Indeed the notion of order as a whole is not only vast, but it is also probably incapable of complete definition, if only because some kind of order is presupposed in everything we do, including, for example, the very act of defining order. Then there are more subtle orders such as the order of language, the order of logic, the order in music, the order of sensation and thought etc. For example, there is the order of numbers (which is in correspondence to that of points on a line), the order of successive positions in the motions of objects, various kinds of intensive order such as pressure, temperature, colour etc. These latter have, in turn, come out of intuitive forms and common experience. “Our notions of order in physics have generally been tacit rather that explicit and have been manifested in particular forms which have developed gradually over the centuries in a somewhat fortuitous way. The ubiquitous character and significance of order is due to the observation that order is common to all that we conceive and perceive which means relating order both to the order of abstract thought of mind as well as to matter and external reality.Īnother quotation is clarifying (, p. 353): In Bohm’s philosophy all these notions are fundamentally dynamic. Order is concerned with similar differences, arrangements, organisation and structure. Bohm took order (and structure) as something more universal and fundamental than most of our basic conceptual categories (, p.18). Thus, for example, the uncertainty principle implies that it is not in general possible to give a definite space-time order to the motion of a particle in its trajectory.”ĭ. In the quantum domain however this order shows its inadequacy, because physical properties cannot be attributed unambiguously to well-defined structures and processes in space-time while remaining within Hilbert space. The Cartesian grid (extended to curvilinear coordinates), which describes what is essentially a local order, has been the one constant feature of physics in all the fundamental changes that have happened over the past few centuries. This is to be contrasted with our current concepts of order which are based on the ideas of Descartes who introduced coordinate systems precisely for the purpose of describing and representing order in physical process. “The basic idea is to introduce a new concept of order, which we call the implicate order or the enfolded order. The verbs unfolding and enfolding are stressing the dynamic nature of order and also how these orders are dynamically related in an overall process. Implicate order is thus unfolding into an explicate order and the explicate order enfolding into an implicate order. It is important to emphasize that these notions were fundamentally seen as dynamic, so ordering would be the general concept while order is a particular static aspect. The wider relevance of these ideas to philosophy and science will be found in David Bohm’s book “Wholeness and the Implicate Order”. For the very latest review of some aspects of this work see the review article by Basil Hiley. A comprehensive survey of these ideas were summarised in their classic book “The Undivided Universe”. These ideas and their relation to quantum phenomena were further developed in discussions with Basil Hiley. The notion of order as a fundamental concept in physical theories was introduced by a series of pioneering papers published by David Bohm.
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