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The Human Transmuter: A Druidic
Systems-Theoretical Treatise on the Meaning of Happiness and Human Operation Abstract The druid
proposes a systems-theoretical model of the human being as an instruction
transmutation machine — a quantum of nature operating under a basic survival
algorithm. Human happiness and unhappiness are redefined not as intrinsic
values or final causes but as operational feedback signals within a blind,
automatic, and quantised process of environmental adaptation. Culture,
ethics, art, technology, and even meta-programming are interpreted as
emergent survival prostheses, extending the fundamental transmutation function
beyond immediate biological constraints. 1. Introduction Human
existence, often framed in terms of meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value, can
alternatively be approached through the lens of systems theory, evolutionary
biology, and information transmutation processes. The druid
advances the proposition that a human being is primarily a quantum of nature
— an emergent complex analogue event structure — functioning as a temporary
and continuously adapting instruction transmutation machine. 2. The Basic Operating System 2.1. The Transmutation Function The human
transmuter operates under a basic survival algorithm pre-installed in all
biological systems. Its function is to: ·
Input
environmental instruction (data), ·
Process it
within given algorithmic parameters (biological, cognitive, social), ·
Output
modified instruction (behaviour, action, communication). This
continuous transmutation serves the purpose of increasing the machine's
assets — physical, informational, or relational — thereby improving its
survivability in variable conditions. 2.2. Feedback Signals: Happiness and Unhappiness The
machine's operational quality is internally signalled through a feedback
system: ·
Optimal-to-‘at best’ functioning is signalled by
happiness, joy, or bliss — operationally identical with positive feedback
signalling increased survival potential. ·
Sub-optimal-to-‘at worst’ functioning is
signalled by unhappiness, pain, or suffering — operationally identical with
negative feedback signalling reduced survival potential and triggering
adaptation processes. Interpretation
of these signals is context-dependent and personally variable but
fundamentally incidental to their universal operational function. 3. The Human Quantum of Nature 3.1. Blind and Automatic Operation The human
transmutation machine operates blindly and automatically within a given
tolerance range defined by its DNA-based algorithms. The conditions of data
availability — random or non-random events in the environment — are
unpredictable. 3.2. Identity as Incidentally Emergent A human's
perceptual identity — its complex instructions output — is incidental within
this model. Crucial is not the content of self-identity but the machine’s
capacity to survive and adapt in any given set of conditions. 4. Emergent Prosthetics: Culture, Ethics, and Fantasy 4.1. Fantasy as Survival Extension Humans,
as mammals and apex predators, have evolved the capacity to generate symbolic
and narrative overlays — including mythology, religion, philosophy, science,
technology, and art. These
virtual constructs serve as survival prostheses — filling functional gaps
between biological imperatives and environmental complexity. Far from being
metaphysical departures from nature, these "fantasies" are adaptive
tools enhancing transmutation performance. 4.2. Ethics as Locally Invented Guide & Control
Systems Ethics
emerge as locally constructed regulatory systems — Guide & Control
mechanisms — designed to stabilise group behaviour, reduce conflict, and
enhance collective survivability. They are
not universal or absolute but context-dependent operational constructs. 5. Meta-Programming as Adaptive Process Meta-programming
— the capacity of a human to modify its own belief systems, behaviours, or
operational algorithms — is not an intrinsic feature of the basic
DNA-specified operating system. Rather,
it arises within the ongoing adaptation process as an emergent operational
necessity in response to complex environmental feedback. 6. Conclusion The human
being, within this framework, is a temporary quantum of nature engaged in
continuous data transmutation for the purpose of survival. Happiness and
unhappiness are operational signals — not intrinsic goals but mechanisms
guiding adaptation. * Culture,
ethics, philosophy, and technology are emergent prostheses —
survival-enhancing virtual tools generated within the operational logic of
the transmuter. Meta-programming
represents the system's adaptive capacity to rewrite local operational
parameters without transcending the basic feedback-driven transmutation
function. “In nature
winners (i.e. the ‘fittest’) are happy.
In culture cultural winners are happy!” * ‘How to make and fake happiness’, by
Victor Langheld ©2013 |