From: Crosby_M (Crosby_M@bls.gov)
Date: Thu Apr 03 1997 - 12:23:26 MST
I have recently discovered that these _Life Itself_ theories of
biophysicist Robert Rosen on the distinctions between organisms and
mechanisms have invoked substantial discussion on the Principia
Cybernetica mailing list and can be browsed through the PRNCYB-L Web
archive at
http://www.fmb.mmu.ac.uk/~bruce/PRNCYB-L
A good alternative summary of these theories can be found in Donald C.
Mikulecky's Web essay: LIFE, COMPLEXITY AND THE EDGE OF CHAOS: COGNITIVE
ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CELLS AND OTHER COMPONENTS OF LIVING
SYSTEMS at
http://views.vcu.edu/complex/mikulecky/rev.htm
Mikulecky's essay is a good summary of Rosen's theories from someone who
(unlike myself) has read all of Rosen's works and extensively applied
these theories in scientific investigations, and also includes some of
the *diagrams* that are very helpful for understanding the modeling
relations described.
BTW, the issues involved here are at the core of several recent
Extropians threads ("Protean Self-Transformation" and "The Emotional
Computer") and a few Transhumans threads as well. I wish I had the time
and fluency to show how they apply, but I don't.
Some additional items on the Web that might help anyone interested in
relating the above mentioned threads to these relational biology and
category theory concepts are:
* Jeff Prideaux's "Observables and Fractions" essay at
http://www.acsa2000.net/bcngroup/analytic.html
* Bruce Edmond's post titled "A-Life as Self-referential TMs" at
http://www.fmb.mmu.ac.uk/~bruce/PRNCYB-L/0858.html
* Finally, on the question of whether cognitive / emotive beings can
really be simulated on mechanistic systems, I'd recommend Catharina
Kennedy's Oct 1995 PRNCYB-L post at
http://www.fmb.mmu.ac.uk/~bruce/PRNCYB-L/0836.html
Mark Crosby
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