The Universe as a system
Although we perceive with our 5 senses only a 'physical world', that world is animated by spirit. Analogously spirit is like software, it is invisible, it is programmed and it is ordered, and without it the hardware that we perceive would not work.
Thus the universe is a system, an ordered collection of functions that act predictably. We know none of the internal rules of that system, although we have managed to produce some exceptionally crude simulations which we use on computers to help predict the weather, for example, or sunspot activity, or planetary and galaxial movements. But we do not know the exact rules for these systems only a close approximation based on our observations of the patterns of activity.
If we classify these systems we can decompose the overall system of the universe into the following sub-systems:
Planetary, star and galaxial systems – systems that control the formation, evolution, movement and decline of the various galaxies and star systems. These systems also include those that control our planets, the sun, the moon, other planets and the Earth itself
Water systems – in other words all the functions that control how water behaves. How it forms drops, freezes, runs, trickles, drips, vapourises to form clouds, condenses to form rain and so on. As practically all liquids are liquids because of water, these systems also control how liquids behave functionally
Gas and air systems – all the functions that control how the various gases behave. So for example the systems of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and so on. Oxygen, for example, has specific properties and thus has specific functions that control those properties – this is the oxygen system.
Mineral and rock systems – these systems control all the various minerals, inert substances, and their various states from large crystals to vast rocks. Each mineral, metal or other substance such as salt or sand, milk or marmalade, chalk and cheese has specific properties – they each behave predictably which is how we have been able to name them – the name groups the attributes, thus for every attribute there will be a function. Thus these are the mineral systems.
Energy systems – these systems control electromagnetic energy, mechanical and kinetic energy, thermal energy and combustion, sound [which is mechanical], nuclear energy and all the rules that govern how energy can be exchanged and operates. The ancients knew only of combustion and thermal energy which is why they called these the 'Fire' systems.
Micro-organism systems – the systems that control bacteria and the vast number of cell based organisms we cannot see. There are a truly vast number of sub-systems in this category, we are only just beginning to get a grasp of how big this category of systems and function is
Virus systems – the systems that control the vast numbers of viruses – non cell based but microscopic as they are.
Plant systems – the systems that control the category of living organisms we know of as plants. We may think we know plants, but we don't. We have certainly been able to observe their behaviour, but we as yet know nothing of their functions other than the functions like 'we can eat them!' Functionally plants are far more complex than their observed behaviour would suggest. Within this grouping there are sub-systems to control:
- fungi, mushrooms and other spore producing plants
- ferns and mosses
- flowering trees, shrubs and flowers
Animal and insect systems – the systems that control insects, and animals such as birds, reptiles, mammals and fish. Here I hope we are at last beginning to grasp that both insects and animals are functionally extraordinarily complex. If you take just the functions I have described for this website, we have the functions of emotion, perception, learning, reasoning, the will, remembering, imagination, communication, and so on. Other animals have different functions – birds can navigate, fish can shoal, birds can flock, bees can swarm, navigate and so on.
This is hugely simplified, but I hope clear. The universe is a set of systems. We now need to ask where did these systems come from.
