Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
m << n
Homogeneous & Infinite Class = Physics
C = ( m, n )
m >> n
Heterogeneous & Finite Class = Biology
Fig. 2.12 A diagrammatic representation of the homogenous and heterogeneous classes, the
former being the primary object of study in physics and the latter in biology, according to Elsasser
(1998)
long, as found in the human genome) and finite in size (less than ~10 6 molecules)
(see Fig. 2.12 ). According to Elsasser, the traditional mathematical equations used
in physics and chemistry cannot be applied to biology because they do not converge
when applied to finite classes (Elsasser 1998). Wolfram (2002) reached a similar
conclusion from a different direction.
To distinguish between homogeneous and heterogeneous classes, it may be
useful to represent a class, C, as a 2-tuple:
C
¼
ð
m
;
n
Þ
(2.62)
where m is the number of different kinds of the elements of a class, and n is the
number of copies of each kind in a class. It should be noted here that m in Eq. 2.62
can be characterized further in terms of M, the number of components of a living
system, and N, the number of particles in each component as done by Mamontov
et al. (2006). Variables m and n can have two ranges of values - large and small.
When m is small we can refer to the class as homogeneous; when m is large,
heterogeneous. Likewise, when n is large, the class can be referred to as infinite;
when small, finite:
One important conclusion that Elsasser arrived at, based on the recognition of
the two classes of objects, is that reductionist scheme works only for homogeneous
classes but not for heterogeneous ones . For the latter, the principle of holism is
essential. This conclusion, when applied to the cell, a prototypical example of the
objects belonging to the heterogeneous class, is that the property or phenomenon we
call life belongs to the class as a whole and not to any members of the class . This is
the same conclusion that Bohr arrived at based on the analogy between the cell and
the atom (Bohr 1933) and is consonant also with the concept of the bionetwork in
the sense that life belongs to the cell (a network), not to component molecules (i.e.,
nodes) such as enzymes and DNA.
The author found the following quotations from (Elsasser 1998) helpful in
understanding Elsasser's theory of holistic biology:
There has been in the past a tendency to apply the successful methods of physical science
more or less blindly to the description of organism; reductionist reasoning being one of the
results of this tendency. Here, we shall try to deal with the difference between living and
dead material in terms of a closer analysis that consists, as already indicated, in suitable
generalizations of the logical concept of classes. This gets one away from the exclusive
use of purely quantitative criteria, which use is a remnant of the uncritical transfer of the
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