Life Itself Research Articles

Laws, Constraints, and the Modeling Relation – History and Interpretations

The modeling relation and models of complex systems expressed by non-integrable constraints were developed during ca. 1970-1987, when I worked most closely with Robert Rosen. I contrast the modeling relation within the organism itself as a necessary condition for life and evolution, as Rosen developed it in his fundamental work 'Anticipatory Systems', with the modeling relation within our brain as a necessary condition for understanding life, as Rosen developed it in 'Life Itself'. Our approaches to the modeling relation were complementary. Rosen focused on the formal relational conditions necessary for life, and on the limitations that formal mathematical-symbol systems impose on our models. I focused on the physical conditions necessary for these abstract relations to be realized, and on the symbolic control in organisms that allows open-ended evolution. I contrast Rosen's views on physics and evolution in 'Anticipatory Systems' and later papers with his views in 'Life Itself', and I speculate on why they differ so greatly.

Exploring the Temporal Consequences of Chasing the Elements in Rosen's Relational Diagrams

In the work 'Life Itself', Rosen showed that a formal mechanism cannot be 'closed to efficient cause'. Additionally, he claimed that organisms are 'closed to efficient cause' and that, by logical extension, organisms cannot be mechanisms. This paper shows that it is possible for mechanisms to be 'nearly closed to efficient cause', with the requirement that some unentailed efficient-cause agents are placed inside the system. Populations of these 'nearly closed to efficient cause' systems can be defined based on the ability to isolate each component in its own 'reaction chamber'. Diagrams from these populations are drawn from a couple of different perspectives, and comments are made on how these diagrams can be related to the more conventional language of chemistry.

Re‐Mapping Robert Rosen's (M,R)‐Systems

The central concern of this paper is to re-evaluate Rosen's replicating (M,R)-systems, presented in his book 'Life Itself ', where M and R signify metabolism and repair, respectively. We look anew at Rosen's model of an organism in the light of extensive research into natural hierarchical systems, and the paper presents conclusions drawn from a comparison between Rosen's relational model and that of a birational complementary natural hierarchy. We accept that Rosen's relational model provides a useful stepping stone to understanding the nature of life, but also suggest that it induces potentially digressive conclusions. We conclude that a binary segregation of relational assemblies into mechanisms and organisms is insufficient, and indicate how a threefold segregation throws new light on Rosen's model. An organism is not 'the complement of a mechanism': the complement of a mechanism is its ecosystem. An organism is the 'complex interface' between mechanism and ecosystem.

The Tinkerer'ss Accomplice: How Design Emerges From Life Itself

The Tinkerer'ss Accomplice: How Design Emerges From Life Itself

中間処理プロセス・業界の現状と課題 電子情報機器のリサイクリング

This paper shows the forecast of discharge amount of End of Life IT products. The discharge amount increased from 1998, which was influenced by the increasing of sales volume. And the discharge volume was stable from 2001 to 2006.Discharge of the EOL IT products in 2004 was assumed at 156,000t which involved 116,000t for business users and 40,000t for private house hold users.

The nature of ecological complexity: A protocol for building the narrative

We show that a realist view of ecology does not pay sufficient attention to the role of the observer dealing with complex systems. Complexity after Rosen [Rosen, R., 2000. Essays on Life Itself. Columbia University Press, New York, p. 257] is something that cannot be modeled. Conventional properties ascribed to complex systems are in fact prescriptions for what it takes to make a complex system yield to a model structure, to make it a simple system, albeit a complicated one. Complexity is not a material property, but turns rather on the question that is posed. It is normative to the degree that complexity arises from the lack of a paradigm, lack of an accepted set of modeling assertions. We develop a scheme for making complexity tractable. Our protocol arises from Pattee [Pattee, H., 1978. The complementarity principle in biological and social structures. J. Soc. Biol. Struct. 1, 191–200] laws and rules, Allen and Hoekstra [Allen, T.F.H., Hoekstra, T.W., 1992. Toward a Unified Ecology. University of Columbia Press, New York] scale versus type, observation protocol versus observed structure and Rosen [Rosen, R. 2000. Essays on Life Itself. Columbia University Press, New York, p. 257] essence versus realization. In a pair of cycles, one reinforces patterns of model building, and the cycle of the other deals with the changes that appear in the essence of that which is modeled. We use narrative to rise above the local constraints of models. In the end, we give an application in a salmon fishery as we build a narrative from a set of separate models.

In Defense of Mechanism

In Life Itself and in Essays on Life Itself, Robert Rosen (1991, 2000) argued that machines were, in principle, incapable of modeling the defining feature of living systems, which he claimed to be the existence of closed causal loops. Rosen's argument has been used to support critiques of computational models in ecological psychology. This article shows that Rosen's attack on mechanism is fundamentally misconceived. It is, in fact, of the essence of a mechanical system that it contains closed causal loops. Moreover, Rosen's epistemology is based on a strong form of indirect realism and his arguments, if correct, would call into question some of the fundamental principles of ecological psychology.

Dying While Homeless: Is It a Concern When Life Itself Is Such a Struggle?

Previous articleNext article No AccessMedicine and Public PolicyDying While Homeless: Is It a Concern When Life Itself Is Such a Struggle?John Song, Edward R. Ratner, and Dianne M. BartelsJohn SongUniversity of Minnesota Search for more articles by this author , Edward R. RatnerUniversity of Minnesota Search for more articles by this author , and Dianne M. BartelsUniversity of Minnesota Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 16, Number 3Fall 2005 Published on behalf of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/JCE200516312 Views: 3Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref © 2005 The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article: Dianne M. Bartels , Nancy Ulvestad , Edward Ratner , Melanie Wall , Mari M. Uutala , and John Song Dignity Matters: Advance Care Planning for People Experiencing Homelessness, The Journal of Clinical Ethics 19, no.33 (Dec 2022): 214–222.https://doi.org/10.1086/JCE200819303

Coevolution of the cosmic past and future: The selfish biocosm as a closed timelike curve: A recipe for cosmic ontogeny and a blueprint for cosmic reproduction

ComplexityVolume 10, Issue 5 p. 14-21 Essays & CommentariesFree Access Coevolution of the cosmic past and future: The selfish biocosm as a closed timelike curve: A recipe for cosmic ontogeny and a blueprint for cosmic reproduction James N. Gardner, James N. Gardner [email protected] James Gardner is a complexity theorist and the author of BIOCOSM—The New Scientific Theory of Evolution: Intelligent Life is the Architect of the Universe (2003). He is the author of three previously published essays for Complexity.Search for more papers by this author James N. Gardner, James N. Gardner [email protected] James Gardner is a complexity theorist and the author of BIOCOSM—The New Scientific Theory of Evolution: Intelligent Life is the Architect of the Universe (2003). He is the author of three previously published essays for Complexity.Search for more papers by this author First published: 13 June 2005 https://doi.org/10.1002/cplx.20086Citations: 8 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL REFERENCES 1 Gardner, J. The selfish biocosm: Complexity as cosmology. Complexity 2000, 5(3), 34– 45. 2 von Neumann, J. On the general and logical theory of automata. Cerebral Mechanisms in Behavior. The Hixon Symposium; L.A. Jeffren, Ed.; John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1951; pp 1– 41. 3 Smolin, L. The Life of the Cosmos; Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1997. 4 Linde, A. The self-reproducing inflationary universe. Sci Am 1998, 9(20), 98– 104. 5 Rees, M. Before the Beginning; Addison Wesley: Reading, MA, 1997. 6 Baez, J. on-line commentary on The Life of the Cosmos (available at http://www.aleph.se/Trans/Global/Omega/smolin/txt). 7 Kurzweil, R. The Age of Spiritual Machines; Viking: New York, 1999. 8 Wheeler, J. At Home in the Universe; Woodbury: AIP Press 1994). 9 Dyson, F. Infinite in All Directions; Harper: New York, 1988. 10 Gardner, J. Assessing the robustness of the emergence of intelligence: Testing the selfish biocosm hypothesis. Acta Astronautica 2001, 48(5-12), 951– 955. 11 Gardner, J. Assessing the computational potential of the eschaton: Testing the selfish Biocosm hypothesis. J Br Interplanetary Soc 2002, 55(7/8), 285– 288. 12 Khoury, J.; Ovrut, B.A.; Seiberg, N.; Steinhardt, P.; Turok, N. From big crunch to big bang. hep-th/0108187, 2001. 13 Steinhardt, P.; Turok, N. Cosmic evolution in a cyclic universe. hep-th/0111098, 2001. 14 Lloyd, S. Ultimate physical limits to computation. Nature 2002, 406, 1047– 1054. 15 Hoyle, F. The universe: Past and present reflections. Annu Rev Astron Astrophys 1982, 20, 16– 20. 16 Harrison, E. The natural selection of universes containing intelligent life Quart J Roy Astronom Soc 1995, 36, 193– 203. 17 Crane, L. On the role of intelligent life in the evolution of the universe (unpublished paper, Kansas State University. [undated]). 18 Darwin, C. Autobiography (1809–1882); Norton: New York, 1969. 19 Crick, F. Life Itself: Its Origin and Nature; Simon & Schuster: New York, 1981. 20 Wheeler, J. Geons, Black Holes and Quantum Foam; Norton: New York, 1998. 21 Gott, J.R.; Li, L. Can the Universe Create Itself? astro-ph/9712344, 2002. 22 Edge interview with Paul Davies, http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/davies/davies_p6.html (8 De. 2002). 23 Linde, A. The Hard Art of Universe Creation, hep-th/9110037, 2002. 24 Susskind, L. The Anthropic Landscape of String Theory, hep-th/0302219, 2003. 25 Weinberg, S. A designer universe? The New York Review of Books 21 October 1999. 26 Kauffman, S. The Origins of Order; Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1993. Citing Literature Volume10, Issue5May/June 2005Pages 14-21 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Technology, Performance and Life Itself: Hannah Arendt and the Fate of Nature

Technology, Performance and Life Itself: Hannah Arendt and the Fate of Nature<sup />

The Politics of Life Itself

This article explores contemporary biopolitics in the light of Michel Foucault's oft quoted suggestion that contemporary politics calls `life itself' into question. It suggests that recent developments in the life sciences, biomedicine and biotechnology can usefully be analysed along three dimensions. The first concerns logics of control - for contemporary biopolitics is risk politics. The second concerns the regime of truth in the life sciences - for contemporary biopolitics is molecular politics. The third concerns technologies of the self - for contemporary biopolitics is ethopolitics. The article suggests that, in these events, human beings have become `somatic individuals': personhood is increasingly being defined in terms of corporeality, and new and direct relations are established between our biology and our conduct. At the same time, this somatic and corporeal individuality has become opened up to choice, prudence and responsibility, to experimentation, to contestation and so to a politics of `life itself'.

Essays on Life Itself. Robert Rosen

Previous articleNext article No AccessNew Biological BooksEssays on Life Itself. Robert Rosen Bruce J. WestBruce J. West Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Quarterly Review of Biology Volume 76, Number 3Sep., 2001 Published in association with Stony Brook University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/393997 Copyright 2001 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Books and Multimedia Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:Catalogue of Meteorites, Fifth Edition (Revised and Enlarged) by Monica M. GradyExtrasolar Planets: The Search for New Worlds by Stuart ClarkThe Moon: Resources, Future Development and Colonization by David Schrunk, Burton Sharpe, Bonnie Cooper and Madhu ThangaveluRare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe by Peter D. Ward and Donald E. Brownlee

Women&apos;s Life Style and IT Revolution(Special Issue I)

Women&apos;s Life Style and IT Revolution(Special Issue I)

Last rights: the struggle over the right to die

* Introduction * The Twentieth-Century Battle over * The Anguish of a Difficult * Death with Dignity: The Hope of a Movement * The Right to Die: An Argument as Old as Life Itself? * Foreign Rights: A World-View of * Dr. Death: Dispensing Mercy or Murder? * The Leading Activists and Their Obsessive Quest * The Rank and File: Just Your Normal Next-Door Neighbors * The Medical Establishment: A Fortress Divided * Rational Suicide: The Password to a New Frontier? * Suspicion and Fear from the Vulnerable * Religion and Ethics: Who Cares for the Soul? * The Devil Is in the Details: Navigating the Nightmare Cases * Postscript * Bibliography * Acknowledgments * Index

Grounding our Lives in Life Itself

Preview this article: Grounding our Lives in Life Itself: "Perspicuous Representations" Rather than Narratives, Page 1 of 1 < Previous page | Next page > /docserver/preview/fulltext/ni.8.2.15sho-1.gif

Pleasure in the eighteenth century

Introduction M.Mulvey Roberts - Enlightenment and Pleasure R.Porter - Material Pleasures in the Consumer Society R.Porter - The Pleasures of the Table S.Varey - Pleasures Engendered by Gender: Homosociality and the Club M.Mulvey Roberts - 'The Luxury of Doing Good': Benevolence, Sensibility, and the Royal Humane Society C.D.Williams - The Seducations of Conduct: Pleasure and Conduct Literature V.Jones - 'Strains of New Beauty': Handel and the Pleasures of Italian Opera, 1711-1728 D.Alsop - The Pleasures of Terror: Gender and the Sublime Revisited E.J.Clery - Burns and Wordsworth: Art and 'The Pleasure which There is in Life Itself' S.Manning - Index

Book Review: Work, Death, and Life Itself: Essays on Management and Organization

Book Review: Work, Death, and Life Itself: Essays on Management and Organization

Participation as a Collusive Quarrel

The following article has its basis in the respective chapter of my book entitled Work, Death, and Life Itself (Sievers, 1994). In the present article I intend to elaborate the working hypothesis that the attempt to increase and extend participation in contemporary work enterprises can be understood more than ever before as a collusive quarrel between managers and workers about immortality. The quarrel has its roots in the widespread experience of the discrepancy between the vigour with which participation in organisations is demanded and offered on the one hand and the inadequacy and limitations of its actual realisation on the other. Attempts to increase participation in a work enterprise are often confronted at an early stage with insoluble difficulties which too often lead to termination of the participation project. Although participation in general, and in work enterprises in particular, is generally seen as a paradigm (or metaphor) for integration, co-operation and democratisation among more or less equal partners, I propose the hypothesis that any attempt to practice participation will most probably lead to a situation in which management and workers get entangled in a collusive quarrel concerning the preconditions, content and range of said participation. Sustained by the predominant myth that management means the management of people, workers tend to become infantilised. The deep contempt and mistrust that so often characterise relations between managers and workers and/or their respective representatives thus poisons any simultaneous desire for trust and cooperation. In an analogy with ancient Greek mythology and its inherent quarrel between the immortal gods and the mortal ephemerals, the collusion between management and workers in contemporary work enterprises can be understood as a quarrel about participating in immortality. Since immortality is a limited resource, it is only available to the happy few. The collusive quarrel and the underlying split between managers and workers can only be overcome if both parties recognise that as human beings they can neither escape mortality nor relieve the other of it. Looking back on my own experiences as an organisational consultant I am reminded of numerous times I have been confronted with the discrepancy of participation in theory and participation in practice. “Implementing employee involvement is so complex, so difficult, and, not uncommonly, so frustrating, that it is easier to talk about than to do” (Semler, 1989, p. 77). Insoluble difficulties are often encountered when attempting to increase participation in a work enterprise and projects intending to lead to change are often broken off before achieving their aims. On such occasions it appears to me as though “the participation issue... is now nothing but a hobby of the academics without resonance among those who do the real work” (Jahoda, 1979, p. 208). On the other hand, in my work with a variety of organisations, I have repeatedly experienced the enormous difficulties which the demand for participation evokes. Some of the managers in a German subsidiary of an international American tyre company, for example, justified their own reservations about co-operating in a participative manner with the works council by accusing the workers’ representatives of being agents of a militant union, naively unaware that the workers might have viewed them in turn as agents of an exploiting capitalist multinational. Another example is that of a Protestant hospital in Germany at which the cautious attempts of the top management group to get the employees on lower levels — nurses, physicians and administrative staff — more intensively involved in the primary task of caring for the patients were resisted by the

Life Itself: Messiness Is Next to Goddessness and Other Essays

Life Itself: Messiness Is Next to Goddessness and Other Essays