The physics of open systems:insight from Rosen's last book

Don Mikulecky (mikuleck@HSC.VCU.EDU)
Wed, 9 Jun 1999 10:42:48 -0400


I am in the process of reviewing Rosen's last book : "Essays on Life
Itself" for Columbia Univ. Press. First off I recommend it highly!
It is due out in November.

I just had my mind blown and need some feedback. He discusses
Schroedinger's essay on "What is Life?" still one more time and puts
it into still one more new perspective. The essence is like this.
He claims that Schroedinger was after a new physics(implicitly). He
also, as always, points out that this is because biology can tell us
things about matter which the old physics can not. In particular,
he shows how the old physics leads to certain infinite regressions
if we seek to have a general theory of STABLE open systems. He then
shows how the answer can lie in the very same closed loops of
efficient causation he has developed in other ways using category
theory on his Metabolism/Repair systems. This line of reasoning
seems so clear and overpowering that I wonder if I am missing a
potential flaw. Does it make any sense? Please comment.
Don Mikulecky