0x004 ::: The Forest From The Trees

0xSalon004 ::: The Forest From The Trees

Exploring the emergence of life and collective behaviour, and agency at the level of the individual and the collective.

We’ll connect the drivers towards self-replication from physics and the speculative astrochemistry of primordial life to ecological-evolutionary games, information theoretic approaches to individuality and the emergence of collective behaviour in natural and synthetic contexts.

Considering drivers from statistical physics, is the emergence of life and development of complexity inevitable from an entropic perspective?

The recent and unexpected detection of phosphine in the highly oxidising environment of Venus' atmosphere gives rise to the possibility that life exists in the unlikeliest of places. If here, then where else?

How can we better understand the concept of individuality, especially when living things collaborate and cooperate despite ostensibly lacking substantive sensory or cognitive capacities?

In applying systems and technology paradigms to nature, how much richness and nuance do we risk losing? Must we develop new forms of ecological realism to supplant prevalent formalist modes of thought?

Beyond the individual, alliances realise the potential of cooperation and collaboration.

0x004 Supporting Materials:

Complete topic research materials on are.na

Recommended reading:
First Support for a Physics Theory of Life
What is an Individual?
The Environment is not a System
Protocols for the Phase Transition

Further resources:
Phosphine gas in the cloud decks of Venus
Cartography of Tree Space
Machine Behaviour
Thermodynamics of Information
Evolutionary games with environmental feedbacks
The Scientific and Philosophical Scope of Artificial Life
Information Theory of Individuality
Statistical Physics of Self-Replication

Salon Outputs

The Forest from the Trees Salon Reports

Events

g) Wednesday 24th February 2021 ::: Synthetic & Artificial Life ::: Virtual ::: are.na
f) Monday 22nd February 2021 ::: Synthetic & Artificial Life ::: Virtual ::: are.na
e) Friday 15th January 2021 ::: Speculative Ecologies ::: Virtual
d) Monday 11th January 2021 ::: Dark Vitalism ::: Virtual
c) Monday 4th January 2021 ::: Ecological Risk ::: Virtual
b) Tuesday 29th December 2020 ::: Ecologies, Economies or Ecosystems? ::: Virtual
a) Thursday 1st October 2020 ::: Topic Launch ::: Berlin

0x004 Theme Music