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This book discusses several recent theoretic advancements in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration in the field of evolution. While exploring novel views, the text maintains a close link with one of the most broadly held views on evolution, namely that of "Darwinian evolution."
This work puts forth a new point of view which allows researchers to define in detail the concept of evolution. To create this conceptual definition, the text applies a stringent object-based focus. With this focus, the editor has been able to develop an object-based pattern of evolution at the smallest scale. Subsequently, this smallest scale pattern is used as an innovative basis for generalizations. These generalizations create links between biological Darwinism and generalized Darwinism. The object-based approach that was used to suggest innovations in the field of Darwinian evolution also allowed for contributions to other topics, such as major evolutionary transitions theory, the definition of life and the relationships between evolution, self-organization and thermodynamics.
Together, the chapters of this book and the multidisciplinary reflections and comments of various specialists on these chapters offer an exciting palette of innovative ideas.
Sommario
1. General Introduction. Part 1: The Operator Theory and Its Applications.- 2. Introducing the Operator Theory.- 3. Reflections on the Operator Theory.- 4. Darwinian Evolution: Process or Pattern? 5. Reflections on the Graph Representation of Darwinian Evolution.- 6. Generalising Darwinian Evolution by Using Its Smallest-Scale Representation as a Foundation.- 7. Critical Assessment Of Graph-Based Generalized Darwinism.- 8. The Role of Structural Criteria in Transitions Theory: A Focus on Organisms.- 9. In Defence of Gradualism.- 10. The Role of Structural Criteria in Transitions Theory: A Focus on Systems of Interacting Organisms.- 11. Major transitions, Operator Theory, and Human organization.- 12. Learning From Water: Two Complementary Definitions of the Concept of Life.- 13. Adding (Thermo)Dynamic Aspects to Definitions of Life.- 14. A Thermodynamic Account of the Emergence of Organised Matter.- 15. The Road to a Measurable Quantitative Understanding of Self-organization andEvolution.- Part 2:Discussion, Reflections, and Conclusions.- 16. General Discussion.- 17. What Comes Next? The Operator Theory as an Operationalisation of the Teilhardian View on Cosmogenesis.- 18. In Response to the Reflections of the Reviewers.- 19. Contributions to Open Challenges in Systems Theory and the Life Sciences.
Info autore
Gerard Jagers op Akkerhuis is driven by a passion for evolution and complexity, he studies the past, present and the future of the universe. Fundamental for his approach is a modern, scientific version of the classical Scala Naturae named the Operator Hierarchy. This hierarchy offers a mechanistic basis for the classification of objects in the world, connects biotic and abiotic evolution, and by extrapolation suggests future system kinds in evolution. Since 2013 Gerard has been involved in the artificial intelligence company ‘Mind|Construct’.
Gerard obtained his Masters in Wageningen (1986, cum laude), received his first PhD in Ecotoxicology (Wageningen, 1993) and, seventeen years later, his second PhD in philosophy (Nijmegen, 2010). Gerard has (co-)authored over a hundred publications and has published two books: ‘The operator hierarchy’ and ‘The pursuit of complexity’. He has been interviewed by a national newspaper in the series about “Controversial thinkers whose ideas can change our view of the world”.
Riassunto
This book discusses several recent theoretic advancements in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration in the field of evolution. While exploring novel views, the text maintains a close link with one of the most broadly held views on evolution, namely that of “Darwinian evolution.”
This work puts forth a new point of view which allows researchers to define in detail the concept of evolution. To create this conceptual definition, the text applies a stringent object-based focus. With this focus, the editor has been able to develop an object-based pattern of evolution at the smallest scale. Subsequently, this smallest scale pattern is used as an innovative basis for generalizations. These generalizations create links between biological Darwinism and generalized Darwinism. The object-based approach that was used to suggest innovations in the field of Darwinian evolution also allowed for contributions to other topics, such as major evolutionary transitions theory, the definition of life and the relationships between evolution, self-organization and thermodynamics.
Together, the chapters of this book and the multidisciplinary reflections and comments of various specialists on these chapters offer an exciting palette of innovative ideas.
