Quotessence
Home / Authors / Rochelle Forrester Books

Rochelle Forrester Books

Author

Related Quotes

“Ever increasing human knowledge is the ultimate cause of the development of human societies from hunter gathering to agrarian to industrial societies. However as human societies change from one form to another, there are substantial changes in the social and cultural institutions of those societies. The different types of societies tend to develop with different population structures, class systems, belief systems, government and legal systems, and different types of economies. The changes to these social and cultural systems are dependent on the prior changes to technological systems and so occur in a particular order as the technological changes occur in a particular order.”

Karl MarxTechnological ChangeCultural EvolutionPhilosophy Of HistoryKarl PopperHistoricismBig HistoryMacrohistoryMacrosociologyMetahistory
Author:Rochelle Forrester
Create image

“1. Human beings meet their needs by using the resources in their environment. 2. Human beings have a limited knowledge of their environment. 3. Human beings have the ability to learn and remember so their knowledge of their environment increases over time. 4. As human knowledge of the environment increases, new ways of meeting human needs become available. 5. If the news ways of meeting human needs are better than the old ways of meeting human needs they will be adopted and the old ways discarded. 6. The adoption of new ways of meeting human needs constitutes social and cultural change in itself, but also leads to further social and cultural change. 7. The order of discovery of new means of meeting human needs follows a particular path from that which is most easily discovered to that which is more difficult to discover. Many discoveries require prior discoveries before the discovery can take place. This means there is a necessary order in the discoveries that constitute and cause social and cultural change. 8. The particular order in the discoveries, means social and cultural change occurs in a particular order, so that the sequence of social and cultural change is inevitable and is rationally understandable. All of the above statements appear to be obviously correct. If they are then the study of social and cultural history can be considered to be a science in the same way as biological evolution is considered to be a science. Social and cultural change derived from increasing human knowledge is not random and so can be scientifically understood. We can not predict the future of social and cultural change as we do not know what future discoveries we will make. This is analogous to biological evolution where changes in living species are unpredictable as we do not know what changes will occur in the environment of those species. However biological evolution does make changes in living species rationally understandable, just as an analysis of the order of discovery of the human environment makes social and cultural change rationally understandable.”

Karl MarxCultural EvolutionPhilosophy Of HistoryKarl PopperHistoricismMacrohistoryMacrosociology
Author:Rochelle Forrester
Create image

“Changes in human knowledge causes changes in technology and through the effect that technology has on the social and cultural systems of a society, the change in human knowledge will affect all elements in that society. Changes in human knowledge may also directly affect the social and cultural systems in human society. Ideas such as biological evolution and cultural relativity have affected human society, without producing any technological innovations. Human history in all its elements will be effected by the increase in knowledge that gradually accumulates in human culture.”

Karl MarxTechnological ChangeCultural EvolutionPhilosophy Of HistoryKarl PopperHistoricismHistorical ChangeBig HistoryMacrohistoryMacrosociology
Author:Rochelle Forrester
Create image

“The ultimate cause of much historical, social and cultural change is the gradual accumulation of human knowledge of the environment. Human beings use the materials in their environment to meet their needs and increased human knowledge of the environment enables human needs to be met in a more efficient manner. The human environment has a particular structure so that human knowledge of the environment is acquired in a particular order. The simplest knowledge is acquired first and more complex knowledge is acquired later. The order of discovery determines the course of human social and cultural history as knowledge of new and more efficient means of meeting human needs, results in new technology, which results in the development of new social and ideological systems. This means human social and cultural history, has to follow a particular course, a course that is determined by the structure of the human environment.”

Karl MarxTechnological ChangeCultural EvolutionHistoricismMacrohistoryMacrosociologyTheories Of History
Book:How Change Happens: A Theory of Philosophy of History, Social Change and Cultural Evolution
Create image

“all societies have certain needs or desires and they meet these needs by utilizing the resources in their environments. The ability to utilize those resources changes as their knowledge of their environment changes. In particular they develop knowledge of the properties of the resources in their environment and how the resources in their environment can be used to meet human needs and desires. Human knowledge of the resources is dynamic; it changes over time. Greater knowledge of the properties of the resources in the environment allows new ways in which human needs can be meet by exploiting resources in the environment. Our knowledge of our environment grows in a particular order; certain knowledge will inevitably be discovered before other knowledge. The order of our discoveries about nature determines the order of technological change and scientific discoveries in human society. The order of our discoveries of both the properties and structure of nature depend upon the relationship between nature and us. We discover these things in an order from that which is closest to us, to that which is further away, or perhaps in an order from the simplest to the more complex. It is the structure of the universe and our place in it, which determines the order in which our knowledge of nature will grow and this determines what technological and scientific options are available to meet our needs and desires.”

Karl MarxTechnological ChangeCultural EvolutionHistoricismHistorical ChangeBig HistoryMacrohistoryMacrosociology
Book:How Change Happens: A Theory of Philosophy of History, Social Change and Cultural Evolution
Create image

“Social and cultural change derived from increasing human knowledge is not random and so can be scientifically understood. We can not predict the future of social and cultural change as we do not know what future discoveries we will make. This is analogous to biological evolution where changes in living species are unpredictable as we do not know what changes will occur in the environment of those species. However biological evolution does make changes in living species rationally understandable, just as an analysis of the order of discovery of the human environment makes social and cultural change rationally understandable.”

Cultural EvolutionStructure Of Society
Author:Rochelle Forrester
Create image

“The quantum measurement problem is caused by a failure to understand that each species has its own sensory world and that when we say the wave function collapses and brings a particle into existence we mean the particle is brought into existence in the human sensory world by the combined operation of the human sensory apparatus, particle detectors and the experimental set up. This is similar to the Copenhagen Interpretation suggested by Niels Bohr and others, but the understanding that the collapse of the wave function brings a particle into existence in the human sensory world removes the need for a dividing line between the quantum world and the macro world.”

RealityExistenceQuantum PhysicsOntologyQuantum EntanglementQuantum RealityQuantum Measurement ProblemCollapse Of The Wave FunctionCopenhagen InterpretationHuman Sensory World
Author:Rochelle Forrester
Create image

“Each species has its own sensory world, which are often very different from each other's sensory world. There is some overlap between these worlds but there are many aspects of one species world which will be completely unknown to members of other species. The human view of the world is only one view and is no more valid than that of any other species.”

RealismIdealismSense PerceptionObserver Dependent UniverseImmanuel KantPhilosophy Of PerceptionVeil Of PerceptionGeorge BerkeleyAnimal SensesPerceptual Reality
Book:Sense Perception and Reality: A Theory of Perceptual Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and the Observer Dependent Universe
Create image

“The key to understanding the course of history is to divide history into two parts. One part follows a predetermined direction and the other part is random and unpredictable. The part that follows a predetermined direction is the part that results from ever increasing human knowledge of the world we live in. The world we live in is structured and understandable and is explained by the laws of physics, chemistry and biology and the known properties of the particles, elements and compounds that make up our world. Our ever increasing knowledge of these laws and properties of matter comes to us in a predetermined and rational order from the easiest discoveries being made first to the more difficult discoveries being made later.”

Karl MarxTechnological ChangeCultural ChangeHistoricismBig HistoryMacro SociologyMacro HistoryMeta History
Author:Rochelle Forrester
Create image

“The order of discovery concerning the materials in the human environment and of the technology that resulted from such discoveries was not haphazard or accidental. The order of discovery followed a logical order and an order that it had to follow. The easier discoveries were made before the harder discoveries; discoveries that were dependent upon prior discoveries being made, were only made after those discoveries; and inventions that were not economic or did not meet human needs were not made until they made economic sense or until a need arose. The course of human social and cultural history is written into the structure of the universe.”

Technological ProgressKarl MarxCultural ChangeHistoricismHistorical ChangeMacrohistoryMetahistoryMacro Sociology
Book:How Change Happens: A Theory of Philosophy of History, Social Change and Cultural Evolution
Create image

“What causes the collapse of the wave function? It is the entry of stimuli into the sensory apparatus of a conscious observer, such as photons of the right wave length hitting the human eye and entering the eye through a lens which focuses the light on to the retina. The retina then sends a signal to the brain via the optic nerve and the brain turns the information into the images we see. Those images and information from the other senses constitute the human sensory world. Clearly the images and other information could not exist without observation. Nothing else in the human sensory world exists without an observation being made, so why should the results of experiments, indicating the presence of quantum entities, which show in macro level experimental apparatus be any different?”

RealityExistenceQuantum PhysicsQuantum MechanicsSense PerceptionObserver Dependent UniverseQuantum Measurement ProblemCollapse Of The Wave FunctionCopenhagen InterpretationSchrodinger Wave Function
Author:Rochelle Forrester
Create image

“The belief that "existence" and "reality" are synonymous with the human sensory world is just a case of human centrism that fails to recognize that the human view of the world is just one view of the universe and there are many other views just as valid as ours. It is an irrational bias or prejudice that cannot be justified as our sensory apparatus arose through a process of biological evolution, the same as those of all other species. It is also obvious our sensory apparatus is not any better than that of other species. It is our careless, sloppy and imprecise use of language, and our failure to understand the existence of other sensory worlds, that constitute the problem with wave function collapse.”

RealityExistenceOntologyQuantum Measurement ProblemCollapse Of The Wave FunctionCopenhagen InterpretationHuman Sensory WorldSensory ApparatusHuman CentrismSpecies Sensory Worlds
Author:Rochelle Forrester
Create image

“There has been much controversy about what is meant by an observation causing a quantum entity to come into existence. The controversy is caused by ambiguity in the meaning of terms such as existence and reality. No one seems to know what they mean in the context of quantum mechanics, so I will explain what they mean. The correct interpretation is that when we say that quantum entities do not exist except when observed, we mean they do not exist as part of the human sensory world created by the human sensory apparatus, when an observation is made. The human sensory world is the world we know and live in, and is the world given to us by our sensory apparatus. There is nothing to stop quantum entities existing in other worlds when being observed in the human sensory world and when not being observed in the human sensory world. In addition all observations made by a human observer are personal to that observer, although other human observers will perceive something very similar to that which is observed by other human observers due to having very similar sensory apparatus. The evidence we perceive in our experiments which indicates the presence of quantum entities should be treated in the same way as our perceptions of tables, trees and people in the macro world. ... We don't actually see quantum entities, we see macro level evidence the quantum entities exist, and this macro level evidence comes into existence in exactly the same way as everything else in the macro world. The solution to the quantum measurement problem lies not in the quantum world, but in how the human sensory apparatus works in the macro world.”

RealityExistenceQuantum PhysicsQuantum MechanicsObserver Dependent UniversePhilosophy Of PerceptionQuantum Measurement ProblemCollapse Of The Wave FunctionCopenhagen InterpretationSensory Apparatus
Book:Sense Perception and Reality: A Theory of Perceptual Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and the Observer Dependent Universe
Create image

“The Copenhagen Interpretation has long been the orthodox view of the quantum world and this is not surprising considering how weird the alternatives are. However realism has usually been assumed in the macro world, but given the modern research into animal senses, neurology, and cognitive psychology, realism must inevitably cease to be a serious explanation of the macro world. It seems quite obvious the macro world is sense dependent and the orthodox interpretation of the quantum world postulates a sense dependent world as well. This suggests the same rules can apply to both the macro and quantum worlds which eliminates the need for a dividing line between the two worlds.”

RealityRealismIdealismQuantum PhysicsQuantum MechanicsCopenhagen InterpretationCorrespondence Principle
Book:Sense Perception and Reality: A Theory of Perceptual Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and the Observer Dependent Universe
Create image

“All our scientific instruments and our scientific experiments are just different ways of seeing the world. The world we perceive through our unaided sensory apparatus is just one view of the universe. Change the sensory apparatus and you change the world you live in. At present we have no way of knowing how the world really is, if it has some real form at all. All our knowledge of the world comes through our sensory apparatus and our scientific instruments and experiments and they give us views of the world conditioned and controlled by the nature of our sensory apparatus, scientific instruments and experiments. If anyone was able to get to a real world not controlled or conditioned by sensory apparatus, instruments and experiments, it may be the greatest intellectual achievement in human history.”

Philosophy Of ScienceSense PerceptionObserver Dependent UniverseVeil Of PerceptionPerceptual RelativityQuantum Measurement ProblemHuman Sensory WorldSensory ApparatusSensory WorldsHuman Centrism
Author:Rochelle Forrester
Create image

“Each species has its own sensory world, which are often very different from each other species sensory world. There is some overlap between these worlds but there are many aspects of one species world which will be completely unknown to members of other species. The human view of the world is only one view and is no more valid than that of any other species.”

RealityEpistemologyOntologySense PerceptionObserver Dependent UniversePhilosophy Of PerceptionPerceptual RelativityAnimal SensesHuman Sensory WorldSensory Worlds
Book:Sense Perception and Reality: A Theory of Perceptual Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and the Observer Dependent Universe
Create image

“One of the most neglected areas in the philosophy of perception concerns animal senses. It is surprising how many philosophers write about perception in the apparent belief that humans are the only perceivers in the world. Human senses evolved through the natural process as other animal senses, so there is no reason to regard human senses as special, or better than other animal senses.”

RealismIdealismObserver Dependent UniverseImmanuel KantPhilosophy Of PerceptionVeil Of PerceptionPerceptual RelativityGeorge BerkeleyAnimal Senses
Book:Sense Perception and Reality: A Theory of Perceptual Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and the Observer Dependent Universe
Create image

“Our understanding of the universe is completely dependent upon the sensory apparatus available to us. Different animals have different sensory apparatus and so will have different but equally valid views of the universe. It is only by going outside our sensory apparatus, and studying how other sensory apparatus work, that we are able to get a better understanding of our own sensory apparatus.”

RealityRealismIdealismSense PerceptionObserver Dependent UniverseImmanuel KantPhilosophy Of PerceptionAnimal Senses
Book:Sense Perception and Reality: A Theory of Perceptual Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and the Observer Dependent Universe
Create image

“A significant part of the history of science has been the dethroning of human beings from being the centre of existence. Copernicus and Kepler showed the Earth was not the centre of the universe with everything orbiting the Earth. Darwin showed that the human being is just another animal, which has evolved like all other animals and shares ancestors with all other living species. It is time to dethrone the human view of the world and recognize that it is just another view of the world, no more real or true than the view of any other species.”

RealismIdealismSense PerceptionObserver Dependent UniverseImmanuel KantPhilosophy Of PerceptionVeil Of PerceptionPerceptual RelativityGeorge BerkeleyAnimal Senses
Book:Sense Perception and Reality: A Theory of Perceptual Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and the Observer Dependent Universe
Create image

“Our senses have evolved over millions of years in order to help us to survive. They give us information as to whether food is safe to eat, where potential prey may be and whether potential predators are around. They are designed to give us information relevant to our survival. Information not relevant to our survival, will not normally be available to us. Our senses are not designed to give us an accurate objective view of the world. They require a certain amount of energy to operate and human survival requires that energy is not wasted in providing us with information not relevant to our continued survival as a species. It is hardly surprising our senses do not give an accurate or objective view of the world. They are simply not intended for that purpose.”

RealismIdealismSense PerceptionObserver Dependent UniverseImmanuel KantPhilosophy Of PerceptionVeil Of PerceptionPerceptual RelativityGeorge BerkeleyAnimal Senses
Book:Sense Perception and Reality: A Theory of Perceptual Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and the Observer Dependent Universe
Create image

“Some animals can see only in black and white, so everything is a shade of grey, others can see in various colors. If you cease to look at something and it continues to exist, what color does it have? The color one species sees it in, or the color another species sees it in? Clearly it can't be grey and have another color at the same time. The same applies to other sense perceptions, a vibration in the air sounds different to different species, the same odour can smell different to different species. Remove the observer, what sound or smell continues to exist. The way one observer hears the sound or the way the other observer hears it? Does an odour continue to exist the way one observer smells it or the way another smells it? Something cannot be of different colors, smells or sounds at the same time. Clearly the sense perceptions a particular observer has disappear when the observer ceases to be making an observation.”

RealityExistenceEpistemologyOntologySense PerceptionTheory Of KnowledgeObserver Dependent UniversePhilosophy Of PerceptionPerceptual RelativitySensory Worlds
Book:Sense Perception and Reality: A Theory of Perceptual Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and the Observer Dependent Universe
Create image

“One of the most neglected areas in the philosophy of perception concerns animal senses. It is surprising how many philosophers write about perception in the apparent belief that humans are the only perceivers in the world. Human senses evolved through the same natural process as other animal senses, so there is no reason to regard human senses as special, or better than other animal senses.”

RealismIdealismSense PerceptionImmanuel KantPhilosophy Of PerceptionVeil Of PerceptionPerceptual RelativityGeorge BerkeleyPrimary QualitiesSecondary Qualities
Book:Sense Perception and Reality: A Theory of Perceptual Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and the Observer Dependent Universe
Create image

“One of the most neglected areas in the philosophy of perception concerns animal senses. It is surprising how many philosophers write abut perception in the apparent belief that humans are the only perceivers in the world. Human senses evolved through the same natural process as other animal senses, so there is no reason to regard human senses as special, or better than other animals senses.”

RealismIdealismSense PerceptionImmanuel KantVeil Of PerceptionPerceptual RelativityGeorge BerkeleyPrimary QualitiesSecondary QualitiesPhilolosophy Of Perception
Book:Sense Perception and Reality: A Theory of Perceptual Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and the Observer Dependent Universe
Create image