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The World as Evolving Information

Gershenson, Dr Carlos (2007) The World as Evolving Information. [Conference Paper] (In Press)

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Abstract

This paper discusses the benefits of describing the world as information, especially in the study of the evolution of life and cognition. Traditional studies encounter problems because it is difficult to describe life and cognition in terms of matter and energy, since their laws are valid only at the physical scale. However, if matter and energy, as well as life and cognition, are described in terms of information, evolution can be described consistently as information becoming more complex. The paper presents five tentative laws of information, valid at multiple scales, which are generalizations of Darwinian, cybernetic, thermodynamic, and complexity principles. These are further used to discuss the notions of life and cognition and their evolution.

Item Type:Conference Paper
Keywords:information, evolution, matter, energy, life, cognition
Subjects:Computer Science > Complexity Theory
Biology > Evolution
Philosophy > Epistemology
ID Code:5689
Deposited By: Gershenson, Carlos
Deposited On:30 Aug 2007
Last Modified:11 Mar 2011 08:56

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