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The Theory of Being: Systems science from a traditional Indian perspective
This book is my attempt to interpret and explain Indic concepts based on dharma, using systems theory-- specifically game theory. This book also details my own journey in re-discovering these concepts, triggered by conceptual dissonance coming from two different ways of thinking or hermeneutics, when we were growing up. The "clockwork" model of Newtonian physics as well as more recent models of quantum mechanics, both treat the universe as an impersonal automaton, driven solely by the laws of physics and causality. I call this "machine hermeneutics"-- which is currently the "mainstream" way of interpreting the universe, taught in schools worldwide. While machine hermeneutics has been widely successful, it still has several conceptual gaps when we need to reason across energy and information. There is no simple way to connect the two.
Dharmic concepts that is characteristic of the traditional Indian way of thinking, models the universe as an abstract entity called "being"-- where a "being" can itself be a system of smaller interacting beings. The difference between this and machine hermeneutics is the way systems are modeled. Rather than viewing systems as impersonal automata driven by causality, dharmic thought views systems as societies of autonomous stakeholders (its constituent beings). Each being itself is not just driven by causality, but also by an imperative to "be" or sustain itself as long as possible.
Being-oriented modeling is promising at several fronts. It not only helps to build models that combine energy and information-- thus reasoning about intelligence and sentience, as well as about mechanics and dynamics in the same model. This book provides a philosophical overview of such possibilities, without getting into mathematical details. Being-oriented thinking, in my opinion, also has important lessons for sustainability and policy-making, especially in the way we approach sustainability.
Dharmic concepts that is characteristic of the traditional Indian way of thinking, models the universe as an abstract entity called "being"-- where a "being" can itself be a system of smaller interacting beings. The difference between this and machine hermeneutics is the way systems are modeled. Rather than viewing systems as impersonal automata driven by causality, dharmic thought views systems as societies of autonomous stakeholders (its constituent beings). Each being itself is not just driven by causality, but also by an imperative to "be" or sustain itself as long as possible.
Being-oriented modeling is promising at several fronts. It not only helps to build models that combine energy and information-- thus reasoning about intelligence and sentience, as well as about mechanics and dynamics in the same model. This book provides a philosophical overview of such possibilities, without getting into mathematical details. Being-oriented thinking, in my opinion, also has important lessons for sustainability and policy-making, especially in the way we approach sustainability.
173 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 11, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 25, 2019
This is an interesting and thought provoking book. It attempts to understand complex interplay of nature and man , with the lens of hindu hermeneutics and epistemological categories. Conflict between a world view where man is supreme, and all other living and non living beings are his resources and a world view where man is just another element in the complex web of animate and inanimate objects that make up the universe, is very well known and as ancient as history itself. An ideology where pursuit of happiness is in more and more consumption of goods and services has been in direct conflict with the ideology where happiness and sustenance are one and the same. In this world view sustainability of ecosystem over very long period is valued over the maximisation of consumption and efficiency of processes.
There has been many in the past who have argued for the sustainability paradigm, without getting in to hermeneutical debates. The Chief Seattle’s address of 1854, books by Ivan Illich ( Deschooling Society, Tools for the convivial world) , theories of Nicholas Georgescu Rogen ( Entropy law and Economic Process) and Gaia school are examples of this. In India , Mahatma Gandhi, J C Kumarappa and their followers argued from the sustainability perspective. Use of the hindu hermeneutics is a novel and interesting approach. But in some instances there seems to be some overfitting of reality in to the framework, especially when it comes to description of artificial intelligence and similar modern tools. Most of the works mentioned above , do not provide a migration path. How do we go from where we have reached using the Newtonian mechanics world view to the world view advocated in these works. What are the transitionary steps? Srinath’s attempt by introducing the concept of DaSa and the ideal society 100 years hence seem to be flight of fantasy , rather than grounded in serious arguments.
Overall this book is a welcome addition to the literature on competing world views
There has been many in the past who have argued for the sustainability paradigm, without getting in to hermeneutical debates. The Chief Seattle’s address of 1854, books by Ivan Illich ( Deschooling Society, Tools for the convivial world) , theories of Nicholas Georgescu Rogen ( Entropy law and Economic Process) and Gaia school are examples of this. In India , Mahatma Gandhi, J C Kumarappa and their followers argued from the sustainability perspective. Use of the hindu hermeneutics is a novel and interesting approach. But in some instances there seems to be some overfitting of reality in to the framework, especially when it comes to description of artificial intelligence and similar modern tools. Most of the works mentioned above , do not provide a migration path. How do we go from where we have reached using the Newtonian mechanics world view to the world view advocated in these works. What are the transitionary steps? Srinath’s attempt by introducing the concept of DaSa and the ideal society 100 years hence seem to be flight of fantasy , rather than grounded in serious arguments.
Overall this book is a welcome addition to the literature on competing world views
August 3, 2019
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
But ‘what and who’ is yourself/ ourself? This is the most difficult question of the 21st century. The quest for the answer to this question has become a mysterious and a fantastical journey of man who has been chosen and designed by the mechanical world driven by Artificial Intelligence to run an ‘Intellectual Race’.
The author Srinath Srinivasa takes us through one such journey – A journey that we have all set out on. A race in which we are all blind aimless runners. For every man the world begins with his first cry on this earth. Srinath, through his effortless simplicity offers a ride to the readers through the passage of time that begins with the view point of a child who adapts, evolves and finally questions himself and also tries to offer answers which are timeless and eternal.
The book is a well-researched outcome of a mind that prods, interrogates and quite simply provides answers to many existential questions by employing simple theories of math and physics, juxtaposed with philosophies of the eternal Vedas.
In a nutshell ‘The Theory of Being’ is an intriguing book that has been specially written for a 21st century reader.
By: Usha Srikanth
But ‘what and who’ is yourself/ ourself? This is the most difficult question of the 21st century. The quest for the answer to this question has become a mysterious and a fantastical journey of man who has been chosen and designed by the mechanical world driven by Artificial Intelligence to run an ‘Intellectual Race’.
The author Srinath Srinivasa takes us through one such journey – A journey that we have all set out on. A race in which we are all blind aimless runners. For every man the world begins with his first cry on this earth. Srinath, through his effortless simplicity offers a ride to the readers through the passage of time that begins with the view point of a child who adapts, evolves and finally questions himself and also tries to offer answers which are timeless and eternal.
The book is a well-researched outcome of a mind that prods, interrogates and quite simply provides answers to many existential questions by employing simple theories of math and physics, juxtaposed with philosophies of the eternal Vedas.
In a nutshell ‘The Theory of Being’ is an intriguing book that has been specially written for a 21st century reader.
By: Usha Srikanth
August 18, 2019
There are a few books out there which can completely change how we think and model the world around us as well as ourself, and this book is one such book!
Most of us perceive the world and ourself in a machine hermeneutic way. It is discussed in detail in the first half of the book. Basically it is a mechanised design where everything is a component of the overarching system and performs its defined role. We may ourself not know how deeply such principles are ingrained in us, and affect our day to day decisions and actions!
In the second half of the book, a new model is introduced titled Theory of Being (as the title of the book). It completely contrasts from the machine hermeneutic way and looks at everything as a being. All the related terms and concepts are explained in detail and clearly distinguished from the usually believed meaning of those concepts. For example, most of us think that dharma means religion, but actually it doesn’t! Overall, the theory is just mind-blowing! Once we understand it, it completely changes our point of view. It is elaborated how this theory can be used to rethink and redesign systems with suggested steps which can be taken in order to build sustainable systems. Finally, the book ends with an intriguing vision of how the future might look in both machine and being oriented worlds!
The core principles of the Theory of Being come from the Indic thought. However, if we pick a related scripture and read it, it is really hard to understand and more importantly difficult to relate. This book presents an interpretation of that Indic thought which is understandable and relatable to a person who has some basic knowledge of systems thinking, basic mathematics and game theory. This book also shows how little we know and how superficial and flawed our knowledge is regarding our our own rich Indic systems and theories.
Also, this is one of those books, from which one can understand something new, every time it is reread! I have read some parts of this book multiple times and every time I got some new insights to ponder! Many lines lead to an aha moment! An amalgamation of the core theory along with lots of interesting examples, personal experiences and anecdotes, makes it an amazing read!
P.S.- I have had multiple insightful discussions on many concepts and ideas presented in this book with Prof. Srinath and these discussions have greatly helped me in understanding it with more clarity.
Most of us perceive the world and ourself in a machine hermeneutic way. It is discussed in detail in the first half of the book. Basically it is a mechanised design where everything is a component of the overarching system and performs its defined role. We may ourself not know how deeply such principles are ingrained in us, and affect our day to day decisions and actions!
In the second half of the book, a new model is introduced titled Theory of Being (as the title of the book). It completely contrasts from the machine hermeneutic way and looks at everything as a being. All the related terms and concepts are explained in detail and clearly distinguished from the usually believed meaning of those concepts. For example, most of us think that dharma means religion, but actually it doesn’t! Overall, the theory is just mind-blowing! Once we understand it, it completely changes our point of view. It is elaborated how this theory can be used to rethink and redesign systems with suggested steps which can be taken in order to build sustainable systems. Finally, the book ends with an intriguing vision of how the future might look in both machine and being oriented worlds!
The core principles of the Theory of Being come from the Indic thought. However, if we pick a related scripture and read it, it is really hard to understand and more importantly difficult to relate. This book presents an interpretation of that Indic thought which is understandable and relatable to a person who has some basic knowledge of systems thinking, basic mathematics and game theory. This book also shows how little we know and how superficial and flawed our knowledge is regarding our our own rich Indic systems and theories.
Also, this is one of those books, from which one can understand something new, every time it is reread! I have read some parts of this book multiple times and every time I got some new insights to ponder! Many lines lead to an aha moment! An amalgamation of the core theory along with lots of interesting examples, personal experiences and anecdotes, makes it an amazing read!
P.S.- I have had multiple insightful discussions on many concepts and ideas presented in this book with Prof. Srinath and these discussions have greatly helped me in understanding it with more clarity.
December 6, 2019
Disclaimer: I am a (former) student of Prof. Srinath, who strongly advocates objective thinking. With that background, any bias in my review is purely coincidental.
First things first – this is an absolutely amazing book. Two of the fascinating books I read in the last couple of years include “Essence of the Upanishads: A Key to Indian Spirituality” by Eknath Easwaran and “A brief history of time” by Stephen Hawking. I had a suspicion that the latter was only confirming the ideas of the former. “Theory of being” not only confirmed my suspicion but also offered enormous clarity.
The first half of the book focuses on highlighting the ideological distinction and conflict between western world view and the Indian spiritual view (Dharma), and introduces the basic jargon of the Being hermeneutics in a terminology that could be comprehended by our minds hugely influenced by machine hermeneutics. I would say the author is successful in that attempt. Building on that, Being Theory is then discussed in the second half with great clarity and conviction. Sincere regards and appreciation to Prof. Srinath for a novel way of revealing the Theory of Being to us in a very captivating manner, and in a layman’s dialect. Although I should caution that this is not something that you read casually, but with contemplation.
Although very rare, there are certain parts which you would feel like forcefully fit into the being theory model and there are also parts where you feel the discussion is more like a rant on the western world view. But you will ignore or appreciate that approach when more concepts are introduced later as part of Being theory.
Some books enhance our knowledge and some books offer wisdom. This is one of those rare books which helps us take a step in appreciating the eternal wisdom of the metaphysics using our existing knowledge of physics. I have read the book twice in a span of one week, and am sure to read it multiple times in the future.
First things first – this is an absolutely amazing book. Two of the fascinating books I read in the last couple of years include “Essence of the Upanishads: A Key to Indian Spirituality” by Eknath Easwaran and “A brief history of time” by Stephen Hawking. I had a suspicion that the latter was only confirming the ideas of the former. “Theory of being” not only confirmed my suspicion but also offered enormous clarity.
The first half of the book focuses on highlighting the ideological distinction and conflict between western world view and the Indian spiritual view (Dharma), and introduces the basic jargon of the Being hermeneutics in a terminology that could be comprehended by our minds hugely influenced by machine hermeneutics. I would say the author is successful in that attempt. Building on that, Being Theory is then discussed in the second half with great clarity and conviction. Sincere regards and appreciation to Prof. Srinath for a novel way of revealing the Theory of Being to us in a very captivating manner, and in a layman’s dialect. Although I should caution that this is not something that you read casually, but with contemplation.
Although very rare, there are certain parts which you would feel like forcefully fit into the being theory model and there are also parts where you feel the discussion is more like a rant on the western world view. But you will ignore or appreciate that approach when more concepts are introduced later as part of Being theory.
Some books enhance our knowledge and some books offer wisdom. This is one of those rare books which helps us take a step in appreciating the eternal wisdom of the metaphysics using our existing knowledge of physics. I have read the book twice in a span of one week, and am sure to read it multiple times in the future.
January 19, 2025
I could connect with the most parts of the book. There were many places where I had to pause and reflect. There are sentences that carry deeper meaning and make you think. I am glad I read this masterpiece. My mind henceforth is going to contemplate about human hermeneutics and machine hermeneutics in the conceptualization of being.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews