When is a mechanism not a mechanism? The network thermodynamic approach to complex systems
| Autor: | D. C. Mikulecky |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1988 |
| Předmět: |
Cognitive science
Reductionism Computer science Social connectedness business.industry Complex system Living systems Computer Science Applications Network element Mechanism (philosophy) Modeling and Simulation Modelling and Simulation Artificial intelligence Complex systems biology business Network analysis |
| Zdroj: | Mathematical and Computer Modelling. 11:464-468 |
| ISSN: | 0895-7177 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/0895-7177(88)90535-3 |
| Popis: | Rosen (1985) has made a distinction between two classes of objects, ''mechanisms'' and ''complex systems''. One central distinguishing feature is the applicability of the Newtonian paradigm. Mechanisms are describable with this formalism, while complex systems, such as living systems, are not. Rosen maintains that living systems can, at best, be given a very local description by the use of mechanisms. This categorization is potentially very useful and can provide insight into the dominant roles played by both empiricism and reductionism in modern biology (Mikulecky, 1987). Reductionism is methodologically motivated by the absence of a theory of complex systems in today's Physics and Chemistry. Systems must be reduced to simple mechanisms in order to be tractable in terms of the theory provided by those incomplete disciplines. Complex systems have been most thoroughly studied in engineering. Network thermodynamics uses theory originating in engineering and applies it in a general way to the complexity of topological connectedness in a dynamic system. Although it begins with elements which are obviously mechanisms in Rosen's language, it quickly illustrates that the whole is much more than the mere sum of its parts. This work uses multiport network elements which represent some of the most common energy conversion processes in living systems to rigorously establish that simple mechanisms begin to ''emerge'' in the sense that the composite system can behave in new ways, none of which are characteristics of its constituent elements. The long term goals of these efforts are two fold: 1) to establish a network or circuit theory for the dynamic events observed in living systems, and 2) to identify in specific examples the transition from mechanistic to complex system behavior. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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