{"title":"The historical nature of biological complexity and the ineffectiveness of the mathematical approach to it","authors":"Saverio Forestiero","doi":"10.1007/s12064-022-00369-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Contemporary scientific knowledge is built on both methodological and epistemological reductionism. The discovery of the limitations of the reductionist paradigm in the mathematical treatment of certain physical phenomena originated the notion of complexity, both as a pattern and process. After clarifying some very general terms and ideas on biological evolution and biological complexity, the article will tackle to seek to summarize the debate on biological complexity and discuss the difference between complexities of living and inert matter. Some examples of the major successes of mathematics applied to biological problems will follow; the notion of an intrinsic limitation in the application of mathematics to biological complexity as a global, relational, and historical phenomenon at the individual and species level will also be advanced.</p>","PeriodicalId":54428,"journal":{"name":"Theory in Biosciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2022-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Theory in Biosciences","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12064-022-00369-7","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
Contemporary scientific knowledge is built on both methodological and epistemological reductionism. The discovery of the limitations of the reductionist paradigm in the mathematical treatment of certain physical phenomena originated the notion of complexity, both as a pattern and process. After clarifying some very general terms and ideas on biological evolution and biological complexity, the article will tackle to seek to summarize the debate on biological complexity and discuss the difference between complexities of living and inert matter. Some examples of the major successes of mathematics applied to biological problems will follow; the notion of an intrinsic limitation in the application of mathematics to biological complexity as a global, relational, and historical phenomenon at the individual and species level will also be advanced.
期刊介绍：
Theory in Biosciences focuses on new concepts in theoretical biology. It also includes analytical and modelling approaches as well as philosophical and historical issues. Central topics are:
Artificial Life;
Bioinformatics with a focus on novel methods, phenomena, and interpretations;
Bioinspired Modeling;
Complexity, Robustness, and Resilience;
Embodied Cognition;
Evolutionary Biology;
Evo-Devo;
Game Theoretic Modeling;
Genetics;
History of Biology;
Language Evolution;
Mathematical Biology;
Origin of Life;
Philosophy of Biology;
Population Biology;
Systems Biology;
Theoretical Ecology;
Theoretical Molecular Biology;
Theoretical Neuroscience & Cognition.
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