Does Evolution Have a Target Morphology? | Organisms. Journal of Biological Sciences

We suggest here that evolutionary and developmental processes differ primarily in scale. Both evolution and development are dynamical processes subject to bottom-up and top-down constraints, and both can be viewed as search processes in rugged landscapes with multiple attractors. An important aspect of regulative development and regeneration is the ability of the system to reach the same anatomical configuration from different starting points and despite perturbations – a robustness toward a specific “target morphology” as the set point of a homeostatic cycle. We propose that evolution can be viewed as a developmental process of life as a whole, and that principles of regulative development and regeneration can, therefore, be expected to be active at much larger spatio-temporal scales: the major evolutionary transitions, including endosymbiosis, multicellularity, and the emergence of social groups, can be regarded as features of a “target morphology” of organismal phylogeny that biolog

Does Evolution Have a Target Morphology? Authors Chris Fields Michael Levin DOI: https://doi.org/10.13133/2532-5876/16961 Abstract We suggest here that evolutionary and developmental processes differ primarily in scale. Both evolution and development are dynamical processes subject to bottom-up and top-down constraints, and both can be viewed as search processes in rugged landscapes with multiple attractors. An important aspect of regulative development and regeneration is the ability of the system to reach the same anatomical configuration from different starting points and despite perturbati

related reading

• Evolution as Backstop for Reinforcement Learning · Gwern.netgwern.net
• The Multiple Paths to Multiple Life - PubMedpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• Plant evolutionary developmental biology - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
• Patterning and Morphogenesis From Cells to Organisms: Progress, Common Principles and New Challenges - PMCncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• Forms of life, forms of mind | Dr. Michael Levin | The struggle of the parts: how competition among organs in the body contributes to morphogenetic robustnessthoughtforms.life
• A revolution in biologybitsofwonder.co
• Mind Everywhere: A Framework for Conceptualizing Goal-Directedness in Biology and Other Domains—Part Onelink.springer.com
• A biological perspective on evolutionary computationnn.cs.utexas.edu
• The Lower Bound to the Evolution of Mutation Rates - PMCncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• The Multiple Paths to Multiple Life | Journal of Molecular Evolution | Springer Nature Linklink.springer.com
• Natural Induction: Spontaneous adaptive organisation without natural selection | bioRxivbiorxiv.org
• Forms of life, forms of mind | Dr. Michael Levin | Are we too part of a greater collective intelligence? How would we know?thoughtforms.life