Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
for all organizations in the Universe, including life (Sect. 4.13). In Sect. 2.3.1,
I hypothesized that the relation between
information
and
life
is akin to that between
energy
and
matter
(see Schemes 21.2 and 21.4), leading to coining the term
“liformation,” in analogy to mattergy (Scheme 21.4). Thus the
energy-matter
relation
has given rise to two hybrid terms,
infoknowledge
(based on Burgin's
analogy (2004)) and
liformation
, both embodying the principle of supplementarity
of Bohr (1958):
f
Matter
-------->
Energy
(
Mattergy Category
)
(21.2)
g
Knowledge
-------->
Information
(
Infoknowledge Category
)
(21.3)
h
Life
-------->
Information
(
Liformation Category
)
(21.4)
In Sect. 2.3.1, it was suggested that
life
and
information
are quantitatively
related, i.e.,
liformation
reflects the principle of supplementarity:
Just as matter can be considered as a highly condensed form of energy, so life may be
viewed as a highly condensed form of information
.
(21.5)
The set of the three hybrid terms, mattergy, infoknowledge, and liformation, can
be viewed as the names of the associated categories as shown in Schemes 21.2
through 21.4. A category is a mathematical entity consisting of
nodes
and
arrows
(Lawvere and Schanuel 2009; Hilman 1997). A category is a mapping graphically
represented as f: A
B, where A and B are, respectively, the
domain
and
codomain
and f is called the
morphism
.
We can recognize at least three hierarchical levels of categories as shown in
Table
21.3
. Examples of each class of categories are also provided. It is interesting
to note that the categories in Schemes 21.3 through 21.4 are line segments, those in
Fig.
21.3
are triads, and that in Fig.
21.4
is a square.
Table
21.4
attempts to capture the common features of the philosophical systems
advocated by the four scholars whose thoughts are being integrated in Table
21.3
in
relation to the metaphysical and scientific theories described in this topic.
Figure
21.3
represents the postulate that liformation, mattergy, and
infoknowledge are the complementary aspects of gnergy or that gnergy is ulti-
mately responsible for (or reifies into) liformation, mattergy, or infoknowledge
through mechanisms (or laws, rules, etc.) denoted as i, j, or k, respectively. The
functor i, j, or k signifies
gives rise to
or
reifies into
and is thought to be associated
with the principle of
complementarity.
Figure
21.4
depicts the Class III category that integrates the four hybrid terms
defined in Table
21.3
. Most significantly, the diagram in Fig.
21.4
is postulated to
embody the commutativity relation given in Eq. 21.6.
!
i
1
K
1
ð
Þ
m
¼ð
Þ
n
(21.6)
