosmos" desenvolveu em "Biocosm" uma nova interpretação sugerida em sua teoria do "Selfish Biocosm" afirmando que a qualidade "life-friendly" nas leis físicas que dominam nosso cosmos é uma conseqüência causal e plenamente natural do fato de que vidas e inteligências altamente evoluídas constituírem-se na realidade na máquina duplicadora que é responsável pela replicação e recriação de universos como o nosso. Nitidamente em contraste com a interpretação tradicional para as coincidências envolvendo os valores das constantes do universo cujo favorecimento para o aparecimento da vida seriam consideradas uma restrição seletiva nos universos capazes de produzir vida e inteligência.
Em sua teoria Gardner usa o raciocínio demonstrado por John von Newmann em 1948 segundo o qual qualquer objeto que exerça a auto-reprodução seja ele um homem, um rato ou um universo bebê (baby universe) precisa possuir quatro componentes fundamentais:
1. Um Plano que preveja a construção da prole
2. Uma Fábrica para desenvolver a produção
3. Um Controlador para assegurar-se de que os planos são cumpridos
4. Uma Máquina Duplicadora, para transmitir a cópia dos planos para a prole.
Embora Gardner não refute inteiramente a tese de Lee Smolin que preconiza que os "baby universes" são gerados na fronteira interior dos buracos negros ele argumenta que a tese de Smolin carece dos dois últimos componentes listados acima, além do que, conforme afirmam outros astrônomos, nosso universo não está ajustado para a maximização da produção de buracos negros.
Em seguida Garner parte para a questão se a hipótese do Cosmo Egoísta é testável, pois em caso contrário estaria no ramo da filosofia e não da ciência. O livro descreve quatro possíveis hipóteses para o teste da teoria:
As previsões do SETI (Search For ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence)
A convergência animal na direção da consciência em espécies não-primatas
A evolução da vida artificial
A emergência de uma inteligência transhumana.
Você não concordar com tudo neste livro mas garanto que você será desafiado a reavaliar suas idéias básicas sobre o Universo, teologia e a vida propriamente. Sem esquecer que para nós brasileiros a tese do Selfish Biocosm tem um aspecto especial, pois foi apresentada pela primeira vez no Congresso Internacional de Astronáutica realizado no Brasil. James Gardner é um conceituado teórico e pesquisador na teoria da complexidade e escreve regularmente em revistas e jornais científicos. Especialmente este livro Biocosm foi selecionado entre os dez melhores livros de ciência pelos editores da Amazon.com em 2003. Embora com formação em filosofia e biologia a principal formação de Gardner foi no Direito, sendo sócio da firma Gardner&Gardner e tendo servido na secretarias de juízes da Corte de Apelação Norte-americana e da Suprema Corte. Foi também Senador pelo Estado de Oregon.
Ele vislumbra um estado final para o cosmos no qual uma forma muito evoluída de inteligência social - uma comunidade cósmica - reorganiza os patrimônios de massa e energia herdados da Grande Explosão e cria uma renovação cósmica: o nascimento de um novo universo bebê (baby universe) estabelecidos com a mesma propensão à vida que o nosso cosmos desfruta.
Gardner, a partir dos questionamentos gerados pelo Principio Antrópico e da tese do astrofísico Lee Smolin lançada em seu livro "The Life of the Cosmos" desenvolveu em "Biocosm" uma nova interpretação sugerida em sua teoria do "Selfish Biocosm" afirmando que a qualidade "life-friendly" nas leis físicas que dominam nosso cosmos é uma conseqüência causal e plenamente natural do fato de que vidas e inteligências altamente evoluídas constituírem-se na realidade na máquina duplicadora que é responsável pela replicação e recriação de universos como o nosso. Nitidamente em contraste com a interpretação tradicional para as coincidências envolvendo os valores das constantes do universo cujo favorecimento para o aparecimento da vida seriam consideradas uma restrição seletiva nos universos capazes de produzir vida e inteligência.
Em sua teoria Gardner usa o raciocínio demonstrado por John von Newmann em 1948 segundo o qual qualquer objeto que exerça a auto-reprodução seja ele um homem, um rato ou um universo bebê (baby universe) precisa possuir quatro componentes fundamentais:
1. Um Plano que preveja a construção da prole
2. Uma Fábrica para desenvolver a produção
3. Um Controlador para assegurar-se de que os planos são cumpridos
4. Uma Máquina Duplicadora, para transmitir a cópia dos planos para a prole.
Embora Gardner não refute inteiramente a tese de Lee Smolin que preconiza que os "baby universes" são gerados na fronteira interior dos buracos negros ele argumenta que a tese de Smolin carece dos dois últimos componentes listados acima, além do que, conforme afirmam outros astrônomos, nosso universo não está ajustado para a maximização da produção de buracos negros.
Em seguida Garner parte para a questão se a hipótese do Cosmo Egoísta é testável, pois em caso contrário estaria no ramo da filosofia e não da ciência. O livro descreve quatro possíveis hipóteses para o teste da teoria:
As previsões do SETI (Search For ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence)
A convergência animal na direção da consciência em espécies não-primatas
A evolução da vida artificial
A emergência de uma inteligência transhumana.
Você não concordar com tudo neste livro mas garanto que você será desafiado a reavaliar suas idéias básicas sobre o Universo, teologia e a vida propriamente. Sem esquecer que para nós brasileiros a tese do Selfish Biocosm tem um aspecto especial, pois foi apresentada pela primeira vez no Congresso Internacional de Astronáutica realizado no Brasil. James Gardner é um conceituado teórico e pesquisador na teoria da complexidade e escreve regularmente em revistas e jornais científicos. Especialmente este livro Biocosm foi selecionado entre os dez melhores livros de ciência pelos editores da Amazon.com em 2003. Embora com formação em filosofia e biologia a principal formação de Gardner foi no Direito, sendo sócio da firma Gardner&Gardner e tendo servido na secretarias de juízes da Corte de Apelação Norte-americana e da Suprema Corte. Foi também Senador pelo Estado de Oregon.
January 5, 2018
This book is a psuedo-scientific, pretentious, poorly-written mess. About half the book is direct quotation from other (more respectable) scientists, and the rest is devoted to James Gardner gloating about how great his ideas are--all while failing to present any evidence for those ideas. You're better off reading the original works he quotes, at least that way the ideas presented will have some context and coherence.
April 25, 2015
This book is a not completely convincing argument for a very specific and fairly radical thesis--Gardner's Selfish Biocosm Hypothesis. It rushes through a lot of science in order to make its points and is far from a comprehensive overview of new cosmological ideas. That said, it is accessibly written, and by introducing me to less radical but still unorthodox theories, made me consider the cosmos and our reality in a totally new way. It really does seem likely that we are not just a cosmic accident. So what are we? I still don't think the answer is in ancient religious texts, but my agnosticism has been refreshed.
January 4, 2009
This was worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews