Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
The idea expressed in this paragraph appears consonant with the dynamical
approach to cognitive science advocated in the topic entitled
Mind as Motion
edited by Port and van Gelder (1995), which motivates me to suggest that
the Piscatawaytor may provide a
biologically realistic
theoretical framework
for
cognitive science
of the future that can not only integrate existing paradigms
(e.g., computational vs. dynamical approaches) but also open up new possibilities
of research.
z
The Bhopalator model of the cell at the mesoscopic level (see Fig.
2.11
) may be
essential in linking the microscopic and macroscopic worlds. That is,
One of the fundamental roles of the living cell in biology is to provide the mechanistic
framework for coupling exergonic microscopic processes and endergonic macroscopic
processes in the human body. (15.33)
Statement 15.33 is consistent with or supported by Statements 15.34 and 15.35:
It is impossible for the human body to perform macroscopic movement without driven by
microscopic chemical reactions. (15.34)
The free energy that is required for all macroscopic motions of the body can only be provided
by exergonic chemical reactions catalyzed by enzymes at the microscopic level.
(15.35)
Statements 15.33-15.35 are also in agreement with the
reciprocal causality of
the human body
depicted in Fig.
15.17
, according to which the macroscopic events,
that is,
mind-initiated body motions
, and the
microscopic events, that is, enzyme-
catalyzed chemical reactions
, are coupled through the mediating role of
the living
cell.
The fundamental role that the living cell plays in effectuating the bodily
motions, therefore, may be more generally stated as a law:
It is impossible to couple macroscopic bodily motions, either voluntary or involuntary,
and microscopic chemical reactions without being mediated by the mesoscopic living
cell.
(15.36)
For convenience of discussions, Statement 15.36 may be referred to as the “First
Law of Coordination Dynamics” (FLCD).
There are two mechanisms of coordinating two positions or points in the human
body (and in multicellular organisms):
1. The
static (rigid, equilibrium) coordination mechanism (SCM)
operating
between the two ends of a bone, for example, that are connected to each other
through a rigid body, and
2. The
dynamic (flexible, dissipative) coordination mechanism (DCM) operating
between two points located in the opposite ends of a muscle, a muscle fiber or in
two remote domains within a biopolymer, for example, that are connected
through flexible, deformable bodies.
The principles underlying SCM are provided by the
Newtonian mechanics
while
those underlying DCM derive from multiple sources including the (1)
Newtonian
mechanics
, (2)
thermodynamics
, (3)
quantum mechanics
, (4)
statistical mechanics
,
(5)
chemical kinetics
, (6)
control theory
, and (7)
evolutionary biology
which are all
implicated, although not always explicitly discussed,
in what
is known as
