The cell as a semiotic system that realizes closure to efficient causation: The semiotic (M, R) system

Abstract

Robert Rosen defines organisms as material systems closed to efficient causation, and proposes the replicative (M, R) system as a model for them. Recently, we presented a cell model that realizes Rosen's formal model, based on Hofmeyr's analysis of the functional organization of cell biochemistry and on Rosen's construction of the replication function. In this article we propose a cell model that, starting from the same biochemical processes, replaces the replication function with a set of semiotic relations between some of the elements that participate in cellular processes. The result is a cell model that constitutes a semiotic system that realizes closure to efficient causation: a semiotic (M, R) system. We compare the models of closure that correspond to the replicative (M, R) system and the semiotic (M, R) system. Additionally, we discuss the role that the genetic code and protein synthesis play in the semiotic closure to efficient causation. Finally, we outline the method to extend this analysis to more complex organisms.