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Anticipatory systems and time: a new look at Rosennean complexity
Author(s) -
Rosen Judith,
Kineman John Jay
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
systems research and behavioral science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1099-1743
pISSN - 1092-7026
DOI - 10.1002/sres.715
Subject(s) - organism , causality (physics) , set (abstract data type) , living systems , property (philosophy) , relation (database) , computer science , action (physics) , control (management) , focus (optics) , information flow , causal structure , cognitive science , psychology , artificial intelligence , epistemology , biology , paleontology , philosophy , linguistics , physics , quantum mechanics , database , optics , programming language
Abstract Robert Rosen claimed that life, as a property of a living system (an organism), is not caused by the physical nature of what it is composed of but, rather, is a consequence of complex organization of a certain type in a material system. In other words, the causal basis of life is a matter of relational causality rather than physical, material causality. Living systems are characterized by a unique set of behaviors and capabilities. Among these is the ability to employ information encoded into the organization itself as a means of maintaining system stability in an ever changing environment. This encoded information can allow organisms to act in a way that Rosen described as characteristically model‐based behavior. He theorized that the encoded information can act as a set of internal predictive models which pertain to both the internal environment of the system and the external environment, as well as to the relational interactions between the two, and which actually guide system behavior. Collectively, such guidance amounts to an anticipatory mode of system control. Rosen concluded that encoded information is an integral aspect of any living system's organization and, based on the relation of this information to organismic behavior, he categorized all living organisms as anticipatory systems. In this paper, we review Robert Rosen's seminal ideas about complexity, causality, and life in biological systems. Because anticipatory behavior, by definition, involves multiple encodings of time, we concentrate our focus on exploring the nature of anticipatory systems and examine the new information these ideas reveal about time and evolution. We discuss the consequences of these ideas on science as a whole and argue that a change in scientific perspective and approach is a necessity for understanding biological systems. This, of course, includes the nature and physiology of human beings, as well. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.