Universal Intelligence
Encyclopedia
Universal Intelligence is a term used by some to describe what they see as organization, or order of the universe. It has been described as "the intrinsic tendency for things to self-organize and co-evolve into ever more complex, intricately interwoven and mutually compatible forms."
A general description necessarily includes descriptions of religious thinking and terminology. For example, it has been described as that which resides within or beyond nature -- from ecological wisdom to the Tao
and "God's will". While it includes concepts like self-organization
, co-evolution
, and co-intelligence, from a theological construct it isn't generally described as a personal "God
" in the usual Judeo-Christian
, monotheistic
, sense, but an impersonal god in the pantheistic
sense. This is a basic theological viewpoint in Vitalism
, but the concepts are mutually exclusive (heretical
).
In chiropractic
philosophy
, it is used as the starting point, as an "a priori
" principle: "There is a Universal Intelligence in all matter continually giving to it its properties and actions, thus maintaining it in existence." It is related to the chiropractic terms Innate Intelligence
and Educated Intelligence.
In attempting to design an artificial machine intelligence
, the term universal intelligence is a descriptive term based on a mathematical formula.
, the eternal mind, which transforms chaos into order and through it the material world comes into being."
philosophy. In order to establish the existence of a Universal Intelligence, inductive reasoning
is used, while the rest of chiropractic philosophy is deductive in nature. This concept is based upon the idea that organization bespeaks an intelligence, and thus, the order and organization of atoms, which are universal, bespeaks an intelligence of the universe.
The concept of Universal Intelligence was first expounded upon by D. D. Palmer in his 1910 book, "The Chiropractor's Adjuster":
The first principle of chiropractic philosophy is called the Major Premise:
R. W. Stephenson, D.C., Ph. C., was the first to put chiropractic philosophy into a systematic and organized manner, which appeared in his 1927 publication, "Chiropractic Textbook:"
B. J. Palmer
wrote extensively on chiropractic and mentions Universal Intelligence numerous times:
to conclude that these early chiropractors were talking about God, they were not talking about a personal God in the usual Judeo-Christian
, monotheistic
, sense, but an impersonal god in a pantheistic
sense, which is a basic theological viewpoint in Vitalism
. The concepts are mutually exclusive (heretical
) to practicing believers.
The comparison of Universal Intelligence to God is mentioned in various writings throughout the early chiropractic years:
Even while there are religious implications with Universal Intelligence, the most influential of the early chiropractors, BJ Palmer, had his doubts about various religious teachings and even criticized the Bible
:
Palmer also speaks of the division of religion and medicine, as seen by this quote:
Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay says:
"The Secret" interviewee Bob Proctor references "Universal Intelligence" when referring to the subconscious, stating that it is the place from which we attract things into our lives.
" in a machine. In doing so the first problem is defining intelligence. "How can we hope to create artificial intelligence if we can't even say what intelligence is?" To help make this distinction, a mathematical formula has been devised to standardize a universal intelligence for comparison among various machine intelligence systems, although its usefulness and ability to be calculated may be in question.
According to Ben Goertzel, Ph. D, "Since universal intelligence is only definable up to an arbitrary constant, it's of at best ~heuristic~ value in thinking about the constructure of real AI systems. In reality, different universally intelligent modules may be practically applicable to different types of problems."
A general description necessarily includes descriptions of religious thinking and terminology. For example, it has been described as that which resides within or beyond nature -- from ecological wisdom to the Tao
Tao
Dao or Tao is a Chinese word meaning 'way', 'path', 'route', or sometimes more loosely, 'doctrine' or 'principle'...
and "God's will". While it includes concepts like self-organization
Self-organization
Self-organization is the process where a structure or pattern appears in a system without a central authority or external element imposing it through planning...
, co-evolution
Co-evolution
In biology, coevolution is "the change of a biological object triggered by the change of a related object." Coevolution can occur at many biological levels: it can be as microscopic as correlated mutations between amino acids in a protein, or as macroscopic as covarying traits between different...
, and co-intelligence, from a theological construct it isn't generally described as a personal "God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
" in the usual Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...
, monotheistic
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
, sense, but an impersonal god in the pantheistic
Pantheism
Pantheism is the view that the Universe and God are identical. Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal, anthropomorphic or creator god. The word derives from the Greek meaning "all" and the Greek meaning "God". As such, Pantheism denotes the idea that "God" is best seen as a process of...
sense. This is a basic theological viewpoint in Vitalism
Vitalism
Vitalism, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is#a doctrine that the functions of a living organism are due to a vital principle distinct from biochemical reactions...
, but the concepts are mutually exclusive (heretical
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
).
In chiropractic
Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. It is generally categorized as complementary and alternative medicine...
philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, it is used as the starting point, as an "a priori
A priori and a posteriori (philosophy)
The terms a priori and a posteriori are used in philosophy to distinguish two types of knowledge, justifications or arguments...
" principle: "There is a Universal Intelligence in all matter continually giving to it its properties and actions, thus maintaining it in existence." It is related to the chiropractic terms Innate Intelligence
Innate intelligence
Innate Intelligence is a chiropractic term to describe the organizing properties of living things. It was originally coined by Daniel David Palmer, the founder of chiropractic. This vitalistic concept states that all life contains Innate Intelligence and that this force is responsible for the...
and Educated Intelligence.
In attempting to design an artificial machine intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, the term universal intelligence is a descriptive term based on a mathematical formula.
Etymology
The term universal intelligence was possibly first used by the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras 450BC: "He introduced the idea of a NousNous
Nous , also called intellect or intelligence, is a philosophical term for the faculty of the human mind which is described in classical philosophy as necessary for understanding what is true or real, very close in meaning to intuition...
, the eternal mind, which transforms chaos into order and through it the material world comes into being."
Use in chiropractic philosophy
The term "Universal Intelligence" is used as a starting point in chiropracticChiropractic
Chiropractic is a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. It is generally categorized as complementary and alternative medicine...
philosophy. In order to establish the existence of a Universal Intelligence, inductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning, also known as induction or inductive logic, is a kind of reasoning that constructs or evaluates propositions that are abstractions of observations. It is commonly construed as a form of reasoning that makes generalizations based on individual instances...
is used, while the rest of chiropractic philosophy is deductive in nature. This concept is based upon the idea that organization bespeaks an intelligence, and thus, the order and organization of atoms, which are universal, bespeaks an intelligence of the universe.
The concept of Universal Intelligence was first expounded upon by D. D. Palmer in his 1910 book, "The Chiropractor's Adjuster":
- "As the Intelligent Energy that operates the human machine is derived from an Infinite Source, the Universal Intelligence, and is, therefore, limited only by the capacity of the brain to transform and individualize it, it is evident that any excess, deficiency or irregularity of action, either of which is a form of disease, must be due to some mechanical obstruction which prevents its normal transmission."
The first principle of chiropractic philosophy is called the Major Premise:
- "A Universal Intelligence is in all matter and continually gives to it all its properties and actions, thus maintaining it in existence."
R. W. Stephenson, D.C., Ph. C., was the first to put chiropractic philosophy into a systematic and organized manner, which appeared in his 1927 publication, "Chiropractic Textbook:"
- "Universal Intelligence is in all matter and continually gives to it all the properties and actions. The expression of this intelligence through matter is the Chiropractic meaning of life; therefore life is necessarily the union of intelligence and matter. Force unites intelligence and matter. Universal Intelligence gives force to both inorganic and organic matter. That force which Universal Intelligence gives to organic matter as a higher order of its manifestations, is called Innate IntelligenceInnate intelligenceInnate Intelligence is a chiropractic term to describe the organizing properties of living things. It was originally coined by Daniel David Palmer, the founder of chiropractic. This vitalistic concept states that all life contains Innate Intelligence and that this force is responsible for the...
."
B. J. Palmer
B. J. Palmer
Bartlett Joshua Palmer born in What Cheer, Iowa, was a pioneer of chiropractic. B.J. was son of Daniel David Palmer , the founder of chiropractic.- Early life :...
wrote extensively on chiropractic and mentions Universal Intelligence numerous times:
- "Education, so far as health problems and religious theories are concerned, works from outside in; from below upward. Universal intelligence and Innate intelligenceInnate intelligenceInnate Intelligence is a chiropractic term to describe the organizing properties of living things. It was originally coined by Daniel David Palmer, the founder of chiropractic. This vitalistic concept states that all life contains Innate Intelligence and that this force is responsible for the...
work from above downward, within outward." vol 22
- "Behind the Universe is a Universal Intelligence which has directed its functions in millions of ways for millions of years. It follows a definite pattern which never varies, each to its kind and form." vol 22 "THE BIGNESS OF THE FELLOW WITHIN", By B. J. PALMER, D.C., Ph. C., COPYRIGHT, 1949, BY B. J. PALMER
- "We assume you have read our writings and know whereof WE speak. If you can imagine the derision, contempt, scoffing he presents in trying to make it appear that we are establishing an unfounded, ungrounded, fantastical religious “cult”, then you know what we are opposing. No where in any of my writings will you find anything taking on any appearance of a religion, other than to acknowledge as fundamental a Universal Intelligence, call it God if one must, which is personified in man as a Unital Innate Intelligence; one of which is all intelligence, all powerful sufficient for the Universe, the other of which is all intelligent and all powerful sufficient unto the unit, be that unit man or animal, insect or tree, etc., as exemplified in any, every, and all LIVING objects." vol 26, "CONFLICTS CLARIFY" By B. J. PALMER, D.C., Ph. C. President, the Palmer School of Chiropractic, COPYRIGHT 1951, BY B. J. PALMER
- "Why title IT “UNIVERSAL INTELLIGENCE?” Because man, with his limited horizon, suggests IT possesses knowledge, understanding, ideas, ideals, discrimination between life and death, normal and abnormal, right and wrong, good and bad, constructive and destructive values of materials; adapts itself to conditions to preserve its integrity in all living products it creates and sustains. That IT IS “universal” is an all-inclusive term of time, abilities, materials, beyond human scope. IT is that intangible SOURCE from which spring all things superior TO mortal man, IN man, TO which all men aspire, revere and seek to comprehend its unlimited possibilities and responsibilities."
Religious implications
While it would be easy for someone who already believes in GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
to conclude that these early chiropractors were talking about God, they were not talking about a personal God in the usual Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...
, monotheistic
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
, sense, but an impersonal god in a pantheistic
Pantheism
Pantheism is the view that the Universe and God are identical. Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal, anthropomorphic or creator god. The word derives from the Greek meaning "all" and the Greek meaning "God". As such, Pantheism denotes the idea that "God" is best seen as a process of...
sense, which is a basic theological viewpoint in Vitalism
Vitalism
Vitalism, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is#a doctrine that the functions of a living organism are due to a vital principle distinct from biochemical reactions...
. The concepts are mutually exclusive (heretical
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
) to practicing believers.
- "It is important to remember that the chiropractic concept of a Universal Intelligence is a principlePrincipleA principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed...
of organization. While it may share some of the attributes of God: omnipresent, without solicitude, and immutable, the concept of God has the characteristics of love, justice, righteousness, and personality. None of which are a part of Universal Intelligence." (Joseph B. Strauss, Copyright 1991 "Chiropractic Philosophy")
The comparison of Universal Intelligence to God is mentioned in various writings throughout the early chiropractic years:
- "You may call this Universal Intelligence—God, if you choose." Vol. 1 "The Science of Chiropractic Its Principles and Philosophies" By B. J. PALMER, D. C., Ph. C.
- "We know there is a Universal Intelligence—call it “God” if you wish. We know there is an Innate Intelligence in the unit—be it tree, bird, reptile, animal, or man. The evidence is everywhere surrounding us and in us. This evidence appeals to reason, logic, common sense, and facts. It is not necessary to “believe” or “have faith” in those facts. But, where the two meet, if they do before or after death, is unknown to us. We can “believe” and “have faith” in any way we please, but there is no evidence to sustain any reason, logic, common sense, or facts." Palmer Vol. 22 1949
Even while there are religious implications with Universal Intelligence, the most influential of the early chiropractors, BJ Palmer, had his doubts about various religious teachings and even criticized the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
:
- "‘God’ is a name given to the life-giving universal principle. It is, according to the Book, both good and bad. Stories recited are constructive and destructive. These stories are full of contradictions. Our study of The Book made us distrust its reliability when confronted with facts as we know them. We were in doubt. We had questions for which we found no answers. That there was a Universal Intelligence was true, but it did not exist as The Book told the stories. It was not a He or Him. There were no places such as heavenHeavenHeaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
or hellHellIn many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. The Book was not ‘the Word of GodWord of GodWord of God or God's Word may refer to:*Divine revelation**certain Religious texts**Prophecy**Biblical literalism*Logos as "divine word"** in biblical creation, see Genesis creation narrative**in trinitarianism, see Jesus Christ the Logos...
’ because Universal Intelligence does not speak words, language. If Universal Intelligence did speak words, was it English, Greek, Latin, German, French, Chinese, or what have you—all of which are in use now, some of which were not in use then, all of which are spoken of today as ‘the word of God.’" Vol. 22
Palmer also speaks of the division of religion and medicine, as seen by this quote:
- "In the name of education, years before ChristChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
, ThalesThalesThales of Miletus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Asia Minor, and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition...
, a Greek philosopher, had the idea that man was two halves of a whole—that he was divisible. He propounded and advocated a new approach to the study of man, viz., —the soulSoulA soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
, spirit, ego, subconscious mind was one study—the corporealCorporealCorporeal may refer to:*Corporeal undead, See also: :Category:Corporeal undead*Matter *Body, of or relating to the body*Corporeal...
, material, matter, tissue structure was the other study. The soul was given to the theologians—and they have claimed it was their prior arts rights for exclusive study and investigation ever since." pg 39 Vol 22
Modern usage
James A. Putnam states:- "Our ability, or even an insect's ability, to analyze hoards of always changing, almost random data coming to us at the speed of light is demonstration that something magnificent is occurring within our minds. What this means is our conscious mind is in communication with a subconscious mind that already knows what to do. It also means the universe is in communication with our subconscious minds. The universe sends us information for which we must already know the meaning. Our intelligence contains the meaning of the universe. Universal intelligence is our intelligence."
- "Judging from the universality of phenomena, the nature of such phenomena, and the logical necessity of an adequate cause therefor, it is assumed that there is a Universal Intelligence which is the governing power of nature. Everything which exists is, in its degree, a manifestation of an Intelligence which is superior to the individual's comprehension. This Intelligent Power is not found alone in the great crises such as the first appearance of life and the dawning of consciousness or mind, but in the whole continuous, purposeful process."
- "There is more to intelligence than human intelligence. Intelligence is a property of the universe and of all that is in it. Universal Intelligence is the intrinsic tendency for things to self-organize and co-evolve into ever more complex, intricately interwoven and mutually compatible forms. Our human intelligence is but one manifestation of that universal dynamic. The more we are conscious of universal intelligence and connect ourselves to it, the more intelligence (and wisdom) we will have to work with. One might also describe Universal Intelligence as the mind or will of God or Spirit."
Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay says:
- "In his Enquiry, HumeHume- People :* Hume * David Hume, a Scottish philosopher, economist and historian* Hume Cronyn, Canadian actor and son of the politician* Hume Cronyn , Canadian politician and father of the actor- In fiction :...
accurately described the Argument from design as "useless" because in and of itself it can never "establish any new principles of conduct and behavior." The Argument From Design only shows at best that there is intelligent design in the universe; it tells us nothing about whether the entity cares about human beings, communicates with them, or has moral scruples. Of itself, intelligent design does not validate any theology beyond deism."
- "On the other hand, intelligent designIntelligent designIntelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
does not violate any known facts or logical principles. So why does it meet with such fierce opposition? True, many people leap immediately from the notion of intelligent design to the theology of their particular sect, but the proper response by anyone who claims intellectual rigor is to show the hidden assumptions in that leap of reasoning."
- "Still, it's legitimate to raise the possibility that order in the universe arises solely from the properties of the universe itself. Or is it? We know that some cases of complex order are the result of intelligent design. We do not know that any other origin for complex order is possible. What basis do we have even for postulating such a possibility? The bottom line is that none of the criticisms of the Argument From Design are compelled by any empirical or logical evidence; they are inspired solely by the desire to discredit the Argument From Design for the sake of discrediting it."
"The Secret" interviewee Bob Proctor references "Universal Intelligence" when referring to the subconscious, stating that it is the place from which we attract things into our lives.
Use in artificial intelligence
There is a desire to create an "artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
" in a machine. In doing so the first problem is defining intelligence. "How can we hope to create artificial intelligence if we can't even say what intelligence is?" To help make this distinction, a mathematical formula has been devised to standardize a universal intelligence for comparison among various machine intelligence systems, although its usefulness and ability to be calculated may be in question.
-
- where E is the set of all payoff/outcome functions (see page 11) (loosely speaking), π is a "universal" strategy, K is the Kolmogorov complexityKolmogorov complexityIn algorithmic information theory , the Kolmogorov complexity of an object, such as a piece of text, is a measure of the computational resources needed to specify the object...
, and (page 9)
According to Ben Goertzel, Ph. D, "Since universal intelligence is only definable up to an arbitrary constant, it's of at best ~heuristic~ value in thinking about the constructure of real AI systems. In reality, different universally intelligent modules may be practically applicable to different types of problems."