Re: Platonic information theories

In reply to Rafael, who wrote: "Heidegger
was looking for a *common ground* where the
different views of time (the quantitative and the
qualitative) may be grounded "

Edwina: I am not referring to temporal values as quantitative or
qualitative. Those terms don't capture what I'm trying to say about
temporality. Time is an actual material component of mass; time is a
mode of measuring energy-to-matter. It acts as a measurement or code,
and as such, is a real component of mass. The three basic temporal
values that I'm talking about are part of the organization of a
particular mass, and help define what it can and cannot do in its
interactions with the world.

Rafael wrote: "In sum,
what I have learned from Heidegger (and others...) is
- to *weaken* the quatitative (absolute and/or
empirical) conception of (clock-) time
- this means to weaken the *metaphysics of
presence* (and the conception of time derived
from (the duration) of *precenceing* as well as
from the *limits* (or *de-finition*) of what is
present (which is Plato's intention: the permanent
limits of *ideas* make possible their *permanent*
duration in/outside time)"

Edwina: No. I think you are still thinking in that Kantian/Newtonian
'absolute ruler' aspect of time that both John and I have commented
against. I am not saying that the absolute ruler should be weakened;
I'm saying that it doesn't exist. I'm not sure what you mean by the
other terms 'metaphysics of presence' but I'm certainly against the
Platonic Forms - for their temporality is akin to the absolute scale
of the Newtonian Ruler.

Rafael wrote: to be able to see why and how our rich forms of
being-in-time are not just based on the (empirical
or transcendental) structure of my brain/subjectivity but that
they depend on the awareness of our natality and
mortality (including different ways *looking away*

Edwina: I'm afraid that I don't see your point. What does our
'awareness of our natality and mortality' have to do with the temporal
content (understanding time as a material measurement) of an organism,
i.e., of a tree?

Rafael wrote: "What follows from this with regard to information?
Well for instance that information is for us
*for a while* as we are *for a while*,
*ephemere* as Pindar says, which means not
just *sub-ject* to time but also free to respond to
time... (and *in time*) at list for a while!"

Edwina: This is, to me, a relativist and subjectivist position, and
I'll have to disagree. I don't think that information is simply
'what's in my mind'. Reality exists 'out there', as informed matter,
despite my existence. My view is that energy is transformed to matter,
within spatial and temporal codes. As such, it is 'informed matter',
i.e., information. This essentially means that that mass is existent,
within measured relations (spatial and temporal0 to other mass. It can
'do things'; it is 'informed'. It is information. This has nothing to
do with humans or observation or conceptual ideas.
Received on Sun Jan 5 22:08:54 2003