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Deep Generative Theory: A New Philosophical Realm of Natural Science

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Deep Generative Theory: A New Philosophical Horizon for the Natural Science

Abstract

The philosophical problems inherent in contemporary natural scientific theories—such as special and general relativity, quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, fractal geometry and system dynamics, and modern self-organization theory—constitute the "problems of the century." Authored by Lu Pinyue, Deep Generative Theory: A New Philosophical Horizon for the Natural Science (Deluxe Edition) provides a profound analysis of the essence of these paradoxes and crises. It reveals the new philosophical horizons hidden within these scientific achievements, enabling a fundamental understanding of these abstruse developments. Simultaneously, the work develops and enriches Marx’s ontological practical materialism into "Deep Generative Theory" [1]. Its core ideas include: isolated matter-in-itself as a physical entity does not exist; all things in the world, along with their spacetime and attributes, are generated within the internal relations of things; the uncertainty of internal relations gives rise to the quantum nature and emergent structures of the world; and the cognitive process is not a correspondence of "original image to mirror image," but rather a process of mutual internal generation and manifestation between subject and object within practice. This book serves as a reference for relevant readers.

Contents

Preface: Contemporary Science Opening a New Horizon for Human Thought

Part I: The Crisis of Scientific Thought and Its Philosophical Roots Chapter 1: The Philosophical Foundations of Classical Physics and Their Crisis

  1. Old Materialism and the Crisis in Physics
  2. The Paradox of the Speed of Light: Confusion over the Relationship Between Matter and Spacetime
  3. Ultraviolet Divergence: Confusion over Interactions Between Matter

Chapter 2: The Roots of the Crisis: Internal Paradoxes of Old Materialism

  1. Paradigms of Old Ontology: A World that Dies and is Reborn Every Instant
  2. Classical Physics: The Contradiction Between the Concepts of "Force" and "Energy"
  3. The Epistemological Paradox of Old Materialism: The Dualist Split Between Subject and Object
  4. A Brief General Critique of Old Materialism
  5. Philosophical Harbinger: The Birth of New Materialism [2]

Chapter 3: Surface Laws and Deep Laws

  1. Surface Laws: Constitutional Laws of the Object
  2. Deep Laws: Generative Laws of Things

Part II: The Philosophy of Relativity: Spacetime Generated within Material Processes Chapter 4: Special Relativity: The Flow of Time and Mutual Representation

  1. Internal Connection Processes and the Generation of Coordinate Systems
  2. The Principle of Special Relativity: The Law of World Unity in the Mutual Representation of Matter
  3. Transformation of Coordinate Language and the Revolution in the Conception of Spacetime
  4. Behind the Spacetime Generation Process: The Circulation Process of Matter-Energy

Chapter 5: General Relativity: Spacetime Forms and Interaction Dynamics

  1. The Equivalence Principle: The Unity of Physical and Geometric Effects
  2. The Principle of General Relativity: Mutual Representation of Matter in Motion
  3. Spacetime Curvature: The Generation of Non-Equilibrium in Spacetime Scales
  4. From Geometric Properties of Spacetime to Gravitational Interaction
  5. Physical Phenomena Predicted by General Relativity

Chapter 6: Western Philosophy Surrounding Relativity

  1. Einstein's Conceptual Structure
  2. Epistemological Interpretations of Relativity
  3. Various Ontological Interpretations of Relativity

Chapter 7: The True Meaning of Relativity: Things Generated and Represented within Internal Relations

  1. Wonders and Truths Brought to the World
  2. The Conception of Spacetime: From Supra-Material Scales to Forms of Internal Relations Between Matter
  3. The Conception of Matter: From Matter-in-Itself to Internal Relations and Transformation
  4. The Unity of Matter and Spacetime: A Material World of Generation and Circulation

Part III: The Philosophy of Quantum Theory: Micro-Objects Generated within Interaction Chapter 8: The Basic Theoretical Framework of Quantum Mechanics

  1. Science that Changed the Material and Spiritual Worlds of Humanity
  2. The Birth of the Quantum Concept: From "Energy Points" to Units of Energy Exchange
  3. Wave-Particle Duality and Quantization Equations: The Birth of Quantum Mechanics
  4. Modes of Interpretation: From Probabilistic Interpretation to Structural Forces

Chapter 9: The "Mystery" of Quantum Mechanics and Interpretive Schemes in Western Philosophy

  1. The "Mystery" of Quantum Mechanics
  2. The Copenhagen Interpretation
  3. Several Ontological Interpretive Schemes for Quantum Mechanics

Chapter 10: Quantum Theory: From the Transcendental View of Law to the Generative View of Law

  1. The Transcendental View of Law: Predetermined Laws of Given Material Entities
  2. The Generative View of Law: From Quantum Principles to Universal Philosophical Principles
  3. The Generation of Particles and Laws: The Path of Ontological Interpretation in Quantum Mechanics
  4. Preliminary Resolution of Philosophical Difficulties in Quantum Mechanics

Chapter 11: Quantum Field Theory: The Generation of the Vacuum and the World of Particles

  1. The Hidden World Revealed by the Dirac Equation
  2. Quantum Fields: The Generation of Vacuums and Particles
  3. New Realms of Ontology: The Observable World and the Unobservable World

Chapter 12: Implicate Order and Explicate Order

  1. The Existence of Two Orders
  2. The "Implicate Order" of the Real World

Chapter 13: From the "Uncertainty Principle" to the Internal Structure of Spacetime

  1. The Dilemma of Divergence at "Spacetime Points"
  2. The Path Out of the "Divergence Dilemma"
  3. Renormalization Groups and Scale Invariance
  4. The Manifestation of Hierarchical Structures and the Bankruptcy of Reductionism
  5. The Discovery of Internal Hierarchical Structures in Spacetime

Part IV: The Philosophy of Systems Theory and Complexity Theory: The Generation of an Emergent World Chapter 14: Fractal Geometry: The Generation of the World of Forms

  1. Deep Structures and Generators of Forms
  2. "Constitution" versus "Generation" of Geometric Forms
  3. The Generative Process of Geometric Forms of Things
  4. The Geometry of Nature: Various Morphologies of Generators

Chapter 15: System Dynamics: The Generative Mechanism of Material Systems

  1. From Constitutionalist Pictures to Generative Mechanisms
  2. Generators and Iterative Equations: The Structure of the Generative Process
  3. Evolutionary Mechanisms: From "Generators" to "Attractors"
  4. Fractals, Chaos, and Renormalization: A Common Generative Mechanism
  5. Internal Connections and Unity Among Renormalization, Fractals, and Chaos

Chapter 16: The Emergent Structure of the World

  1. "Coarse-Graining" and the Emergence of Laws
  2. "Coupling" and "Decoupling": From Reductionism to Emergentism

Chapter 17: Self-Organization Theory: The Structure of the Generative Process

  1. Essentials of Dissipative Structure Theory
  2. Dissipative Structure Theory and Bergson’s Philosophy of Life
  3. Synergetics: The Organization of the Generation of Collective Systemic Behavior
  4. Hypercycle Theory: Types and Structures of Generators

Chapter 18: Information Processes: The Generation and Revelation of the World

  1. Information: The Process of Eliminating Uncertainty
  2. The Concept of Information and Changes in Modern Scientific Thought
  3. The Birth of Information Science and Technology and Its Contribution to Contemporary Scientific Thought

Conclusion: A Growing New Philosophy

  1. The Contribution of Philosophy to Contemporary Scientific Thought
  2. The Opening of New Philosophical Horizons by Achievements in Natural Science
  3. Epistemology: From the "Original Image-Mirror Image Relationship" to "Practical Connection"
  4. Ontology: A Growing New Worldview
  5. The Internal Connection Between Humanity and Nature: A Deepening Historical Process

Appendix: Map of Philosophical Concepts in This Book Main References