Samenvatting 'Complexity and Evolution' -17/20 in 1e zit!
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Course
Complexity and Evolution (1023510BNR)
Institution
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Deze samenvatting omvat de gehele cursus 'Complexity and Evolution' overeenkomstig met het gelijknamige lesonderdeel. Het document is gestructureerd volgens hoofdstukken en paragrafen om het geheel overzichtelijk te houden. Per paragraaf worden de belangrijkste concepten en denklijnen schematisch m...
Complexity and evolution
Chapter 1. Worldviews
1.1 Fundamental philosophical questions
*Questions about existence & place in the universe – variations on the eternal ‘Why’?
*Summarise: ‘How and why do complex, organized systems, such as living beings, humans &
societies, arise? In which direction are they evolving?’
- What is? (ontology, metaphysics) Answers determine a worldview gives meaning
- What is true/ false? (epistemology) to our actions & offers guidance for understanding
- What is good/ evil? (ethics) the world around us (esp. in the current age)
*Confusion & fragmentation because of sc., cult. & social developments need for psychological
support by an easy conceptual framework found in fundamentalist ideologies/irrational beliefs
science should be pre-eminent weapon BUT contributes more to the confusion
because of its tendency to divide problems into sub-problems specialised, uncoherent info
*Also contrary tendencies which aim to reintegrate =/ disciplines driving forces = concepts of system &
evolution
system: elements don’t stand on their own but form a coherent whole.
evolution: =/ systems have a common origin & dynamics
=> evolutionary-systemic worldview: able to tackle fundamental questions – allowed by recently
developed scientific insights – more than just philosophical speculations
1.2 The religious worldviews
*First ones: prehistoric civilisations – M.A.
*Explain ‘Why’ referring to God(s) – divine intervention pers. powers with own goals & preferences
*More sophisticated version: bishop Paley: watchmaker argument intelligent creator: God
not a real explanation ~don’t know why God has created things in exactly that way/ who created
God & no predictive powers
1.3 The Newtonian worldview
*19th C
*= mechanical -> based on theory of classical mechanicals Newton formulated principles
*summarised as the Clockwork universe = cosmos runs like a mechanical clockwork. All cogs fit
perfectly. Regularly & predictable (insp.: planets around sun). Created long time ago, no longer
involved
*Importance of this insight illustrated by Western – Islamic science
Islamic sc: ahead, but came to halt around 11-12th C
- plausible expl. = ‘occasionalism’ that became dominant ~idea that God intervenes at every
moment in every process
*Newtonian sc. Origins: freemasonry: saw God as the Great architect of the universe world
created, but no longer intervenes
*Mech. worldview -> big influence on society -> many see it as the sc. Worldview -> outdated trough
20th C developments
*Worldviews principles:
1. Reductionism: if a phenomenon is too difficult to understand, you reduce them into different
particles these are permanent, indivisible pieces of matter (materialism): move through space
propelled by forces
2. Determinism: all movement (change) is subject to natural laws. If you know the initial stat of the particles,
you can predict their movement by applying these laws
3. Reversibility: every movement is reversible no progress in evolution: all things are basically even
=> weakness: fundamental elements (space, time, particles, forces, laws): postulated a priori. No
space for creativity/novelty/surprise. Assumptions of Newton & Laplace: refuted Unsuitable to
explain life/people…
,Marie C. 2021-2022
1.4 The evolutionary systemic worldview
*Since development of cybernetics, systems theory & self-organisation (20 th C): removing
shortcomings ESW
*No need for God as creator: complex organisation arises spontaneously. Natural selection counts:
which combinations will continue to exists and which won’t?
accidental factors people are free to make own choices no determinism
*Theory of evolution: allows to explain the origin of all complex phenomena by evolution from
earlier, generally simpler systems
end of the great narratives: meaning that all explanatory models are relative
ESW: universal narrative: big (hi)story: creates coherence – doesn’t make separations;
everything is connected
*ESW: fundamentally optimistic: there is a tendency for bad thing not to endure (by natural selection)
*Evolution = unpredictable, but trend towards progress: increased fitness
Chapter 2. The theory of evolution
2.1 Darwin and the origin of species
*Fossils of creatures that no longer exist – indicates that plants/animals aren’t how they ever were: Theory of
evolution by natural selection – Darwin: most plausible explanation
controversial: contradicted rel. worldview/Bible fear of this: waited to publish theory
friend Wallace pushed him
remains controversial in religion: creationists take the creation story literally. The presence of
simpler organisms in deeper layers is for example explained through the Biblical flood story
more sophisticated variety of creationsism: ‘intelligent design’: states that an unspecified
intelligent power has been intervening to ensure that evolution would run smoothly.
progressive thinkers & social scientists: critical misunderstanding where theory of evolution is
held responsible for outdated ideology of ‘social Darwinism’: survival of the fittest in sociology
(justification for class society)
generally accepted in natural sc. but also other mechanisms into account
2.2 How does evolution work?
*Darwin’s inspiration: artificial selection i.e. domesticated foxes
idea: generalisation of this mechanism for a situation in which there is no breeder to select
certain properties
happens spontaneously by nature: natural selection. Doesn’t select for a specific property, but
for the general capacity to survive & reproduce: fitness capacity depends on environment i.e.
giraffe
*General mechanism:
- blindly try out many variation on a certain base form (trials)
- eliminate the variations that don’t work as well or that have not adapted as well (errors)
- keep and/or reproduce those that work better
- start again
=> trial-and-error procedure -> constant/irreversible improvement -> 2 essential components:
1. Variation: the individual upon which selection acts have to be different. Every generation has to
give rise to new differences in biological evolution: through mutations in/ recombination of
genes
2. Selection: the ‘best’ variations have to be selected. If something works, it is retained; if it doesn’t,
it’s eliminated. The extent to which something works/adapted, is called fitness
2.3 The increasing importance of the evolutionary approach
*Idea of evolution through variation & selection = universal & not restricted to biology
psychology: thought processes & emotions can be explained by assuming that they’re the result
of selection for fitness i.e. jealousy -> men who didn’t know this emotion had fewer descendants
and their genes were thus selected against
sociology: ‘sociobiology’ explains the development of social systems by looking at the way these
systems add to the fitness of their members i.e. vampire bats that such a lot of blood -> donate a
portion to less fortunate colleagues -> so that they can later count on solidarity in turn -> lower risk
, Marie C. 2021-2022
of starvation
medicine: our susceptibility to/immunity against illness can be explained through natural
selection of both humans & pathogens i.e. AIDSvirus is so successful bc its victims don’t become
bedridden immediately but retain the opportunity to spread the virus via contact with others
economics: competition between businesses where the most successful grow & are imitated
and less successful disappear. The most successful entrepreneurs: who find a yet unexploited niche
culture: memes: info that ‘reproduce’ themselves -> in constant competition -> more info that
we can remember -> natural selection + we introduce small variations -> adaptation to society’s
preferences. Fittest memes become myths, traditions or generally accepted knowledge.
computing: computing can solve complex problems through the random generation of possible
solutions, retaining only the best ones and allowing these to reproduce – genetic algorithms or
evolutionary computation
chemistry: through generating a variety of candidate molecules and repeatedly filtering out the
best, it is possible to create molecules with specific properties
2.4 What is still lacking in the evolutionary approach?
*Darwinian approach: too restricted to generate a new worldview
too reductionist: organisms/genes.. = primitive elements -> little attention to the interaction between these
units -> complex influence of a multiplicity of other universe = reduced to the influence of the ‘environment’
doesn’t explain how complexity arises: adaptation/fitness can be reached by both very simple & complex
systems
To tackle these problems: need to add several concepts to that of the theory of evolution, such as self-organisation,
emergence & co-evolution. To develop a good understanding of these, we will now discuss some complementary
approaches.
Chapter 3. Self-organisation and chaos
3.1 Introduction
*Nature provides =/ examples of the spontaneous emergence of ordered structures -> no ‘watchmaker’
involved -> self-organisation
2nd law of thermodynamics makes this more paradoxical -> states that the entropy (‘disorder’) of an isolated
system can only increase, not decrease.
Important contribution of Prigogine: dissipative structures = forms of spontaneous order or structure, which
perpetuate themselves by exporting (‘dissipating’) entropy
3.2 Examples: magnetization and Rayleigh-Bénard convection
Magnetization
*magnetisable matter consist of molecules that each have an individual magnetic
field, with a specific direction. 1st : magnets point in =/ directions, after
magnetising: magnets point in the same direction
*In some circumstances: it can arise spontaneously => clear example of self-organisation: the initially
unordered magnets align themselves. Magnets that point in opposite directions repel each other
Rayleigh-Bénard convection
*Fluid is heated evenly from below, while it cools evenly from above. If the =/ in T° is large enough ->
development of honeycomb pattern/ striped pattern of parallel ‘rolls’
*Fluid consist of molecules, usually movements = random. When the bottom is heated, fluid starts to
expand & becomes lighter. At the top: colder & heavier -> warm fluid rises & cold fluid sinks
in one place all molecules will make an upward movement until they reach the top. They cool down
and sink again rotation flow or ‘roll’ of synchronised moving molecules
flow caused by =/ in T° = convection
self-organisation: uncoordinated molecules spontaneously order their
movement until they are all synchronized
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