Good: Relaxation between Order and Disorder—A Critique of an Absurd Ethics Simply Using the Size of Entropy as Criterion ^†

Abstract

The moral principle that Mr. Floridi merely judges the Good and Evil with the amount of entropy is based on the simplicity and unipolar way of thinking. If practicing in accordance with his principle of Goodness that absolutely excluding entropy, then, in the field of nature and biology can only lead to the end of the dynamic changes, in the field of human mind and scientific development can only lead to rigid and stagnant, in the social field can only lead to fascist autocratic centralization system. The orderly and disorderly development of things have those limits, entropy and entropy increase is not absolute “Evil”, information and entropy reduction is not absolutely “Good”. In the evolution of universe and things embodied in it, there is no evil of eternal entropy increase, and no good of eternal entropy reduction. When the evolution of the whole entropy increases to a certain extent, it will naturally turn into the evolution of the whole entropy reduction; and vice versa, when the evolution of the whole entropy decreases to a certain limit, it will naturally turn into the whole Entropy increase in the evolution process. A reasonable ethical principle should reconcile opposing factors, such as information and entropy, orderly and disorder, integrity and reducibility, certainty and non-determinism, determinism and non-determinism, purpose and randomness, inevitability and contingency, and maintain a reasonable tension between these opposing factors. A reasonable conclusion can only be: Good—relaxation between order and disorder. In addition, the entropy theory (whether it is physical entropy or information entropy) that Floridi borrowed corresponding to order and disorder, and it only deals with grammatical information. The problem of information directly related to ethics and value is mainly in semantics and pragmatics, rather than simply in its grammar, and it is impossible to derive it simply and directly from the size of this formalized entropy. The lagging way of thinking, the deviation of the entropy and the understanding of information theory, led to Mr. Floridi’s information ethical framework hardly to support his ambition to establish macro-ethics. In the same way, his information ethics is also very difficult to be the philosophical foundation of his commitment to the construction of human ecological civilization. In fact, as early as the 20th century, 90 years, Chinese scholars have put forward a general philosophy of value transcended the human-centered narrow position in the name of the natural ontology. This philosophy of value is not only compatible with natural values and human values, but also compatible with material values and information values. It is the value and ethical paradigm putted forward by such a philosophy of value laid the foundation for the construction of human information ecological civilization and the general philosophical basis of sustainable development theory and practice.

1. Introduction

In the specific interpretation of Floridi’s entropy and entropy reduction directly or in the ethics of good or evil simply corresponding. He believes that unnecessary entropy is one kind of evil behavior, because the entropy can cause a system disorder; on the other hand, any act to maintain and promote the increase of information is good, because the information increase contributes to the stability of the system, making the system more orderly. Thus, any object or structure having the latter characteristic has the least intrinsic value. In this way, an action is morally bound, if and only if it can cause moral goodness or evil, when it reduces or increases the quantity of metaphysical entropy in the circle of information.

Here the methods used usually Floridi’s entropy and information theory in the system of structured degree quantitative criterion, the entropy and disorder of unity, the information and orderly unify, he went directly to the entropy, entropy, chaos and disorder of simple and direct and evil are unified, the information entropy the orderly and orderly reduction, simple and direct and unified.

Here, there are three real Floridi innovation point:

• entropy (disorder) = evil, information (ordered) = good;
• entropy (disorder) = evil (ordering), entropy reduction = good;
• the highest good behavior strategy is: absolute rejection of entropy—remove the existing entropy and prevent the emergence of new entropy.

According to this standard, all systems (things), whether animate or inanimate, in the static state, as long as according to the degree of structure size (ordering degree) can directly determine the extent of good or evil; in the dynamic, as long as according to the increase or decrease of entropy degree it can directly determine the degree of conversion to evil or good.

This innovation is indeed bold and novel, giving us a great deal of information (because of its unexpected degree is unprecedented).

However, in the face of such a bold innovation, we should also be careful to verify.

2. The Unified Scientific Meaning of Entropy and Negative Entropy, Information Entropy, and the Entropy Reduction

When the entropy and system of order or disorder degree of corresponding discussion appeared in the scene as follows: in general entropy theory, entropy corresponding to large system is the number of micro state control system and the uniform probability distribution of the state, which is the high degree of disorder, random, the uncertainty of the state; the corresponding system entropy is the number of small micro state control system and its probability distribution uniform state, which is the ordering of the high degree of uncertainty, and decisive state; there are two opposite limit state: the maximum entropy and minimum entropy (zero) the state, the former refers to the state of micro state dominated systems not only a and the probability distribution of probability, which is the most by a disorderly state system has the same number of microstates disposal, the latter refers to Is the micro state dominated systems only one such system is the ordering system of the highest level, the entropy of S = k, ln1 = 0; entropy or entropy reduction is produced with the change of the system evolution of order and disorder of the scene [1]. To enhance the degree of disorder corresponds to the entropy, the specific mechanism is to increase the number of micro state control system or micro state probability distribution equalization; ordering degree enhancement corresponds to entropy decreasing, the specific mechanism is to reduce the number of micro state control system or micro state probability distribution of non-equalization.

3. Entropy and Information, Order and Disorder, Good and Evil

If in accordance with the ethical principles of Floridi out for us—“in the circle of information entropy, should not cause”, “in the circle of information entropy, should be inhibited; in the circle of information entropy should be removed” to deal with the complicated relationship between information in the circle of words, so it can bring to us what is definitely not “to increase the information entity and the entire information circle of benefits”, is definitely not what “through preservation, cultivate and increase their welfare, so as to promote their prosperity.” If Floridi to act according to ethical principles we developed, the result is only one, that is the information circle, ecosystem and human society and individual survival state step by step deterioration until catastrophic destruction.

The ethical value of human civilization the concept of information it should not be a black society, fascist and totalitarian system of service theory, on the contrary, it should be to lead a more service for the new system of human civilization, democracy, freedom, pluralistic and harmonious theory. In addition, it should provide the philosophical foundation of value ethics for the ecological harmony of the earth and the sustainable development of mankind [2]

4. The Complexity of the View: Between Order and Disorder to Maintain Some Moderate Tension

Moran complexity of the whole and the part, discusses the relationship between order and disorder has given us a clear hint: try to effect by the increase or decrease of entropy weight to directly correspond to simple judgment of the whole and the part, order and disorder, and the corresponding point of view or theory and “good” or “evil” further simple and direct the absurd and funny.

If we must use the increase or decrease of entropy, order and disorder that measure to judge good or evil, then, perhaps we can only give a qualitative macro statement: to truly achieve good it is necessary to maintain a proper tension between order and disorder.

5. How Ecological Civilization Needs a Kind of Value Philosophy Foundation?

The cyclic evolution of the universe is highly self-organized. The universe without introducing from its external mode, the total mass energy the universe itself, the universe itself the dimensions of space-time, the universe itself quality form, energy form, information model of diversity and complexity, the quality of various types, form between forms of energy and information between mode between transition and transformation, and the quality of morphology, energy and information in the form of mode between the complex interplay of interaction, mutual support, mutual transformation, mutual coordination synchronization generation, evolution and degeneration, fully demonstrated the specific patterns of different stages of the evolution of the universe, the different fields and levels of endogenous and various modes of the interaction between transition and transformation, spontaneous transition constructive [3]. This also shows the evolution of self-organization self feedback, self control, self networking, its encoding, decoding, its own structure, its own holographic display settings, and complexity.