

Terrence Deacon & Michael Levin: What is Life? Complexity, Cognition & the Origin of Purpose
39 snips May 9, 2025
Terrence Deacon, a leading figure in evolutionary biology from UC Berkeley, and Michael Levin, a pioneering developmental biologist from Tufts, team up for an enlightening conversation. They explore the origin of life through complex systems, discussing thermodynamics, memory, and the interplay of metabolism and cognition. Insights into the 'lazy gene hypothesis' and the concept of inverse Darwinism spark intriguing thoughts on evolution. The duo also delves into bioelectric patterns in xenobots and the philosophical nuances of purpose, making for a thought-provoking exchange.
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Thermodynamics & Purpose of Life
- The origin of purpose in physical systems relates to thermodynamics and memory, not just information.
- Life's uniqueness lies in systems generating, remembering, and repairing forms, enabling aboutness and prediction.
Biology’s Multi-Scale Purpose
- Biological systems exhibit purpose-like behavior through multi-scale models and polycomputing.
- Even simple gene regulatory networks demonstrate learning, memory, and error correction.
Constraints Shape Biological Outcomes
- Constraints and absences are powerful causal factors shaping biological outcomes.
- Organisms offload computation to their environment and leverage mathematical laws to efficiently guide developmental processes.