Abstract
In this article, we attempt at developing a scenario for the self-organization of goal-directed systems out of networks of (chemical) reactions. Related scenarios have been proposed to explain the origin of life starting from autocatalytic sets, but these sets tend to be too unstable and dependent on their environment to maintain. We apply instead a framework called Chemical Organization Theory (COT), which shows mathematically under which conditions reaction networks are able to form self-maintaining, autopoietic organizations. We introduce the concepts of perturbation, action, and goal based on an operationalization of the notion of change developed within COT. Next, we incorporate the latter with notions native to the theory of cybernetics aimed to explain goal directedness: reference levels and negative feedback among others. To test and refine these theoretical results, we present some examples that illustrate our approach. We finally discuss how this could result in a realistic, step-by-step scenario for the evolution of goal directedness, thus providing a theoretical solution to the age-old question of the origins of purpose.
Highlights
IntroductionPhysical science assumes that effects are fully determined by their causes, which lie in the past
That means that whatever their initial state, they will act so as to reach this particular end state, making it appear as if it is this end state and not the initial state that determines their course of action
We have proposed a framework to define and investigate how to define goal orientedness using reaction networks as a representational language [12] in which cybernetic mechanisms come into play to create circular causalities based on feedback mechanisms [3]
Summary
Physical science assumes that effects are fully determined by their causes, which lie in the past. It does not seem possible for a goal, which lies in the future, to affect phenomena here and now. That means that whatever their initial state (cause), they will act so as to reach this particular end state, making it appear as if it is this end state and not the initial state that determines their course of action This end state is not a natural equilibrium, such as a ball coming to rest at the bottom of a pit, but a far-from-equilibrium state that requires active intervention and a continuing mobilization of energy to achieve and maintain
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