reducirse al de resistir

English translation: (does not seem possible) to reduce it to the problem/question of resisting

18:43 Feb 18, 2016
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Philosophy
Spanish term or phrase: reducirse al de resistir
This is from a paper on the hypothesis of the predictive brain. I have 3 questions regarding this paragraph, which I will post separately. The English parts are from the author. My draft is below.

Clark se pregunta how mere matter manages to give rise to the whole smorgasbord of mentality, emotion, and intelligent action. Ya no es sólo que el problema de la vida señalado por Friston –mantener la integridad vs la entropía– esté como una condición de posibilidad de ese whole smorgasbord, ni tampoco es sólo que el problema de la percepción, tan caro para Hohwy, se presente de forma prácticamente equivalente en cada uno de los componentes de ese whole smorgasbord. Lo que tenemos ahora es que la sola presencia de esa multiplicidad de capacidades ya representa un verdadero problema en sí mismo. Si se quiere, formalmente es el mismo problema que el planteado por Friston –mantener la integridad en la multiplicidad– pero por su contenido no parece que pueda **reducirse al de resistir** la segunda ley de la termodinámica.

Clark asks how mere matter manages to give rise to the whole smorgasbord of mentality, emotion, and intelligent action. It is not just that the life problem that concerned Friston—maintaining integrity vs entropy—is a condition of possibilty of the whole smorgasbord, nor is it just that the problem of perception, so dear to Hohwy, presents in practically the same way across each of the components of the whole smorgasbord. What we have now is that the mere presence of this multiplicity of capabilities represents a real problem in itself. If you will, it is the same question posed by Friston—maintaining integrity in multiplicity—but due to its content appears not to be reducible to resisting the second law of thermodynanics.

Many thanks.
patyjs
Mexico
Local time: 09:23
English translation:(does not seem possible) to reduce it to the problem/question of resisting
Explanation:
To me, incorporating "el problema" in this way helps make more sense of the phrase, since it actually reads "reducirse AL de resistir", referring back to "el problema planteado por Friston"

This is how Friston describes his "problema":
The fact that the second law applies only to ‘closed’ systems is quite important because biological systems are open, which means they have the opportunity to resist the second law; but how?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2660582/

My attempt would be:
"...given what this entails, it does not seem possible to reduce it to the problem of resisting..."
Selected response from:

Robert Carter
Mexico
Local time: 09:23
Grading comment
Thank you Robert. One of those rare occasions when more words work better.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +2(does not seem possible) to reduce it to the problem/question of resisting
Robert Carter
4boiled down to resisting
andyfergu
4apparently cannot be reduced to resisting
Maria Alcorta
4may not be limited to resisting
Lisa Jane
4[probably cannot be] reduced to the point of actually resisting
Muriel Vasconcellos


  

Answers


30 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
boiled down to resisting


Explanation:
(to) boil down to aplica bien en este contexto, si bien es algo coloquial


    Reference: http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=boi...
andyfergu
Spain
Local time: 16:23
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
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42 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
no parece que pueda reducirse al de resistir
apparently cannot be reduced to resisting


Explanation:
"cannot be reduced to" sounds better than "not to be reducible to"

maintaining integrity vs entropy = resisting the second law of thermodynamics

Maria Alcorta
Netherlands
Local time: 16:23
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
may not be limited to resisting


Explanation:
...the second law of thermodynamics

or may entail more than resisting ...

Lisa Jane
Italy
Local time: 16:23
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 8
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
(does not seem possible) to reduce it to the problem/question of resisting


Explanation:
To me, incorporating "el problema" in this way helps make more sense of the phrase, since it actually reads "reducirse AL de resistir", referring back to "el problema planteado por Friston"

This is how Friston describes his "problema":
The fact that the second law applies only to ‘closed’ systems is quite important because biological systems are open, which means they have the opportunity to resist the second law; but how?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2660582/

My attempt would be:
"...given what this entails, it does not seem possible to reduce it to the problem of resisting..."

Robert Carter
Mexico
Local time: 09:23
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16
Grading comment
Thank you Robert. One of those rare occasions when more words work better.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Adoración Bodoque Martínez: I agree with your interpretation. "al" has to refer to "el problema".
31 mins
  -> Thank you, Adoración.

agree  Yvonne Gallagher
1 hr
  -> Thank you, Gallagy.
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
[probably cannot be] reduced to the point of actually resisting


Explanation:
Another possibility.

Muriel Vasconcellos
United States
Local time: 08:23
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16
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