Abstract
We propose a framework for analyzing the development, operation and failure to survive of all things, living, non-living or organized groupings. This framework is a sequence of developments that improve survival capability. Framework processes range from origination of any entity/system, to the development of increased survival capability and development of life-forms and organizations that use intelligence. This work deals with a series of developmental changes that arise from the uncovering of emergent properties. The framework is intended to be general, but we see a potential to apply it to scientific topics such as the exploration of the origin of life or the search for life beyond Earth, and to understand some biological issues in evolution and symbiosis, and also to apply to social systems that do not seem to be operating well, to determine their problems and correct them.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bateson G. (1980) Mind and nature: A necessary unity. Dutton, New York
Boltzmann, L. (1895). Lectures on gas theory. (Dover Reprinted by 1995).
Carnot N.L.S. (1824) Reflections on the motive power of fire. Chez Bachelier Libraire, Paris
Carter B. (1974) Large number coincidences and the anthropic principle. In: Longair M.S.(eds) Confrontation of cosmological theories with observational data. D. Reidel, Boston, pp 291–298
Clark J.B. (1891) Distribution determined by a law of rent. Quarterly Journal of Economics 5: 289–318
Clausius, R. (1850). On the mechanical equivalent of heat. Annalen der Physik, 79, 368–397, 500–524.
Cleland C.E., Chyba C.F. (2002) Defining ‘Life’. Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere 32: 387–393
Coulomb, A. (1785). Premier Mémoire sur l’Electricité et le Magnétisme. Histoire de l’Académie Royale des Sciences, 569–577.
Darwin C. (1859) On the origin of species. John Murray, London
Einstein A. (1905a) On a heuristic viewpoint concerning the production and transformation of light. Annalen der Physik 17: 132–148
Einstein A. (1905b) Does the inertia of a body depend upon its energy content?. Annalen der Physik 18: 639–641
Faraday, M. (1844). Experimental researches in electricity. (Reprinted by Green Lion Press, 2000).
Feynman R. (1998) QED. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Gibbs J.W. (1902) Rational foundations of thermodynamics. Scribner’s Sons, New York
Hobson J.H. (1891) The law of three rents. Quarterly Journal of Economics 5: 263–288
ISO 7498 (Internet pages) (1994). http://www.sigcomm.org/standards/iso_stds/OSI_MODEL/index.html.
James W. (1890) Principles of psychology. Henry Holt, New York
Joule, J. P. (1965). The scientific papers of James Prescott Joule. (Reprinted London: Dawson’s).
Kardashev N.S. (1964) Transmission of information by extraterrestrial civilizations. Soviet Astronomy 8: 217
Keynes J.M. (1930) Theory of money. McMillan, New York
Lavoisier, A. (1789). Elements of chemistry. (Reprinted. New York, NY: Dover Publications Inc., 1965).
Lorenz K. (1937) Biologische Fragestellungen in der Tierpsychologie. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 1: 24–32
Malthus, T. R. (1798). First essay on population. (Reprinted. New York, NY: Agustus Kelley, 1965).
Maxwell J.C. (1865) A dynamical theory of the electromagnetic field. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 155: 459–512
Mendel G. (1865) Experiments in plant hybridization. Verhandlungen des naturforschenden Vereines in Brünn 4: 3–47
Mendeleev D. (1869) On the relationship of the properties of elements to their atomic weights. Zeitschrift fur Chemie 12: 405–406
Michod R.E., Nedelcu A.M., Roze D. (2003) Cooperation and conflict in the evolution of individuality IV. Conflict mediation and evolvability, with interpretations of the development of Volvox carteri. BioSystems 69: 95–114
Newton, I. (1999). The principia: Mathematical principles of natural philosophy (1687 Trans. I. B. Cohen, & A. Whitman). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Oersted G.S. (1821) Experiments on the effect of a current of electricity on the magnetic needle. Annals of Philosophy XVI: 273–276
Ohm G.S. (1827) Die galvanische Kette, mathematisch bearbeitet. Riemann, Berlin
Pauling, L. (1939). On the nature of the chemical bound. Cornell University Press.
Pavlov I.P. (1927) Conditioned reflexes. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London
Planck, M. (1901). On the law of distribution of energy in the normal spectrum. Annalen der Physik, 4, 553 ff.
Ricardo, D. (1917). Principles of political economy and taxation. (Reprinted Dover 2004).
Scheele, C. W. (1780). Chemical treatise on air and fire. Uppsala & Leipzig.
Schrödinger E. (1944) What is life?. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Von Neumann J., Morgenstern O. (1943) Theory of games and economic behavior. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Watson J.D., Crick F.H.C. (1953) A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid. Nature 171: 737–738
Weaver W., Shannon C.E. (1949) The mathematical theory of communication. University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
Wen, X-G. (2004). Photons and electrons as emergent phenomena. http://arxiv.org/abs/condmat/0407140.
Wheeler J.A. (1963) Geometrodynamics. Academic Press, New York
Woese, C. R., Kandler, O., & Wheelis M. L. (June 1990). Towards a natural system of organisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 87(12), 4576–4579.
Wöhler F. (1828) Ueber künstliche Bildung des Harnstoffs. Annales des Chimie et des Physique 37: 330
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dennis, L., Gray, R.W., Kauffman, L.H. et al. A Framework Linking Non-Living and Living Systems: Classification of Persistence, Survival and Evolution Transitions. Found Sci 14, 217–238 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10699-008-9154-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10699-008-9154-7