Self-Organization and Emergence in Life Sciences. Bernard Feltz, Marc Crommelinck, and Philippe Goujon (Eds.). (2006, Synthese Library Vol. 331, Springer.) Hardcover, €139, $179, 360 pages

Abstract

Self-Organization and Emergence in Life Sciences. Bernard Feltz, Marc Crommelinck, and Philippe Goujon (Eds.). (2006, Synthese Library Vol. 331, Springer.) Hardcover, A139, $179, 360 pages. Self-organization and emergence have received much attention in biology and artificial life [1, 2, 4, 5], even though these pervasive concepts have eluded strict definition [3]. This makes the contributions contained in this interdisciplinary volume relevant to many aspects of artificial life. Self-Organization and Emergence in Life Sciences was first published in 1999 in French, but the contents are not outdated. Moreover, it provides a window to Francophone approaches to self-organization, mainly represented by researchers based in France and Belgium. Though there is a certain geographical prevalence, the areas from which the different authors approach different topics are quite varied: from physics to philosophy, immunology to psychiatry, and history to biology. It is difficult to organize such a heterogeneity of contributions, but the editors have managed to present them here as a coherent whole. The book consists of three parts, dedicated to the scientific approach, the historical approach, and the epistemological and conceptual approaches, each with two sections. While the quality of the contributions is varied, many are worth reading. Together they present a good overview of the concepts, problems, and open questions related to self-organization and emergence and their relationship with the life sciences. The scientific approach starts with ‘‘Self-Organization and Biology: General Standpoints.’’ Gerard Weisbuch gives a good introductory review of the complex adaptive systems approach to biology, covering complex systems, random Boolean networks, and immune networks. Vincent Bauchau uses Conway’s game of life to provide an interesting discussion on emergence and reductionism, arguing for both of them in science. Hugues Bersini studies chaos in Hopfield neural networks and immune idiotypic networks, showing how frustration emerges from the network connectivity. The second section is ‘‘Self-Organization and Biology: Thematic Standpoints.’’ Rene Thomas presents a summary of his work on regulatory network analysis and feedback circuits. Lefevre et al. discuss the interaction between experimentation and modeling in neurosciences, focusing on ocular saccades. A posthumous chapter by Francisco Varela proposes the idea of synchrony of neurons as ‘‘neural glue.’’ This is not the best introduction to Varela’s ideas, but it is certainly worthwhile. In his contribution, Philippe Meire discusses dualism in psychiatry. The chapter by Atlan and Cohen is one of the most interesting in the book. They discuss how the nervous system self-organizes to process information, acquire meanings, and determine individuality. Then they extend this description to the immune system, which performs the same tasks. The historical approach provides a good account of the development of the concepts of selforganization and emergence. The section on early philosophical conceptualizations starts with a chapter by Gertrudis Van de Vijver, who reviews Kant’s approach to organization, that is, the notion of purposiveness in nature. Laurence Bouquiaux reviews Leibniz’ ideas, arguing that variety is not explainable through Cartesian mechanism. Francois Duchesneau discusses different models of epigenesis in the eighteenth century, confronting ‘‘essential force’’ and ‘‘formative force.’’ Philippe Goujon gives a good historical overview, reviewing logic, cybernetics, and self-organization. The chapter notes the role of randomness in simulating intelligence and adaptation. Paul Mengal gives a brief history of the concept of emergence. Originally arising from theology—framed by G. H. Lewes