Essay Abstract
Near the border of animate and inanimate worlds, there lies a many-body system called virus. The answer to the question, "How do goal-oriented systems arise?", is hidden in understanding the mechanics of virus which represent the beginning of goal-oriented behaviour. Intentionality or goal of a many-body system is a physical programme whereby the constituents acquire unity-of-direction or unity-of-purpose. An exploration of the ways of physical programming can help us know and design goal-orientedness in a system of matter. A series of paradigm-shifting come to our help to answer how do goal-oriented systems may possibly arise? The list of enabling as well as disabling paradigms have been prepared. Further, the easier option of understanding goal-oriented property is through Physics of computer Virus instead of biological virus. Physically computer virus act through flow of electrons into circuitry of a computer controlled by programming language. Computer virus are analogous of biological virus. Like living systems, computer virus too, are organized by their simplest components with the intricate aims of survival, reproduction, and other ends similar to biological virus; and as an intelligent system employ a panoply of physical effects to accomplish many flexibly chosen goals. A thorough study of mechanics of computer virus in the end can help us invent the genesis device for transforming inanimate into animate and vice versa. A caution is necessary here to not to mistake goal-oriented behaviour with free-willed behaviour out of anthropocentric worldview. Freewill is a socially-implanted concept for the sake of social order else it is contrary to causality principle and has been disproved by Benjamin Libet's neuroscientific experiment. That is, no goal-directed system is self-originated or self-designed independent of causality but is a circumstantial construct.
Author Bio
The author is a Petroleum Reservoir Engineer and has been researching on reality and consciousness for more than 30 years. He is originally creative thinker. Currently working on relationship between man and matter to establish the missing link between man, AI and evolution.