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Author : Francisco J. Varela
Publisher : North-Holland
ISBN 13 : 9780444003218
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (32 download)
Download or read book Principles of Biological Autonomy written by Francisco J. Varela and published by North-Holland. This book was released on 1979-01-01 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Author : Alvaro Moreno
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 9401798370
Total Pages : 249 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (17 download)
Download or read book Biological Autonomy written by Alvaro Moreno and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-05-04 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since Darwin, Biology has been framed on the idea of evolution by natural selection, which has profoundly influenced the scientific and philosophical comprehension of biological phenomena and of our place in Nature. This book argues that contemporary biology should progress towards and revolve around an even more fundamental idea, that of autonomy. Biological autonomy describes living organisms as organised systems, which are able to self-produce and self-maintain as integrated entities, to establish their own goals and norms, and to promote the conditions of their existence through their interactions with the environment. Topics covered in this book include organisation and biological emergence, organisms, agency, levels of autonomy, cognition, and a look at the historical dimension of autonomy. The current development of scientific investigations on autonomous organisation calls for a theoretical and philosophical analysis. This can contribute to the elaboration of an original understanding of life - including human life - on Earth, opening new perspectives and enabling fecund interactions with other existing theories and approaches. This book takes up the challenge.
Author : Francisco J. Varela
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262551403
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (625 download)
Download or read book Principles of Biological Autonomy, a new annotated edition written by Francisco J. Varela and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2025-05-13 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new, updated edition of the 1979 classic from one of the foremost authors in cognitive science and theoretical biology, with the original text as well as more than 200 citations to current scientific developments. Francisco Varela’s Principles of Biological Autonomy was a groundbreaking text when it was first published in 1979, putting forth a novel theory of how living systems produce and maintain themselves. This new edition, edited and annotated by cognitive scientists Ezequiel Di Paolo and Evan Thompson—revised and complemented with introductory essays for each part of the book—contains a wealth of ideas relevant to current projects in theoretical biology, cognitive science, systems theory, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of biology. Over 220 margin annotations supplement the reading of the text, linking to subsequent research and broader contemporary debates. This foundational book introduces the key concept of autonomy derived as an elaboration of the idea of autopoiesis (the self-production and self-distinction) of living organisms. Varela covers topics in systems theory, neuroscience, theories of perception, and immune networks, and offers a participatory epistemology that goes on to be further developed in later enactive literature. These ideas are compelling not only for historical reasons but also because they still illuminate current efforts in developing the enactive approach toward wider and more challenging goals (language, human cognition, ethics, environmentalism, etc.).
Author : Bernd Rosslenbroich
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 331904141X
Total Pages : 302 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (19 download)
Download or read book On the Origin of Autonomy written by Bernd Rosslenbroich and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2014-04-15 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume describes features of autonomy and integrates them into the recent discussion of factors in evolution. In recent years ideas about major transitions in evolution are undergoing a revolutionary change. They include questions about the origin of evolutionary innovation, their genetic and epigenetic background, the role of the phenotype and of changes in ontogenetic pathways. In the present book, it is argued that it is likewise necessary to question the properties of these innovations and what was qualitatively generated during the macroevolutionary transitions. The author states that a recurring central aspect of macroevolutionary innovations is an increase in individual organismal autonomy whereby it is emancipated from the environment with changes in its capacity for flexibility, self-regulation and self-control of behavior. The first chapters define the concept of autonomy and examine its history and its epistemological context. Later chapters demonstrate how changes in autonomy took place during the major evolutionary transitions and investigate the generation of organs and physiological systems. They synthesize material from various disciplines including zoology, comparative physiology, morphology, molecular biology, neurobiology and ethology. It is argued that the concept is also relevant for understanding the relation of the biological evolution of man to his cultural abilities. Finally the relation of autonomy to adaptation, niche construction, phenotypic plasticity and other factors and patterns in evolution is discussed. The text has a clear perspective from the context of systems biology, arguing that the generation of biological autonomy must be interpreted within an integrative systems approach.
Author : Tara Karimi
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319918249
Total Pages : 142 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (199 download)
Download or read book Molecular Mechanisms of Autonomy in Biological Systems written by Tara Karimi and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-07-28 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a novel molecular description for understanding the regulatory mechanisms behind the autonomy and self-organization in biological systems. Chapters focus on defining and explaining the regulatory molecular mechanisms behind different aspects of autonomy and self-organization in the sense of autonomous coding, data processing, structure (mass) formation and energy production in a biological system. Subsequent chapters discuss the cross-talk among mechanisms of energy, and mass and information, transformation in biological systems. Other chapters focus on applications regarding therapeutic approaches in regenerative medicine. Molecular Mechanisms of Autonomy in Biological Systems is an indispensable resource for scientists and researchers in regenerative medicine, stem cell biology, molecular biology, tissue engineering, developmental biology, biochemistry, biophysics, bioinformatics, as well as big data sciences, complexity and soft computing.
Author : H.R. Maturana
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9400989474
Total Pages : 172 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (9 download)
Download or read book Autopoiesis and Cognition written by H.R. Maturana and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a bold, brilliant, provocative and puzzling work. It demands a radical shift in standpoint, an almost paradoxical posture in which living systems are described in terms of what lies outside the domain of descriptions. Professor Humberto Maturana, with his colleague Francisco Varela, have undertaken the construction of a systematic theoretical biology which attempts to define living systems not as they are objects of observation and description, nor even as in teracting systems, but as self-contained unities whose only reference is to them selves. Thus, the standpoint of description of such unities from the 'outside', i. e. , by an observer, already seems to violate the fundamental requirement which Maturana and Varela posit for the characterization of such system- namely, that they are autonomous, self-referring and self-constructing closed systems - in short, autopoietic systems in their terms. Yet, on the basis of such a conceptual method, and such a theory of living systems, Maturana goes on to define cognition as a biological phenomenon; as, in effect, the very nature of all living systems. And on this basis, to generate the very domains of interac tion among such systems which constitute language, description and thinking.
Author : Ernst Mayr
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521700344
Total Pages : 252 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (3 download)
Download or read book What Makes Biology Unique? written by Ernst Mayr and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-04-16 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, a collection of essays written by the most eminent evolutionary biologist of the twentieth century, explores biology as an autonomous science, offers insights on the history of evolutionary thought, critiques the contributions of philosophy to the science of biology, and comments on several of the major ongoing issues in evolutionary theory. Notably, Mayr explains that Darwin's theory of evolution is actually five separate theories, each with its own history, trajectory and impact. Natural selection is a separate idea from common descent, and from geographic speciation, and so on. A number of the perennial Darwinian controversies may well have been caused by the confounding of the five separate theories into a single composite. Those interested in evolutionary theory, or the philosophy and history of science will find useful ideas in this book, which should appeal to virtually anyone with a broad curiosity about biology.
Author : H. Ulrich
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3642697623
Total Pages : 166 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (426 download)
Download or read book Self-Organization and Management of Social Systems written by H. Ulrich and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Self-organization of systems belonging to quite different discipl ines has been a central topic of synergetics since its beginning. I am therefore particularly plea sed that Hans Ulrich and Gilbert Probst have not only undertaken to organize an interdisciplinary meeting on Self-Organization and Management of Social Systems, but have also edited these articles written by leading scientists after and based upon that symposium. While the previous volumes of the Springer Series in Synergetics were mainly de voted to physical, chemical and biological systems, with only the book by W. Weidlich and G. Haag deal i ng with "Quant i tat i ve Soc i 01 ogy" (Spri nger Ser. Syn., Vo 1. 14), the present volume opens a new perspective. As the reader will notice, the multitude of facets of self-organization is well reflected by various authors belonging to different discipl ines and representing different schools of thought. When such a wide scope of fields - ranging from phy sics to sociology - is covered, it is not surprising that the existence of a "hiatus" between sociology and the natural sciences was felt by some participants.
Author : Wei Fang
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000513173
Total Pages : 210 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (5 download)
Download or read book The Explanatory Autonomy of the Biological Sciences written by Wei Fang and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-12-23 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues for the explanatory autonomy of the biological sciences. It does so by showing that scientific explanations in the biological sciences cannot be reduced to explanations in the fundamental sciences such as physics and chemistry and by demonstrating that biological explanations are advanced by models rather than laws of nature. To maintain the explanatory autonomy of the biological sciences, the author argues against explanatory reductionism and shows that explanation in the biological sciences can be achieved without reduction. Then, he demonstrates that the biological sciences do not have laws of nature. Instead of laws, he suggests that biological models usually do the explanatory work. To understand how a biological model can explain phenomena in the world, the author proposes an inferential account of model explanation. The basic idea of this account is that, for a model to be explanatory, it must answer two kinds of questions: counterfactual-dependence questions that concern the model itself and hypothetical questions that concern the relationship between the model and its target system. The reason a biological model can answer these two kinds of questions is due to the fact that a model is a structure, and the holistic relationship between the model and its target warrants the hypothetical inference from the model to its target and thus helps to answer the second kind of question. The Explanatory Autonomy of the Biological Sciences will be of interest to researchers and advanced students working in philosophy of science, philosophy of biology and metaphysics.
Author : Bruce N. Waller
Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 1438423128
Total Pages : 212 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (384 download)
Download or read book The Natural Selection of Autonomy written by Bruce N. Waller and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1998-07-10 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Natural Selection of Autonomy challenges the deep traditional assumption that autonomy, morality, and moral responsibility are uniquely human characteristics. By examining autonomy on a larger scale in the natural world, it clears away the mysteries associated with autonomy claims and shows what is valuable and adaptive (for humans and other animals) in genuine open alternatives—and how human reason strengthens, rather than creates, autonomous behavior. Drawing on recent research in biology, psychology, and philosophy, The Natural Selection of Autonomy attacks widely shared and deeply held beliefs that have passed from the historical pre-Darwinian philosophical tradition into contemporary thought, and offers a clear look at the evolution of autonomous moral behavior among many species, including—but not limited to—human animals.
Author : Fred Boogerd
Publisher : Elsevier
ISBN 13 : 0080475272
Total Pages : 361 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (84 download)
Download or read book Systems Biology written by Fred Boogerd and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2007-03-20 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Systems biology is a vigorous and expanding discipline, in many ways a successor to genomics and perhaps unprecedented in its combination of biology with a great many other sciences, from physics to ecology, from mathematics to medicine, and from philosophy to chemistry. Studying the philosophical foundations of systems biology may resolve a longer standing issue, i.e., the extent to which Biology is entitled to its own scientific foundations rather than being dominated by existing philosophies. * Answers the question of what distinguishes the living from the non-living* An in-depth look to a vigorous and expanding discipline, from molecule to system* Explores the region between individual components and the system
Author : Terry Marks-Tarlow
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317723651
Total Pages : 366 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (177 download)
Download or read book Psyche's Veil written by Terry Marks-Tarlow and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historically, the language and concepts within clinical theory have been steeped in linear assumptions and reductionist thinking. Because the essence of psychotherapy involves change, Psyche’s Veil suggests that clinical practice is inherently a nonlinear affair. In this book Terry Marks-Tarlow provides therapists with new language, models and metaphors to narrow the divide between theory and practice, while bridging the gap between psychology and the sciences. By applying contemporary perspectives of chaos theory, complexity theory and fractal geometry to clinical practice, the author discards traditional conceptions of health based on ideals of regularity, set points and normative statistics in favour of models that emphasize unique moments, variability, and irregularity. Psyche’s Veil further explores philosophical and spiritual implications of contemporary science for psychotherapy. Written at the interface between artistic, scientific and spiritual aspects of therapy, Psyche’s Veil is a case-based book that aspires to a paradigm shift in how practitioners conceptualize critical ingredients for internal healing. Novel treatment of sophisticated psychoanalytical issues and tie-ins to interpersonal neurobiology make this book appeal to both the specialist practitioner, as well as the generalist reader. .
Author : Darrell Arnold
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135013691
Total Pages : 386 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (35 download)
Download or read book Traditions of Systems Theory written by Darrell Arnold and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-12-17 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The term ‘systems theory’ is used to characterize a set of disparate yet related approaches to fields as varied as information theory, cybernetics, biology, sociology, history, literature, and philosophy. What unites each of these traditions of systems theory is a shared focus on general features of systems and their fundamental importance for diverse areas of life. Yet there are considerable differences among these traditions, and each tradition has developed its own methodologies, journals, and forms of anaylsis. This book explores this terrain and provides an overview of and guide to the traditions of systems theory in their considerable variety. The book draws attention to the traditions of systems theory in their historical development, especially as related to the humanities and social sciences, and shows how from these traditions various contemporary developments have ensued. It provides a guide for strains of thought that are key to understanding 20th century intellectual life in many areas.
Author : Francisco Ayala
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 9780520026490
Total Pages : 424 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (264 download)
Download or read book Studies in the Philosophy of Biology written by Francisco Ayala and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1974-01-01 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Author : Evan Thompson
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674736885
Total Pages : 561 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (747 download)
Download or read book Mind in Life written by Evan Thompson and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2010-09-30 with total page 561 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How is life related to the mind? The question has long confounded philosophers and scientists, and it is this so-called explanatory gap between biological life and consciousness that Evan Thompson explores in Mind in Life. Thompson draws upon sources as diverse as molecular biology, evolutionary theory, artificial life, complex systems theory, neuroscience, psychology, Continental Phenomenology, and analytic philosophy to argue that mind and life are more continuous than has previously been accepted, and that current explanations do not adequately address the myriad facets of the biology and phenomenology of mind. Where there is life, Thompson argues, there is mind: life and mind share common principles of self-organization, and the self-organizing features of mind are an enriched version of the self-organizing features of life. Rather than trying to close the explanatory gap, Thompson marshals philosophical and scientific analyses to bring unprecedented insight to the nature of life and consciousness. This synthesis of phenomenology and biology helps make Mind in Life a vital and long-awaited addition to his landmark volume The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience (coauthored with Eleanor Rosch and Francisco Varela). Endlessly interesting and accessible, Mind in Life is a groundbreaking addition to the fields of the theory of the mind, life science, and phenomenology.
Author : Mikhail V. Volkenstein
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3642787886
Total Pages : 410 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (427 download)
Download or read book Physical Approaches to Biological Evolution written by Mikhail V. Volkenstein and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Mr. Wolkenstein's Physical Approaches to Biological Evolution, whether or not it proves to give the ultimate truth on the matters with which it deals, certainly deserves, by its breadth and scope and profundity, to be considered an impor tant event in the philosophical world." This is a quotation from an introduction written by Bertrand Russell for Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. I exchanged only name and subject. As for the rest, I could continue quoting Russell, but I would rather say something myself. As Wittgenstein did with formal logic, Wolkenstein rectifies our views on how to approach the logic of life from a formal theoretical basis. Many bio logists do not believe that their subject lends itself to the scrutiny of physical theory. They certainly admit that one can simulate biological phenomena by models that can be expressed in a mathematical form. However, they do not believe that biology can be given a theoretical foundation that is defined within the general framework of physics. Rather, they insist on a holistic approach, banning any reduction to fundamental principles subject to physical theory.
Author : J. H. Woodger
Publisher : Psychology Press
ISBN 13 : 9780415225700
Total Pages : 528 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (257 download)
Download or read book Biological Principles written by J. H. Woodger and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
