Re: Extropian Principles: SO Definition

Max More (maxmore@primenet.com)
Thu, 27 Feb 1997 11:48:55 -0800


At 01:10 PM 2/27/97 -0500, Mark Crosby wrote:
>Early last fall there was some discussion about replacing 'Spontaneous
>Order' in BEST DO IT SO with 'Self Ownership'. If I recall,
>Spontaneous Order was disliked because it was a term from biology that
>seemed too submissive to whatever 'blind' evolution threw at us and
>Self Ownership was preferred because it was more 'libertarian' or
>suggestive of individual responsibility and creativity.
>
>I was looking at Stuart Kauffman's _At Home In the Universe_ the other
>day and noticed that the older term Spontaneous Order had been pretty
>much replaced by the newer term 'Self Organization'. [snip]

I'm just reading Kauffman's book now. Version 3.0 of the Extropian
Principles won't be completed for a while since I have other urgent writing
priorities. When I get back to it I'll certainly consider whether
"Self-Organization" should replace "Spontaneous Order" as the name of that
principle. Note, thout, that this principle will most likely be in
*addition* to Self-Ownership rather than the latter replacing the former
(as I originally thought).

Max

Max More, Ph.D.
more@extropy.org
http://www.primenet.com/~maxmore
President, Extropy Institute, Editor, Extropy
exi-info@extropy.org, http://www.extropy.org
(310) 398-0375