28.4 - 1.5 2025
Pharos Dane Filozofije
Stari Grad Philosophy Days
foto: vilma matulic
"Nasuprot Zlu"
"The Opposite of Evil"
photos Vilma Matulic, Stan Coenders, click image
Physicist, Inventor, Philosopher, Slovenija
Andrej Detela is a researcher in theoretical physics, inventor, philosopher, writer, and poet. In his work and in daily life, he follows orphic unity of science, art, and spirituality. More books and articles from his hand are found on his website: www.andrejdetela.si; The articles are in Slovene and/or in English. Three leading maps there are:
znanost = science / umetnost = art (literature) / duhovnost = spirituality.
Active harmony and beauty as forms of primordial good
From the standpoint of Western philosophy, it is complicated to speak about the primordial positive aspect in the Universe, since the Christian idea of the original sin ushers us into an unsolvable conflict between the good and the evil. So, I rather speak from the standpoint of Eastern philosophies and spiritual traditions (here, especially Buddhism and Zen). In Buddhism, everyone is (at the deepest level) endowed by a noble human heart, beyond all comparison with any opposite. This position enables a deep insight into our human nature and also paves many ways for our ethical engagement. And further, in Zen traditions that originated from Buddhism, one aspect of the primordial good and harmony in Nature is percieved as the prime Beauty, reflected in careful and well-poised human activities (like gardening etc.).
Three questions:
-
Is it really necessary to think in term of opposites (yes/no, good/bad, us/them ...)... - Didn't polarisations of this kind introduce too much of divisions into our society?
-
Binary logic in the Aristotle's sense and ternary logic in sense of Asian philosophies: what is that additional meaning of the Third?
-
The concept of emptiness (Śunyata) in Buddhism and the concept of Tao in ancient China - Can these two be of help to start from the primordial goodness, without any reference to evil?
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_philosophy
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_garden
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_dry_garden
www.andrejdetela.si/umetnost/silent-message-of-nature/
www.andrejdetela.si/znanost/development-of-e-motors-according-to-zen-philosophy/
Andrej Detela's main interest is the new theory of syntropy, self-organizing ability of nature that transcends the law of entropy and bestows deeper meaning upon our life. In 2024, he founded the Institute for syntropy, and has just published a book From Entropy to Syntropy (ZRC SAZU, 2025). On more practical ground, Andrej invented several new types of electric motors that are finding their way into smart electric vehicles.
Andrej Detela joined the symposium in 2024; with a contribution about Time and Flux.
Naša ljudska civilizacija ima iskustva s nizom različitih pristupa o tome kako razumjeti enigmu vremena. Svaki odabrani pristup definira naše misli i postupke pa je pitanje vremena od iznimne važnosti – ne samo kao filozofska ideja, već i u našem svakodnevnom životu. Dakle, vrijedi započeti s pozivom na ispitivanje onoga što ću nazvati »intrinzična priroda vremena«.
Poznata su nam dva glavna koncepta o prirodi vremena: cikličko vrijeme (prevladavajuće u većini tradicionalnih kultura) i linearno vrijeme (prevladavajuće u judeo-kršćanstvu, dakle u „zapadnom“ svijetu). U našem modernom dobu još uvijek smo naklonjeni ovom linearnom opisu „protoka vremena“. Linearni tok prvi je put kanoniziran u religiji (Bibliji), ali se u dobu prosvjetiteljstva ovaj koncept uveo i u znanost (Newtonova definicija vremena), a danas znanost ima mnogo toga za reći i o dubljem značenju vremena. Od uspona moderne znanosti (16. stoljeće), pa sve do sredine 18. stoljeća, tijek vremena bio je, barem u teorijskoj fizici, reverzibilan: oba su smjera vremena bila ekvivalenta.
Unatoč tome, naše ljudsko iskustvo kaže: Ne! Postoji jedinstveni smjer vremena, definiran biološkim vremenom svih živih bića - put „od kolijevke do groba“. Zakon entropije (definiran sredinom 18. stoljeća) pripisuje smjer „vremenske strelice“ raspadu bilo kojeg početnog reda do konačnog uništenja svega. Jasno je da ovaj prilično mračan pogled na svijet uvodi, na toliko mnogo načina, ogromne probleme u naše moderno društvo. Nedavno se pojavila još jedna znanstvena ideja: koncept sintropije, protuotrov entropiji. U našem Svemiru ne postoje samo entropijski procesi, već i sintropijski - procesi koji uspostavljaju koristan red, ne na račun nekih vanjskih sila, nego svoje inherentne kreativne moći. Entropija je u ravnoteži sa sintropijom. Dakle, moglo bi se zaključiti da se tok vremena može preokrenuti i da su oba smjera vremena ekvivalentna? Ali zašto tome nije tako, zašto još uvijek doživljavamo jedan jedinstveni smjer vremenske strelice? Ovo nas pitanje uvodi u duboko promišljanje koje ja mogu izraziti samo kroz življenje, izravnu komunikaciju (kao što su to činili mudraci u staroj Grčkoj, Indiji ili Kini), a namjeravam to učiniti i u našem krugu. Ali, ukratko, odgovor je iznenađujuć: slobodni smo odrabrati bilo koji smjer vremenskog toka, ali svako biće tijekom svog životnog iskustva odlučuje se prikloniti nekom zajednički dogovorenom smjeru vremena, kako bi bilo u skladu sa svim drugim bićima. Stoga je naše uvijek novo razumijevanje vremena izraz ljubavi. Ljubav nije neka izolirana ideja u području ljudskih emocija, to nije neka tajanstvena mistična moć; to je jasno određena kvaliteta u odnosu na vremensku strukturu našeg Svemira.
Vezano uz 3 pitanja o kojima ćemo promišljati, recimo:
„Je li se apsolutno nužno držati linearne percepcije vremena ili imate neku drugu zamisao?“
„Kako shvaćate dihotomiju između entropijskog raspada utvrđenih formi i duhovne percepcije vremena?“
„Zašto zakon entropije još uvijek ima tako veliku moć nad našim društvom i gdje vidite taj utjecaj?“
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy of_space_and_time
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow of_time
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporality
Our human civilisation has experience with a variety of approaches how to understand the enigma of time. Each chosen approach defines all of our thoughts and actions, so the question of time is of a paramount importance – not only as a philosophical idea, but also in our everyday life. So, it is worth to start with an invitation to inquiry into what I shall call
»the intrinsic nature of time«. We all know two main concepts with regard to the nature of time: cyclic time (prevailing in most of traditional cultures), and linear time (prevaling in judeo-christianity, therefore in
the »Western« world). In our modern era, we are still embedded inside this linear description of »time flow«. The linear flow of time was first canonized in religion (the Bible), but the centuries of Enlightment introduced this concept also into science (Newton's definition of time). Today, science has much to say also about the deeper meaning of time. From the rise of modern science (16 th century) and then up to the mid-18 th century, the flow of time was, at least in theoretical physics, reversible: both directions of time were equivalent. But our human experience says: No, there is a unique direction of time, defined by biological time of all living beings, the way »from cradle to grave«. The Law of Entropy (formalized in mid-18 th century) affixes the direction of »time arrow« to dissolution of any initial order, to final destruction of just everything. We can find out that this rather somber
world view introduces, in so many ways, enormous problems into our modern society Quite recently, another scientific idea emerged: the concept of syntropy. This is the antidote of entropy. There are not only entropic processes in our Universe, but also syntropic processes do exist – processes that restore beneficient order, not on account of some external force but its inherent creative power. Entropy is in balance with syntropy. So then, one might think that the flow of time can be reversed, and that both directions of time are equivalent?
But still, why is this not so, why we still experience a unique direction of time arrow? This question ushers us into a deep inquiery that I can express only through living, direct communication (very like did sages in the ancient Greece, India, or China), and I intend to do it in our circle. But briefly, the answer is surprising: We are free to choose any direction of time flow, but, in its living experience, every being decides to take the mutually agreed direction of time, in order to be in harmony with all other beings.
So, our ever-new understanding of time is an expression of love. Loveis not some isolated idea in the realm of human emotions, it is not some mysterious mystical power; it is rather a clearly determined quality in relation to the temporal structure of our Universe.
3 questions that we shall ponder over, let us say:
"Is it absolutely necessary to stick to the linear perception of time, or do you have some other imagination? "
"How do you understand the dichotomy between the entropic dissolution of established forms, and the spiritual perception of time?"
"Why has the Law of entropy still such a great power over our society, and where do you see this influence?"