Thoughts on Individuality and Non-individuality

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Natural systems can be thought of as non-separable and therefore non-individual. This non-individuality is a conceptual framework of the philosophy of science. Specifically, we observe from the theory of quantum mechanics "the intimate connection in the inseparably connected things, e.g., of parts and wholes, of substances and their attributes, of action and reaction, of genus and species, and substances in which they reside, and of eternal substances and their ultimate differences". On this principle, nothing possesses an essential nature of its very own individuality, because "every several thing is a blend, and its name is merely an indication of the dominant constituent." Furthermore, "the best possible knowledge of a whole does not necessarily include the same for its parts, or the whole is in a definite state, the parts taken individually are not". We also observe that individuals are understood as "open systems entangled with matter, energy, and information in the universe". In particular, "all statistically relevant properties of identical quantum particles in many-particle systems are conjectured to be irreducible, inherent properties only belonging to the whole system". With regards to the indivisible quantum of light energy, "particles interact as if they were all connected by indivisible links into a single whole". The theory of quantum science implies that "substance is the joint effect of many conjunctions. Inherence or inseparability is the relationship subsisting among things that are inseparable, standing to one another in the character of the container and the contained". Schrödinger affirmed that elementary particles that share the same set of intrinsic properties are sometimes said to be indistinguishab... ... middle of paper ... ... function does not provide a complete description of the state of an individual system, however, "it is an explicit model allowing a unified description of microscopic and macroscopic objects". In addition, quantum science can be regarded primarily as a way of looking at the world as a whole rather than "as absolute true knowledge of how things are". This functional identity of the individual is a structure of information consistent with experimental findings. Bohm also believed in a continuous infinity of minds where "the nature of some wholes is not determined by that of their parts". Bohm concluded that "individuality is only possible if it unfolds from wholeness. People are no longer primarily in opposition, nor can they be said to be interacting, rather they are participating in this pool of common meaning which is capable of constant development and change".

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