Re: [Fis] Further Discussion . . .

bob, yes, we agree. and the materials you quote are gorgeous. i agree with you that life is a process. but a process made up of a hierarchy of sub-processes, the way that you and I are made of hierarchies of ind ividual cells. the word I find most useful for the envelope, the flame that

Re: [Fis] Further Discussion . . .

I suspect both of these positions might be correct, but they are focussing on systems that exist on different spatial (and temporal?) scales. Living systems, like individual organisms, participate as components of larger systems, such as social and ecological systems. Not only do they particip

Re: [Fis] Further Discussion . . .

your suggestion that life ceases when informational systems break down is intriguing and made me stop and think. hard. but i suspect it's the other way around. when life ceases, communications systems, informational systems, slowly break down. some of the cells continue to function after

Re: [Fis] Further Discussion . . .

Howard, How about the process metaphor? I argue that one cannot move from "objects moving according to unchanging laws" to life in any meaningful way. The notion of life as "a configuration of processes" seems to attract some attention, however. Here's my latest paper on the subject:

Re: [Fis] Further Discussion . . .

brilliant summation, Pedro. we are missing the metaphors with which to explain the difference between death and life or between smart communities like bacterial colonies and consciousness. in The God Problem: How A Godless Cosmos Creates, i tell the tale of the origin of the term "emerge

Re: [Fis] Further Discussion . . .

Dear Howard, In any extent, your beautiful questions are beyond my reach. I think that the physical characterization of life cannot even provide a whim on your demands; but something of the informational might provide some limited inroads: prokaryots could not achieve any significant progress

Re: [Fis] Further Discussion . . .

P. s.: Ho dimenticato di digitare che le pagine citate sono fitte, intense e pregnanti. Francesco 2017-02-10 15:07 GMT+01:00 Francesco Rizzo <13francesco.ri...@gmail.com>: > Cari colleghi, > lasciateVi e lasciatemi dire che le cellule, essendo detentrici e > portatrici di INFORMAZIONE genetica,

Re: [Fis] Further Discussion . . .

Cari colleghi, lasciateVi e lasciatemi dire che le cellule, essendo detentrici e portatrici di INFORMAZIONE genetica, COMUNICANO o scelgono di NON COMUNICARE tra loro nel bene o nel male e non possono avere alcun altro SIGNIFICATO-funzione. Sono stato sempre convinto di questo, come dimostrano in

Re: [Fis] Further Discussion . . .

fascinating thinking, pedro. it triggers this: The stages of development are far more than real-world problem solvers. They set artificial challenges, then achieve them. Making a caterpillar that works is an enormously complex challenge. Making a working butterfly is also immensel

Re: [Fis] Further Discussion . . .

Dear Marcus and Colleagues, Thanks for your interest. The Chengdu's Conference represented for me an occasion to return to my beginnings, in the 80's, when I prepared a PhD Thesis: "Natural Intelligence: On the evolution of biological information processing". It was mostly following a top down

[Fis] Further Discussion . . .

> In next weeks some further discussion might be started, but at the time being, the slot is empty (any ideas?)< Hi Pedro, For my part I would appreciate a chance to hear more about the thoughts you have been developing (even if they are very rough) as related to the talk you gave in China last s