243 – As Everything in Nature, We are a Synthesis of Three Complementary Properties …
Friday, May 1st, 2020There is nothing that empirically proves our profound interrelatedness with everything in Nature than a verified scientific theory, and Niels Bohr’s Complementarity principle gets close to do that for me. I highlight close because the theory does not include a property that is essential for the complete understanding of all evolving systems in Nature.
The most well-known example of Complementarity is the phenomenon of Light as a synthesis of particle-like and wave-like duality. Light manifests as particle-like in its components (photons) and as wave-like in the patterns photons create as they interact with environments. Light is not one or the other; it is both. But Light is also a component of the Universe, and as such, it is universal-like as the manifestation of the common blueprint[i] that maps the development of all the components of our Universe. Therefore, for the principle of Complementarity to provide a complete understanding of Light, it must include the universal-like manifestation: Light is particle-like and wave-like and universal-like.
As all evolving system in our Universe – light, hydrogen, cells, solar systems, galaxies – human beings are a synthesis of three complementary properties: We are particle-like as individual components of a system (humankind) AND wave-like as the patterns we create as the species affects and is affected by environments AND universal-like as we reiterate the common blueprint that maps the development of all universal components and endows us with a degree of freedom in adaptation.
It is, of course, evident that each complementary property can be explored with the exclusion of the others. The particle-like property of a photon, or a human being, or any evolving system in Nature, can be isolated and studied with the exclusion of the other complementary properties. But by doing so, we forgo the essence of the system we are trying to understand.
In the generation, organization, and bonding together of the components of our bodies, we, like any evolving system in Nature, have no choice; these processes are relatively pre-determined by the demands of the environments in which we exist. But in the way we adapt, self-regulate, and self-perpetuate, whether we do it instinctively or by our own determination, we become pro-active participants in the evolutionary processes of a species. And as we unfold, transforming ourselves and our world, we re-assert the universal mandate that endows us all with a degree of freedom to choose.
The principle of Complementarity proves how profoundly interrelated everything in Nature is. Whether it is an atom, a cell, a human being, a solar system, a galaxy, we are all synthesis of three complementary properties: we are all particle-like and wave-like and universal-like, not one or the other but all at the same time. And I believe that we will be more rational and understanding in our relationship with Nature when we accept this about us.
[i] Self-organize, self-generate, bond, self-regulate, adapt, self-perpetuate, transform.
Note: New posts are usually published on the 1st and 15th of the month. To subscribe to the Blog, click on the RSS feeder (orange icon) on the left column of the Home page, down below the Archives.