Biology

Bertalanffy (1972) said that a living organism is a complex open system, meaning that it maintains itself by continuously exchanging matter with the environment (p. 156). The fundamental characteristics of a living system--metabolism, growth, development, self-regulation, response to stimuli, and spontaneous activity-- are the consequences of open systems processes (p. 149).

An open system has two key variables, statics, and dynamics:

• Statics is how the system maintains its exchange, degeneration, and regeneration independent of time.
• Dynamics is how the system changes over time.

A system starts in an unstable state and moves toward a stable state, causing growth and development. The steady state can be disturbed by changes in the environment causing “adaptation and stimulus-response” (Bertalanffy, 1972, p. 160).

Capra (1996) proposed that a comprehensive theory of life should integrate an understanding of the pattern, structure, and process of the organism, saying that “the process of life is the continual embodiment of an autopoietic pattern of organization in a dissipative structure” that is identified with cognition, “the process of knowing” (p. 159). Following are summaries of the concepts in Capra's statement about life theory:

Pattern

The pattern of an organism is form, order, and quantity; it shows the configuration of relationships among the system’s components that determine its essential characteristics. Describing the pattern involves mapping the relationships among the organism’s components.

Structure

The structure of an organism is the substance, matter, and quantity; it shows the pattern of organization. Describing the structure involves mapping the physical components in the system.

Life Process

“Life process is the continual embodiment of the system’s pattern of organization” (Capra, 1996, p. 161). The process serves as a link between pattern and structure; the pattern of organization is in the organism’s structure, while the link between pattern and structure is “in the process of continual embodiment” (p. 160). In other words, the process is how the components within the system continuously interact.

Self-making

A key characteristic of living systems is that they continuously reproduce themselves. This process is called Autopoiesis, or “self-making”. Rather than being a relationship among static components, autopoiesis is “relations among processes of production” of components (p. 168). The organism’s networks continuously regenerate to maintain organization, providing a key distinction between physical and biological phenomena.

Dissipative structures

A dissipative structure is structurally open but organizationally closed. The boundary of an organism encloses the network of metabolic processes and limits its extension while filtering energy and matter in and out of the system. This makes the organism autonomous in organization; but the organism’s survival depends on its continuous interaction and exchange with the environment.

For example, the skin of the human acts as a boundary inside which the internal parts and processes continuously interact while the boundary filters in food and allows for the expulsion of waste. Interaction with the environment allows the human body to maintain and renew itself using energy and resources from the environment. This self-making also allows the body to form new structural relationships that result in development and evolution.

Cognition

Deriving his ideas from his conversations with plants, Bates proposed that nature speaks the language of relationships and that the mind is inseparably connected with life, “the essence of being alive” (Capra, 1996, p. 174). The Santiago Theory proposes that cognition--the act of knowing--is connected to life, but that the brain is not necessary for the mind to exist (Capra, 1996). Knowing is broader than thinking; it is perception, emotion, and action. For example, simple organisms and plants do not have brains but they perceive and react to changes in the environment. This implies that cognition, mind, is a relationship that operates in the brain, and structure (Capra, 1996).

Continuous

“Continuous” seems to be a keyword for understanding living systems. Both Capra and Bertalanffy emphasized that in a living system, components continuously change, matter continuously flows, organs continuously replace cells, and growth, development, and evolution are continuously occurring. When the biological processes cease, organic life ceases.