Is Natural Drift a Mechanism?
Sergio Rubin
Log in to download the full text for free
> Citation
> Similar
> References
> Add Comment
Abstract
Open peer commentary on the article “Natural Drift: A Minimal Theory with Maximal Consequences” by Jorge Mpodozis. Abstract: In its current formulation, natural drift, despite being non-adaptationist, apparently follows the machine metaphor. I scrutinize the notion of machines on the basis of the four Aristotelian causes and argue that, following Rosen’s work, living systems are causal systems but not mechanisms and, therefore, not “machines.” This leads to the question as to whether natural drift is a blind and reactive mechanism or whether it entails anticipation in the sense that organisms are able to distinguish the potential effects of their actions on their environment. This aspect has a bearing on the question of whether natural drift can account for the origin of Earth’s habitability.
Citation
Rubin S. (2022) Is natural drift a mechanism? Constructivist Foundations 18(1): 112–114. https://constructivist.info/18/1/112
Export article citation data:
Plain Text ·
BibTex ·
EndNote ·
Reference Manager (RIS)
References
Bangs J. D. (2018) Evolution of antigenic variation in African trypanosomes: Variant surface glycoprotein expression, structure, and function. Bioessays 40(12): 1800181.
https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.201800181
Doolittle W. F. (2017) Darwinizing Gaia. Journal of Theoretical Biology 434: 11–19.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Gould S. J. & Lewontin R. C. (1979) The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: A critique of the adaptationist programme. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 205: 581–598.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Gould S. J. & Vrba E. S. (1982) Exaptation: A missing term in the science of form. Paleobiology 8(1): 4–15.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Lenton T. M., Daines S. J., Dyke J. G., Nicholson A. E., Wilkinson D. M. & Williams H. T. (2018) Selection for Gaia across multiple scales. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 33(8): 633–645.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Margulis L. (1997) Big trouble in biology: Physiological autopoiesis versus mechanistic neo-Darwinism. In: Margulis L. & Sagan D. (eds.) Slanted truths: Essays on Gaia, symbiosis, and evolution. Springer-Verlag, New York: 265–282.
https://cepa.info/6215
Maturana H. R. & Varela F. J. (1973) De máquinas y seres vivos. Autopoiesis: La organización de lo viviente [Of machines and living beings. Autopoiesis: The organization of the living]. Editorial Universitaria, Santiago.
https://cepa.info/541
Maturana H. R. & Varela F. J. (1984) El árbol del conocimiento: Las bases biológicas del entendimiento humano [The tree of knowledge: The biological basis of human understanding]. Editorial Universitaria, Santiago.
https://cepa.info/573
Maturana H. R. (1980) Biology of cognition. In Maturana H. R. & Varela F. J., Autopoiesis and cognition. Reidel, Dordrecht. Originally published in 1970.
https://cepa.info/535
Mitchell A., Romano G. H., Groisman B., Yona A., Dekel E., Kupiec M., Dahan O. & Pilpel Y. (2009) Adaptive prediction of environmental changes by microorganisms. Nature 460(7252): 220–224.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Pigliucci M. & Müller G. B. (2010) Evolution: The extended synthesis. MIT Press. Cambridge MA.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Rosen R. (1985) Anticipatory systems: Philosophical, mathematical & methodological foundations. Pergamon Press, Oxford.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Rosen R. (1985) Organisms as causal systems which are not mechanisms: An essay into the nature of complexity. In: Rosen R. (ed.) Theoretical biology and complexity. Academic Press, Orlando: 165–203.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Rosen R. (1991) Life itself: A comprehensive inquiry into the nature, origin, and fabrication of life. Columbia University Press, New York.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Volk T. (2004) Gaia is life in a wasteworld of by-products. In: Schneider S. & Boston P. (eds.) Scientists debate Gaia: The next century. MIT Press, Cambridge MA: 27–36.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Watson A. J. (2004) Gaia and observer self-selection. In: Schneider S. & Boston P. (ed.) Scientists debate Gaia: The next century. MIT Press, Cambridge MA: 201–208.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Wright J. S., Fu R., Worden J. R., Chakraborty S., Clinton N. E., Risi C., Sun Y. & Yin L. (2017) Rainforest-initiated wet season onset over the southern Amazon. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114(32): 8481–8486.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1621516114
Comments: 0
To stay informed about comments to this publication and post comments yourself, please log in first.