[ExI] Cellular automata, downward causation, and libertarian determinism

[John Clark]

On Sat, Oct 25, 2025 at 7:16 AM Jason Resch via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

*> Can downwards causation not exist in a universe whose laws are fully
> deterministic?*
>

Three years ago I wrote the following on my own list when the subject of
downward causation came up, my conclusion was that this controversy has
more to do with linguistics than it does with physics:

 *I don't think there's anything new or mystical in downward causation nor
do I think it necessarily must involve consciousness, intelligence, or even
life. A chemical reaction would be a low level description of what's going
on in your head, and thinking would be a high level description of the same
thing. Both are true. A balloon inflates because there are more air
molecules hitting the inner surface of the balloon than the outer would be
a low level description of what's going on. And the pressure inside the
balloon is greater than the pressure outside would be a high level
description of the same thing. Both are true. And y**ou could say I quickly
moved my hand away after it touched the hot stove because it was painful,
or you could say my hand moved quickly away because of a chemical change in
my brain. Both pressure and volition are valid high-level descriptions of
what is going on. *

*John K Clark    See what's on my new list at  Extropolis
<https://groups.google.com/g/extropolis>*



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