Metodo

International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Journal | Volume | Article

173741

Ontology in the game of life

Eric Steinhart

pp. 403-416

Abstract

The game of life is an excellent framework for metaphysical modeling. It can be used to study ontological categories like space, time, causality, persistence, substance, emergence, and supervenience. It is often said that there are many levels of existence in the game of life. Objects like the glider are said to exist on higher levels. Our goal here is to work out a precise formalization of the thesis that there are various levels of existence in the game of life. To formalize this thesis, we develop a set-theoretic construction of the glider. The method of this construction generalizes to other patterns in the game of life. And it can be extended to more realistic physical systems. The result is a highly general method for the set-theoretical construction of substances.

Publication details

Published in:

(2012) Axiomathes 22 (3).

Pages: 403-416

Full citation:

Steinhart Eric (2012) „Ontology in the game of life“. Axiomathes 22 (3), 403–416.