Biography

C. A. Hooker, FAHA, PhD (Physics), PhD (Philosophy), is Professor of Philosophy, University of Newcastle. He is Director of the Complex Adaptive Systems Research Group, researching foundations of self-organisation, bio-cognitive organisation - both organismic and scientific evolution-development, and sustainable development, and author/editor of 20+ books and 100+ papers across these areas plus foundations of physics.

He is Director of Assessing sustainability dimensions and impacts, The Cooperative Research Centre for Coal in Sustainable Development, aiming to re-focus sustainable development around resiliency, and houses and supervises Sustainability Options for Australia's Future for the Joint Academies' Committee on Sustainability, Australian National Academies Forum. His articles have appeared in the Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, Proceedings of the British Academy and in many of the leading research journals.

He teaches these interdisciplinary ideas to engineers, psychologists and business students as well as to philosophy students.

Qualifications

• PhD (2nd Qual), University of Sydney
• Bachelor of Science (Honours), University of Sydney
• PhD, York University (Canada)
• Bachelor of Arts (Honours), University of Sydney

Research

Research keywords

• Complex Adaptive System Models
• Non-Linear Dynamical System Theory

Research expertise

On-going research comprises 6 distinct streams, all closely interrelated through their employment of a core of complex adaptive system [CAS] models based on non-linear dynamical system [NLDS] theory. These streams are all active, and interactive, with some priority ordering, but ultimately the degree of their activation varies opportunistically, according as circumstances permit. They are presented in logical order, by decreasing generality of systems focus.

(S1) General systems metaphysics. The overarching aim here is to clarify the general mathematical and ontological foundations of all NLDS, especially CAS. Active associate investigator is Dr. John Collier, University of Durban, SA and ex-postdoctoral fellow at CAS Research Group [CASRG]. Two investigations are on-going.

(S1.1) Reduction and emergence in NLDS. Collier and Hooker are completing a book providing the first scientifically rigorous theory of reduction and emergence in NLDS. All 9 chapters have been drafted. For 2004 Hooker was privileged to publish a major (40pp.) lead article in The British Journal of the Philosophy of Science, the premier European journal in the field, on asymptotics, reduction and emergence. Collier has continued re-working the mathematical foundations (ch.s 2,3) while Hooker has been developing the analysis of multi-level functional capacities in NLDS (ch. 7).

(S1.2) Philosophy of complex systems, international editorship. Hooker has been invited by the international editorial board of the Handbook of Philosophy of Science to edit the volume 'Complexity, Chaos and Non-linearity'. He has invited Collier to join him in this prestigious task and an exchange of contracts for a 2007 volume (likely 2008 in practice) has been completed.

In addition, another investigation, Foundations of information in NLDS, by Scott Muller successfully concluded with the granting of his PhD thesis in 2004 to international, inter-disciplinary praise. A book based on the thesis is now in process with Springer.

(S2) Organisation of bio-cognitive agents. The overarching aim is to understand the general organisation of biological individuals, especially the sources of their adaptiveness, in particular their cognitive adaptiveness. Active UN investigator is Prof. C.A. Hooker, active associate investigators are Prof. M. Bickhard, Henry Luce professor of Psychology and Cognitive Robotics, Lehigh University, USA (ex-visiting fellow CASRG), Dr. Wayne Christensen, University of Durban, SA (and ex-postdoctoral fellow Konrad Lorenz Institut, Vienna and at CASRG), and Prof. A. Moreno, University of the Basques, Spain (ex-visiting fellow CASRG).

The initial investigations by CASRG of biological organisation led to the fundamental organisational constraint called autonomy and to a cognitive methodology called self-directed anticipative learning [SDAL]. The SDAL methodology can facilitate the learning of solutions to problems for which even the problem itself let alone the solution method is initially not clear. This is the basic situation for all fundamental bio-cognitive problems. An invited special issue of the international journal Synthese on these ideas is being prepared under Bickhard’s guest editorship and a jointly authored book on the nature of autonomous systems has been given a first outline draft and is being considered by Bickhard and Moreno.

(S3) Bio-cognitive organisation and scientific learning. The overarching aim is to investigate basic learning processes in science using bio-cognitive organisation models. Active UN investigators are Prof. C.A. Hooker, Dr. Robert Farrell, postdoctoral research assistant, Dr. Yin Gao, active associate investigators are Dr. Wayne Christensen (see S2 above) and Dr. William Herfel (U. W. Sydney). Three investigations are current.

(S3.1) SDAL and scientific learning. Research by Farrell and Hooker (initiated in 2002/3 by Christensen and Hooker) has focused on the detailed examination of a prominent period in the history of sci

Fields of Research

Centres and Groups

Group

• Group for Religious and Intellectual Traditions

Memberships

Learned Academy.

• Fellow (Australian Academy of the Humanities)

Courses

• PHIL1060 - Introduction to Philosophy of Psychology
• PHIL3720 - Philosophy of Cognitive Science.
• PHIL3910 - Technology and Human Values
• PHIL3930 - Human Values & Commerical Prac
• PHIL4000 - Honours
• PHIL6910 - Technology and the Environment
• PHIL6920 - Technology, Human Values and Environment
• PHIL6930 - Business, Ethics and Values