In my most recent post in this series on the science of purpose, I introduced the subject of powers ontology, or dispositionalism. I did so because this recently developed metaphysical framework has the potential to overcome the limitations of the reductionist materialism which has dominated science for three centuries. It is only by replacing naturalism or materialism that we can begin to understand the fundamental role of purpose in nature, bringing us to a deeper appreciation of our own purpose in this life.
Reductionism is a method for understanding something by minimizing it to a very simple level that can be restricted to abstract language. That was the seminal step required in the very early days of science. But it is time to move on. For it is truly hopeless to try to understand the deep richness of our world by shrinking it.
The beauty of powers ontology lies in its ability to expand beyond the abstract derivatives of materialist science, rather than reducing that which we seek to understand. Powers ontology takes us to the very heart of the matter, life itself. This unique method of describing nature consists of the rare combination of both simplicity and breadth. There is nothing in this world that powers cannot elucidate, and you don’t need integrals or differential equations.
The Power of Causality
As previously described, every thing in nature has properties, which confer the power of causality upon that object. The sun, for example, has the property of nuclear fusion, giving it the power to send light and heat into the solar system. Water has the property to absorb UV light, giving it the power to shield Earth’s primordial aquatic life forms from unfiltered solar radiation. Those nascent organisms converted CO2 into oxygen, which had the property to form ozone (O3), giving it the power to reflect UV light away from the first organisms that ventured onto land. That is dynamic yet straightforward cause and effect.
Moving on to the complexity of the living, we encounter a more challenging landscape. Hemoglobin has the property of binding oxygen in the lungs and releasing it in hypoxic tissue environments, giving it the power to transport oxygen for respiration. That oxygen molecule, so transported, has the power to aggrandize electrons from elements of lesser atomic number (carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, or CHN). The resulting oxidation of hydrocarbons has the power to release protons up the electron transport chain such that ATP is generated. And ATP has the property of stored chemical energy, giving it the power to distribute energy wherever it is needed in the cell.
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