Cell Language Theory, The: Connecting Mind And Matter

Key Terms and Concepts 21

“6x9” b2861 The Cell Language Theory: Connecting Mind and Matter

the objects of knowledge between them. More remarkable still, they

are complementary....

There is a great similarity between the concept of complementarity

that James introduced into psychology in 1890 and that Bohr introduced

into physics about four decades later. Bohr discussed his philosophy of

complementarity in public for the first time at a meeting held in Como,

Italy, in 1927 and published his first paper on complementarity in 1928

[41–44]. In 1958, Bohr summarized the concepts of supplementarity and

complementarity as follows [484]:

... Within the scope of classical physics, all characteristic properties of

a given object can in principle be ascertained by a single experimental

arrangement, although in practice various arrangements are often con­

venient for the study of different aspects of the phenomenon. In fact,

data obtained in such a way simply supplement each other and can be

combined into a consistent picture of the behavior of the object under

investigation. In quantum mechanics, however, evidence about atomic

objects obtained by different experimental arrangements exhibit a

novel kind of complementary relationship.

Indeed, it must be recognized that such evidence, which appears contra­

dictory when combination into a single picture is attempted, exhausts all

conceivable knowledge about the object. Far from restricting our efforts

to put questions to nature in the form of experiments, the notion of

complementarity simply characterizes the answers we can receive by

such inquiry, whenever the interaction between the measuring instru-

ments and the objects forms an integral part of the phenomenon.... (my

italics).

The supplementary and complementary relations defined above can

be conveniently represented as triadic relations among three entities

labeled A, B, and C. Supplementarity refers to the relation in which the

sum of a pair equals the third:

Supplementarity: C = A + B. (2.12)

As an example of supplementarity, Einstein’s equation in special rela­

tivity, E = mc^2 , may be cited. Energy (A) and matter (B) may be viewed

(2.10)

(2.11)

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