The Third Law Of Evolution And The Future Of Life A Systems Approach To Natural Philosophy 1st Edition Gerard A J M Jagers Op Akkerhuis by Gerard A. J. M. Jagers Op Akkerhuis 9783031732041, 3031732049 instant download after payment.

Many of the world’s great questions remain unanswered. Such questions fascinate scientists and philosophers of science alike. This book focuses on the big questions that underlie the analysis of systems and their complexity. Examples of such questions are: Is there a real layered structure in nature? And if so, how are the layers defined? How can we relate the biological theory of evolution to a physical counterpart? Can the concept of evolution be generalised? Another perennial question is: what is life? Answering such questions requires scientists and philosophers of science to develop a deep understanding of how nature works and how its phenomena can be organised theoretically. Progress in this area depends on the availability of relevant observations and appropriate theoretical tools.
This book contributes to these goals by providing a broad theoretical framework based on innovative insights from systems science and evolution. It does so by introducing a third law that complements the two well-known laws of evolution. The first law deals with reproduction and heritability and how these lead to variation. The second law deals with differential performance, leading to a selected group of organisms, the best adapted, which, alone and in interaction with other organisms, perform better in their environment than others in their generation. But that is not all.