Recent developments in molecular and cell biology indicate that Bohr’s principle of complementarity originally derived from quantum physics may apply to living processes in the form of information-energy complementarity. Complementarity-like concepts also occur in many other fields, including psychology, computer science, philosophy, semiotics (the study of signs), and world religions. The universality of Bohr’s complementarity may be traced to the complementary neuro-electrophysiological functions of the human brain such as the dichotomy of the left and right hemispheres. These findings motivated the formulation of a new philosophical framework referred to as “complementarism” in the early 1990’s, the essential content of which being that the ultimate reality perceived and communicated by the human brain is the complementary union of irreconcilable opposites.
In the latter half of the 1990’s, it was found that living cells use a language (called cell language) whose design principles are very similar to those of human language [S. Ji, BioSystems 44: 17-39 (1997)]. This finding further strengthens the link between biology and philosophy, in agreement with the philosophies of Aristotle (384-322 BC), Spinoza (1632-1677), and Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1907-1961). Thus, complementarism, which is rooted in both modern biophysical sciences and classical and modern philosophical systems, may provide a powerful new philosophical framework for integrating not only science and philosophy but also various competing philosophies and religions of the world.
During the first half of the semester, students will be introduced to the essentials of complementarism, and their mathematical, physical, and metaphysical supports derived from physics, chemistry, biology, cognitive sciences, linguistics, philosophy, and semiotics. The second half of the semester will be devoted to students’ presentations consisting of short talks (10-minute long) and final seminars (30-minute long) on topics related to some aspects of complementarism or to its application to solving practical problems in contemporary life. The final grade will be based on classroom participation, including short talks (30%, two short talks per student), final seminar (30%), and a written version of the final seminar (10–15 pages, single spaced, including figures, tables, and references; 40%) due one week after the oral presentation.
Pre-requisite: A college-level introductory course (or equivalents) in biology, chemistry, or physics.
About Professor Ji