from Google AI:
The reification of belief frequently operates as a form of epistemic or ideological absolutism, though the two concepts describe different mechanics of thought.To understand how they connect, it helps to break down what each term means and how one leads to the other.Defining the Concepts
- Reification of Belief. Reification occurs when an abstract concept, mental model, or subjective opinion is treated as a concrete, objective reality. When you reify a belief, you stop seeing it as a human interpretation of the world and begin treating it as a literal, physical fact.
- Absolutism. Absolutism is the philosophical or ideological stance that certain truths, principles, or rules are universally valid, unchangeable, and entirely free from exceptions or context.
How Reification Drives AbsolutismReification serves as the psychological and philosophical engine that makes absolutism possible. This transition happens in a few distinct ways:
- Erasing the Subject. A belief requires a believer, meaning it is inherently tied to human perspective and limitation. Reification strips away the human element, making the belief appear as an independent feature of the universe rather than a fallible human thought.
- Eliminating Nuance. Concrete physical objects either exist or they do not. By turning an abstract idea into a "thing," reification forces a binary view of truth, leaving no room for gray areas, evolution of thought, or competing interpretations.
- Immunity to Revision. If an idea is just a mental model, it can be updated when new evidence arrives. If that idea is reified into an absolute fact of nature, questioning it feels like denying reality itself, which locks the believer into rigid dogmatism.
Key DistinctionsWhile they overlap heavily, they are not strictly identical.
Feature Reification of Belief Absolutism Core Mechanism Treating a mental abstraction as a concrete object. Treating a principle or truth as universal and unchangeable. Primary Focus How an idea is categorized (subjective vs. objective). The scope of an idea's authority (conditional vs. unconditional). Example Treating the concept of "the market" as a living entity with its own will. Claiming a specific moral rule applies identically to every person in all situations. In short, absolutism is often the end result of reification. You can hold a philosophical absolutist position without necessarily confusing ideas with physical objects (for example, in pure logic or mathematics). However, in politics, religion, and everyday life, absolutism almost always relies on reifying human beliefs until they feel as solid and undeniable as stone.
More Broadly Speaking...
Why the Horseshoe Bends
11 comments:
Why Words Sometimes Feel More Important Than Objects
• Social and Evolutionary Priority: Humans rely on cooperation and shared symbolic meaning for survival. Because language transmits abstract rules, threats, and social status, the prefrontal cortex often assigns higher emotional and behavioral weight to verbal statements than to neutral physical objects.
The translation of physical objects into symbols (to become objects of thought)
Naaah.
Exactly opposite effect.
Constructing images from mere words, for then treating em as real objects (like angels with wings... or electrons %^P)
PS Or... mithohondrias. ;-p
The rematerialization of the ideal. Confusing the object cause of desire. Substituting a false imaginary for the 'material' essences of jouisssance
:P
ps - In cellular and mitochondrial biology, terms like wave propagation and collapse do not refer to quantum mechanical wave function collapse, but rather to mitochondrial membrane potential (\(\Delta \Psi _{m}\)) depolarization and calcium- or ROS-induced signaling waves.
1. What the Terms Actually Mean in Biology
• Mitochondrial Communications / Waves: Mitochondria communicate across the cell and with neighboring cells using propagating waves of calcium (\(Ca^{2+}\)), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and membrane potential changes (such as ROS-induced ROS release, or RIRR). When a cluster of mitochondria becomes stressed or damaged, it can trigger a slow, cascading wave of depolarization that travels through the cell network.
• "Collapse" of the Wave / Membrane Potential: A mitochondrial "collapse" typically refers to the depolarization or loss of the inner mitochondrial membrane potential (\(\Delta \Psi _{m}\)). This happens when inner-membrane channels (like the permeability transition pore, or PTP) open abruptly due to oxidative stress, calcium overload, or apoptotic signals. Instead of a quantum wave function collapse, it is a classical physiological or biochemical breakdown of the electrochemical gradient needed to make ATP.
2. Is There a Quantum Connection? (Wave Function Collapse)
• Standard Biology vs. Quantum Theory: Standard cellular and mitochondrial dynamics operate via classical thermodynamics, biochemistry, and electrophysiology rather than quantum superposition.
• Speculative / Fringe Ideas: Some speculative or theoretical hypotheses (such as quantum biology, proposed ultra-weak photon signaling in mitochondria, or theories connecting consciousness to quantum wave function collapse in neurons) suggest quantum phenomena might play a role in biological systems. However, mainstream biophysics and cell biology attribute mitochondrial "waves" and "collapses" strictly to ion fluxes (calcium, potassium), pore openings (PTP), and free-radical cascades rather than the reduction of a quantum probability amplitude.
Again, ther speculative realm implies a secondary communication network quantum/photonic over a primary pure biochemical network much as my theory of a cellular mitochondrial network superimposed upon a purely neural one.
Hey, I could go even further and propose a purely "immaterial/ non-substantial" the Rupert Sheldrake morphic resonance solution. ;P
biochemical IS quantum! %^P
there is NOTHING that even can be called "non-quantum" in the level where individual atoms interact.
and Chemistry -- it ALL abour hiw individual atoms interacts.
%^O
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...and deposit these atoms in the form of myelination, and you increase neuronal electrical circuit efficiency (added insulation) creating an informational "weighting" effect based upon circuit "use". Quantity becomes Quality. Use it or lose it!
We so optogenetic...
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