2

caslin; we could lhen set out. once and for all. the necessary order of lhe
change of form (or sys tem s of forms) in Ihe neighborhood of any poin t
(e.g .. as a table or a graph). and Illis would thtn be at least an algorithm
giving a prediction of phe nomena. If not an explanation. Very probably lilt
mmd would become llsed to consldenng this necessary order of change of
{orms as imposed by a causality or even a logIcal implication
The fact Ihal we have 10 consider more refined explanations-namely.
those of science-Io prw,ct Iht change of phenomena shows thaI Iht
determInism of Iht change of {orms is not ngorous. and that the same local
slluation can give birth 10 apparently different ou tcomes under Iht In-
fluence of unknown or unobservable faclors. It is Ifonlcal to observe here
that this science which. m principle. denies indeterminism is actually Its
ungrattful oHspring. whose only purpose is to destroy its parent! Thus
clasSical mechanics, a strictly quantitative and deterministic theory, was
created in order to remove the mdetermmism found In all mstances of
moving bodies (e.g.: Is this bullel going to hit its targel or not1 Will thiS
weight stay in equilibrium or not1); convelKly. if some diS('lplines. like
!;.OCia! sciences and biology. resisted mathematical treatmen t for 5Q long,
even If they have succumbed. thiS IS not 5Q much be<:ause of the complex.
ity of Ihelr raw material. as is often though t (all nature is complicated). but
be<:ause qualitalL\'e and empirical deduction already gives them suffiCient
framework for experiment and prediction.

1.2. Til E THEORY OF MODELS

A. Formal models

In those ambiguous or catastrophic SllUauons where Ihe evolution of

phenomena seems III determmed. the obsuver \OIdl try 10 remove the
mdetermmacy and thus to predict the future by the use of local ",Qiki$.
The smgle Idea of a spallOtemporal obJed already implies the idea of •
mode! (this is discussed in Chapler 2). From thiS point of view. we say Ih.t
a system of forms in evolution cons titute-. a process if there i5
a formal system P (in Ihe sense of formal logic) sa tisfying the followlD'
condllions:
I. Each state A of the phenomenoloSical process under conSideratiOn
can be parameterized by a sci of propoSitions a of Ihe formal system P.
2. If. m the COUT$e of lime. state II is transformed mlO slate B. then B
con be parameterized by a set bor P such that b can be deduced fromo in P.
In other words. there is a bijeClive map Ii from some or all of the
propositions of P onlO the set of forms appearing globally in the process.