ORIGIN OF LIFE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF INFORMATI / Herkunft des Lebens aus der Sicht der Information
Natural laws about information and their conclusions - Prof. Dr. DI. Werner Gitt
The strongest argument in science is always given when one can apply natural laws in the sense that they exclude a process or event. We find an almost unimaginable amount of information in all living things. The thought system evolution could only work if there was a possibility in matter that information could arise through random processes.
This information is absolutely necessary because all the blueprints of individuals and all complex processes in the cells (e.g. protein synthesis) are information-controlled. This article argues with the natural laws of information obtained from observation. These laws rule out that any information, including biological information, can have emerged from matter and energy without any reference to an intelligent originator. Anyone who thinks evolution is possible believes in a “perpetuum mobile of information”. The natural laws shown here require a conscious and willing creator for the origin of biological information. The far-reaching implications of these laws are discussed.
1. What is a natural law? If the general validity of sentences that concern our observable world can be confirmed again and again in a reproducible manner, we speak of a natural law. Natural laws enjoy the highest level of trust in science when it comes to their meaningfulness. What is important is: # The laws of nature know no exceptions.
# Natural laws are unchangeable in time.
# The laws of nature answer the question of whether an imaginary process is even possible or not. This is a particularly important application of the laws of nature.
# The laws of nature have always existed, independent of their discovery and formulation by humans:
# Natural laws can always be successfully applied to unknown cases.
When we talk about natural laws, we usually mean physical and chemical laws. Anyone who thinks that our world can only be described in terms of material dimensions is limiting their perception. Our world also includes non-material quantities such as information, will and consciousness. With the help of the concept presented here, an attempt is made for the first time to formulate natural laws for non-material quantities. They meet the same strict criteria as the natural laws for material quantities and are therefore just as meaningful in their conclusions as those of material quantities.
2. What is information? 2.1 Information is not a property of matter! The much-quoted sentence comes from the American mathematician Norbert Wiener: “Information is information, neither matter nor energy.” In doing so, he recognized something very important: information is not a material quantity. I would like to explain this important property of information using an insightful example: Let's imagine an area of sand on the beach. I write a few sentences in the sand with my finger. The content of the information is understandable. Then I delete the information by smoothing the sand. Now I'm writing other sentences in the sand. I use the same material to present information as before. As a result of deleting and rewriting, the mass of the sand did not change at any time, although different information was displayed in the meantime. The information itself is therefore massless. (We could have done the same reasoning using a computer's hard drive).
Norbert Wiener told us what information is not; but we want to know what information really is. This question will be answered below. Because information is a non-material quantity, its emergence cannot be explained in terms of material processes. What is the triggering factor for there to be information at all? What prompts us to write a letter, a postcard, a congratulation, a diary or a note? The most important prerequisite for this is our own will or that of our client. Information is always based on the will of a sender who delivers the information. It is not a constant, but can increase intentionally and be deformed or destroyed by disruptive influences. Let us note: Information is only created through will (intention). 2.2 Natural law definition of information. In order to be able to describe the natural laws of information, one needs a suitable and precise definition in order to be able to clearly decide whether an unknown system belongs to the scope of the definition or not.
The following definition allows a reliable assignment: Information is always present when all of the following five hierarchical levels occur in an observable system: Statistics, syntax, semantics, pragmatics and apobetics. The five levels of information are:
1. Statistics: This includes questions such as: How many letters, numbers and words does the entire text consist of? What is the number of individual letters of the alphabet used (e.g. a, b, c, ..., z or G, C, A and T)? How frequently do certain letters and words appear? Claude E. Shannon developed a mathematical concept [1, pp. 294-311], but it only covers this lowest level.
2. Syntax: We subsume all structural features of information representation under syntax. On this second level it is only about the sign systems 3 themselves (code) and the rules for linking signs and character strings (grammar, vocabulary), although this happens independently of any interpretation.
3. Semantics: Character strings and syntactic rules form the necessary prerequisites for representing information. The crucial thing about information to be transmitted is semantics, i.e. the message it contains, the statement, the meaning, the meaning.
4. Pragmatics: Information calls for action. From our point of view, it doesn't matter whether the information recipient acts in the interests of the information sender, reacts in the opposite direction or doesn't respond at all. However, every transfer of information occurs with the intention of the sender to trigger a specific action on the part of the recipient
5. Apobetic: It applies to any piece of information that the sender is pursuing a goal with it. With this we have reached the last and highest level of information, namely apobetics (goal aspect, result aspect; Greek apobeinon = result, success, outcome). The apobetic aspect of the information is the most important because it asks about the sender's objective.
3.) The four natural laws of information (NGI) NGI-1: A material quantity cannot produce a non-material quantity. It is our general experience that an apple tree produces apples, a pear tree produces pears and a thistle produces thistle seeds. Likewise, horses give birth to horse foals, cows give birth to cow calves and women give birth to human children. In the same way, we see from the observation that a material quantity never produces anything non-material. Instead of immaterial or non-material, we use the spelling “non-material” throughout in order to emphasize the contrast to material even more clearly.
NGI-2: Information is a non-material fundamental quantity. Our reality, in which we live, can be divided into two fundamental areas, namely the material and non-material world. Matter has mass, and this can be weighed in the gravitational field. In contrast, all non-material quantities (e.g. information, consciousness, intelligence, will) are massless. Nevertheless, it is important to note that matter and energy are required to store and transmit information.
NGI-3: No information can be created in statistical processes. Statistical processes are purely physical or chemical processes that take place without the intervention of controlling intelligence.
NGI-4: Information can only be created by an intelligent transmitter. An intelligent transmitter (in contrast to a machine transmitter) has consciousness, is equipped with its own will, is creative, thinks independently and is goal-oriented. NGI-4 is a very general law of nature from which several more specific laws of nature can be derived.
4 NGI-4a: Every code is based on the mutual agreement between sender and receiver. NGI-4b: There is no new information without an intelligent transmitter.
NGI-4c: Every information transmission chain can be traced back to an intelligent transmitter.
NGI-4d: Assigning meaning to a set of symbols is a mental process that requires intelligence. But our questions go beyond that, and so we need a higher source of information in order to be able to cross the necessary borders.
Conclusion #1: God exists; Refutation of atheism S1: Because we find a code (DNA or RNA molecules) and the other levels of information in all forms of life, we are clearly within the definition of information. So we can conclude: There must be an intelligent transmitter for this! (Application of NGI-3, NGI-6, NGI-7) Reason: Since there is no demonstrable process through observation or experiment in the material world in which information arose on its own, this also applies to all information that we in found in living beings. Here too, NGI-4 requires an intelligent author who “wrote” the programs. Conclusion No. 1 is therefore also a refutation of atheism.
Conclusion #2: God is omniscient and eternal S2: The information encoded in the DNA molecule far exceeds any of our current technologies. Since no human being is possible as a transmitter, they have to be looked for outside our visible world. We can conclude: The sender must not only be extremely intelligent, but also have an infinite amount of information and intelligence, i.e. H. he must be omniscient. (Application of NGI-1, NGI-2, NGI-4b) Reason: According to NGI-4c, there is an intelligent originator at the beginning of every information transmission chain. If one applies this sentence consistently to biological information, then an intelligent originator is also required for this. In the DNA molecules we find the highest density of information known to us [1, pp. 311-313]. Because of NGI-1, all conceivable processes occurring in matter are fundamentally excluded as a source of information. Humans, who can generate information (e.g. letters, books), are also excluded as a source of biological information. This leaves only one transmitter that acted outside of our three-dimensional world. After a lecture at a university, a student asked: "Who informed God that he was able to program the DNA molecules?" Two explanations are possible: Explanation a): Let's imagine that this God is true much more intelligent than us, but still limited. Let us further assume that he had so much intelligence (or information) at his disposal that he would be able to program all biological systems. The question then is actually obvious: who gave him this necessary information and who taught him? Well, then he needed a higher information giver I1, i.e. a super-god who knew more than God.
If I1 knew more than God, but was also limited, then he too needed an information provider I2 - i.e. a super-super-god. With this way of thinking, the chain could be continued arbitrarily through I3, I4, ... to infinity. As you can see, an infinite number of gods were needed, with each (n+1)th supergod in the long chain always knowing a little more than the nth. Only of this most infinite over-over-over God1 could we say that he is unlimited and omniscient. Explanation b): It is simpler and more satisfactory to assume just one sender (an author, a creator, a God). But then it would have to be required that it be infinitely intelligent and have an infinite amount of information available. So he must be omniscient. Which of the two explanations a) and b) is correct? Both explanations are logically equivalent. We have to make a decision, but it cannot be derived from the NGI. We do this with the following considerations:
In reality there are only countably finite sets. The number of atoms in the universe is unimaginably high, but in principle it can still be counted. The totality of all the people or all the ants or all the grains of wheat that have ever existed is also immense, but still finite. Although infinity is a common concept in mathematical abstraction, in reality there is still nothing represented by an infinite number. The explanation a) does not pass the test of plausibility1. The language used here could give the impression that “infinite” is a countable number that you arrive at if you count for a long enough time. However, this is not the case, and therefore b) is the only alternative left. This means: There is only one channel. But this person must then be omniscient. This brings us to exactly what the Bible teaches: There is only one God: “I am the first and I am the last, and apart from me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6).
What does it mean if God (the transmitter of biological information, the Creator) is infinite? Then there is no question for him that he cannot answer, then his knowledge includes not only all things of the present and the past - the future is not hidden from him either. But if he knows all things - even beyond all temporal limits - then he himself must be eternal. So we found out by inference (without the Bible!) why Romans 1:20 says that we can infer the eternal power of God from the works of creation. The Bible testifies in many places that God is eternal (e.g. Ps 90:2; Isa 40:28; Dan 6:27). 263
Conclusion #3: God is extremely powerful S3: Because the sender ingeniously encoded the information that we find in the DNA molecules, constructed the complex biomachines that decode the information and carry out all the processes of biosynthesis, all constructive details and abilities of the living beings, we can conclude that the sender wanted it all that way and that it must be powerful. Reason: In the previous conclusion #2, we were able to determine based on natural laws that the Sender (Creator, God) must be omniscient and eternal. Now we ask the question of the extent of his power.
Under “power” we summarize everything that we describe with the terms ability, strength, effectiveness and creativity. Such power is absolutely necessary to create anything living. Because of his omniscience, the sender knows how e.g. B. DNA molecules can be programmed. However, this knowledge is not yet enough to bring them into existence. The step from knowledge to practical implementation also requires the ability to build all the necessary biomachines. Without a creative power, life is not possible at all. We have no quantitative idea of the magnitude of this enormous power, but the Bible shows us the true extent by presenting the transmitter behind it as all-powerful: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, ... He who is there and that who is there and he is coming, the Almighty (Rev 1:8). “With God nothing is impossible” (Luke 1:37). 2 Romans 1:20: "For the invisible nature of God, which is his eternal power and deity, is evident from the creation of the world by his works, when they are perceived, so that they have no excuse."
Conclusion #4: God is non-material S4: Because information is essentially a non-material entity, it cannot come from a material entity. We can therefore conclude: The sender must be non-material in nature (spirit). (Application of NGI-1, NGI-2) Reason: Information is a non-material quantity and therefore requires a non-material source for its origin. From this it follows: The sender must be non-material in nature or at least have a non-material component. This is exactly what the Bible teaches in John 4:24: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
Conclusion #5: No human being without a soul; Refutation of Materialism S5: Because we humans are able to create information, it cannot come from our material part (body). We can therefore conclude: Human beings must have a non-material component (soul, spirit). (Application of NGI-1, NGI-2) Reason: In evolutionary and molecular biology, only materialistic thinking is used. This reductionism (i.e. exclusive explanation within the framework of matter) has actually become a working principle. Using information sets, materialism can be refuted as follows: We all have the ability to create new information. We can record thoughts in letters, essays and books or have creative conversations and thereby create a non-material entity, namely information (the fact that we need a material carrier to store and transfer information does not change the nature of information). From this we can draw a very important conclusion, namely that we must have a non-material component in addition to our (material) body. The philosophy of materialism, which found its strongest expression in Marxism-Leninism and communism, has now been scientifically refuted using the natural laws of information. The Bible also confirms our above conclusion that man is not purely material. We mention 1 Thessalonians 5:23: “But He, the God of peace, sanctify you thoroughly and keep your spirit, soul and body, whole and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The body is the material part of man, while soul and spirit are non-material.
Conclusion #6: Big Bang Impossible S6: Because information is a non-material quantity, we can conclude that the claim “The universe arose from matter and energy alone” (scientific materialism) is FALSE. (Application of NGI-2) Reason: Today it is widely claimed that the universe owes its origin to a Big Bang, in which only matter and energy were available. According to this view, everything that we perceive, observe and measure in our world today emerged exclusively from these two physical quantities and without any other ingredients. Is the Big Bang hypothesis just as refutable as a perpetual motion machine? Answer: YES, using the natural laws of information. In our world we find a wealth of information in the cells of all living things. According to theorem NGI-1, information is a non-material quantity and therefore cannot possibly have arisen from matter and energy. Therefore, the “Big Bang thought system” is wrong. Evolution is viewed by its representatives as a universal principle. It forms a chain in which every link is indispensable: Big Bang - cosmological evolution - geological evolution - biological evolution. If a chain link breaks, the overall load-bearing capacity is lost. Conclusion No. 6 already breaks the first link in the chain. We can also put it this way: There is no Big Bang system conceivable from which information and life can subsequently arise. The Bible also teaches that this world did not emerge from a process that lasted billions of years, but rather through creation by an almighty God in six days. This is how we read it in Exodus 20:11: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.”
Conclusion #7: No Evolution S7: Because information is the fundamental component of all life, which cannot come from matter and energy, an intelligent transmitter is required. However, since all theories of chemical and biological evolution require that the information must come from matter and energy alone (no transmitter), we can conclude that all these theories and concepts of chemical and biological evolution (macroevolution) must be WRONG. (Application of NGI-1, NGI-2, NGI-4b, NGI-4d) Reason: The theory of evolution attempts to explain life solely on a physical-chemical level (reductionism). The reductionists would prefer if there were a smooth transition from the inanimate to the animate. With the help of the information sets we can draw a fundamental and far-reaching conclusion: the idea of macroevolution - i.e. the path from the primordial cell to humans - is wrong. Information is a fundamental and absolutely necessary factor for all living systems. But every piece of information - and living systems are not excluded from this - needs a spiritual author. In the face of information sets, the evolutionary system turns out to be a “perpetuum mobile of information”. Now the following question arises: Where can we find the sender of the information regarding the DNA molecules? He can't be identified at all. Is this information somehow created through molecular biology? The answer is the same as we give in the following cases: If we look at the wealth of information recorded in hieroglyphs in Egypt, there is no sign of the transmitter on any stone. We only find his traces, which he carved in stone. But no one would claim that this information came about without a transmitter and without a spiritual concept. If two computers are connected to each other, exchange information and initiate certain processes, then nothing can be seen from the sender. But all information was thought up at some point by one (or more) programmers. The information in the DNA molecules is transferred to RNA molecules; This happens in the same way as one computer transfers information to another. There is an extremely complex biomachinery at work in the cell that implements the programmed commands in an ingenious way. We don't see anything of the station - just like in the examples above - but ignoring it would be an unauthorized reductionism.
We should not be surprised if the programs of the transmitter of biological information are much more ingenious than any of our human programs. After all, as already explained in more detail in Conclusion No. 2, we are dealing with a transmitter of infinite intelligence. The creator's program is so ingeniously designed that even extensive adjustments and adaptations to new conditions are possible. In biology, such processes are called microevolution. However, they have nothing to do with an evolutionary process, but are parameter optimizations within the same species.
In short: The information sets exclude macroevolution, as is assumed within the framework of the theory of evolution. On the other hand, variations with often far-reaching adaptations within a species can be explained using the ingenious program created by the creator. The Bible repeatedly emphasizes in the creation account that all plants and animals were created according to their kind. This is said repeatedly nine times in the first chapter of the Bible, such as: in Genesis 1:24-25: 274
“And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures, each according to their kind: beasts, and creeping things, and beasts of the field, each according to their kind. And it was so. And God made the beasts of the field after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing of the ground after its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
Conclusion No. 8: No life from matter S8: Because living things are a non-material entity, matter cannot have produced them. From this we conclude: There is no process in matter that leads from inanimate to life. Purely material processes cannot lead to life either on Earth or elsewhere in the universe. (Application of NGI-1) Reason: The representatives of the theory of evolution claim that life only occurs within the framework of material processes if only the corresponding boundary conditions are met. What makes a living being alive (or the phenomenon of life) is as non-material as information. Thus, we can apply the natural law NGI-1, which states that “a material quantity cannot give rise to a non-material quantity”. Since life is something non-material, every kind of life requires a spiritual author. As Conclusion #8 shows, we were able to rule out the spontaneous emergence of life in matter using a novel approach. In conclusion #7 we came to the same conclusion using theorems about information. Summary We have presented four natural laws about information. As a consequence, far-reaching conclusions arise that concern God as well as the origin of life and the image of humanity. With the help of the information sets we were able to refute several ideas: - the purely materialistic way of thinking in the natural sciences - all common ideas about evolution (chemical, biological evolution) - materialism (e.g. the materialistic view of humanity) - the big bang hypothesis - atheism.
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