Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
methods of physical sciences to biology. Instead of this we shall find a more subtle use of
the class concept. (pp. 22-23)
The basic assumption to be made in our interpretation of holism is that an organism is a
source (or sometimes a sink) of causal chains which cannot be traced beyond a terminal
point because they are lost in the unfathomable complexity of the organism. (p. 37)
Drawing on the idea of generalized complementarity interpreted here as mechanistic vs.
holistic properties, we have strongly emphasized the holistic aspects
...
. (p. 148)
Consistent with the holism advocated by Bohr (1933) and Elsasser (1998),
I concluded (Ji 1991) that, to account for the functional stability (or robustness) of
the metabolic networks in cells in the face of the randomizing influence of thermal
fluctuations of molecules, it was necessary to postulate the existence of a new kind of
force holding molecules together in functional relations within the cell (and hence
called the
cell force
mediated by “cytons”), just as physicists were forced to invoke
the concept of the strong force (mediated by gluons) as the agent that holds together
nucleons to form stable nuclei against electrostatic repulsion (Ji 1991, pp. 110-113).
2.6 Synchronic vs. Diachronic Causes
It appears to be the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) who first
distinguished between the
synchronic
study of language (i.e., the study of language
as it is practiced
here
and
now
, without reference to
history
) and the
diachronic
study (i.e., the study of language
evolution
) (Culler 1991). (This distinction may be
analogous to the distinction between
space
and
time
in nonrelativistic physics.)
Table 2.17
Two kinds of causalities are operative in the material universe. When two objects or
events, A and B, are correlated, A and B may interact directly (i.e., synchronically) by exchanging
material entities, C (e.g., photons, gravitons, gluons, etc. [Han 1999]), or indirectly (i.e., diachron-
ically) through the historical sharing of a common entity, C, which preceded A and B in time
Causality
Synchronic
Diachronic
1. Interaction
mediated by
Synchronic agent (e.g., photons,
gravitons, gluons)
Diachronic agent (e.g., entangled
phases of wave functions, DNA)
2. Interaction speed
limited by the
speed of light
Yes (i.e., local)
No (i.e., nonlocal)
3. Mathematics
needed for
description
Analytical functions (e.g.,
differential equations,
probability wave functions)
Algorithms (e.g., cellular automata)
4. Phenomena
explained
A-historic phenomena
Historic phenomena (e.g.,
cosmogenesis, origin of life,
biological evolution, EPR paradox
[Herbert 1987])
5. Alternative names Energy-based causality
History-based causality
Local causality
Nonlocal causality
Luminal causality
Superluminal causality
