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Schrödinger’in Yaşam Nedir? Kitabı, Gen-Merkezcilik ve Biyolojik Organizasyon

Year 2021, Issue: 1, 33 - 51, 25.04.2021

Abstract

Bu makalede, Erwin Schrödinger’in kuramsal biyolojiye önemli bir katkıda bulunan Yaşam Nedir? adlı kitabındaki fikirlerini ve bu kitabın da etkisiyle gelişen gen-merkezci yaklaşımı eleştirel olarak değerlendirmeyi amaçlıyorum. Schrödinger’in canlılık konusundaki entelektüel mirasının tartışmaya açılması moleküler biyolojinin yaşam bilimlerinde hakim hale gelişinin ve yaşamın organizasyona dayalı temelinin anlaşılması açısından özel bir önem taşıyor. Yayınlandığından beri biyoloji felsefesinde önemli tartışmaları beraberinde getiren Yaşam Nedir? kitabı, yaşamı termodinamiğin yasaları doğrultusunda ele alması açısından biyolojide organizasyonu vurgular. Bununla birlikte Schrödinger’in canlılığın kodu olarak tasavvur ettiği aperiyodik kristal kavramı gen-merkezciliği destekleyen öncül fikirleri barındırmaktadır. Schrödinger, canlı varlıkların doğadaki entropi artışı eğilimiyle baş etmesi gereken nitelikte olması gerektiğini savundu ve bu görüş, canlılığa dair temel bir ilke olarak yaygın kabul gördü. Schrödinger’in yaşamın düzenliliğini mikro düzeyde aperiyodik kristal hipotezi ile açıklama girişimi ise nispeten daha tartışmalıdır. Makalede, bu tartışmalı konuları aydınlatmak amacıyla Schrödinger ve ardından gelişen gen-merkezci yaklaşımlara yönelik eleştirileri ele alıyorum. Ardından, gen-merkezciliğin sınırlılıklarına karşı yaşamın organizasyonunun organizma seviyesinde ele alınması değerlendiriyorum. Bu görüş, Kant’ın self-organizasyon kavramıyla tanımladığı, parça-bütün ilişkilerindeki karşılıklılığı temel alır. Son olarak, yaşamın organizasyonuna dair felsefî yaklaşımları ve entropinin buradaki rolünü tartışıyorum. Organizma düzeyinde ve organizma-çevre ilişkisindeki çoklu etmenlerin geri-besleme ilişkilerine dayanan ağ yapısı, gen-merkezciliğin indirgemeci yaklaşımına karşı kapsayıcı bir alternatif sunmaktadır.

References

  • Beadle, G. W., & Tatum, E. L. (1941). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 27, 499-506.
  • Bernal, J. D. (1951). The Physical Basis of Life. Abingdon: Routledge and Paul.
  • Brooks, D. R., & Wiley, E. O. (1988). Evolution as Entropy: Towards a Unified Theory of Biology. D. L. Hull (Ed.), Science and Its Conceptual Foundations içerisinde. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
  • Bussard, A. E. (2005). A Scientific Revolution? EMBO Reports 6 (8), 691-694.
  • Crutchfield, J. P., & Görnerup, O. (2006). Objects that Make Objects: the Population Dynamics of Structural Complexity. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 3 (7), 345-349.
  • Davis, R. H. (2007). Beadle's Progeny: Innocence Rewarded, Innocence Lost. Journal of Biosciences, 32 (2), 197-205.
  • Dawkins, R. (1989). The Selfish Gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Delbrück, M. (1971). Aristotle-totle-totle. J. Monod & E. Borek (Ed.) içerisinde, Of Microbes and Life (ss. 50-5). New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Domondon, A. T. (2006). Bringing Physics to Bear on the Phenomenon of Life: the Divergent Positions of Bohr, Delbrück, and Schrödinger. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 37 (3), 433-458.
  • Dronamraju, K. R. (1999). Erwin Schrödinger and the Origins of Molecular Biology. Genetics, 153 (3), 1071-1076.
  • Gribbin, J. (2005). Schrödinger’in Kedisinin Peşinde (N. Çatlı, çev.). İstanbul: Metis Yayınları.
  • Haldane, J. B. S. (1949). What Is Life? Londra: Alguin Press.
  • Hopkins, F. G. (1913). The Dynamic Side of Biochemistry. Nature, 9 2 (2294), 213-223.
  • Hordijk, W., Steel, M., & Kauffman, S. A. (2012). The Structure of Autocatalytic Sets: Evolvability, Enablement, and Emergence. Acta Biotheoretica, 60 (4), 379-392.
  • Judson, H. F. (1996) The Eighth Day of Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Biology. New York: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
  • Kant, I. (2007). Critique of Judgement (J. C. Meredith, çev.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Kauffman, S. A. (1993). The Origins of Order. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Kauffman, S. A. (2000). Investigations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Kauffman, S. A. (2020). Answering Schrödinger’s “What Is Life?” Entropy, 22 (8), 815.
  • Keller, E. F. (2009). Organisms, Machines, and Thunderstorms: A History of Self-organization, Part Two. Complexity, Emergence, and Stable Attractors. Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences, 39 (1), 1-31.
  • Longo, G. (2009). From exact sciences to life phenomena: Following Schrödinger and Turing on programs, life and causality. Information and Computation, 207 (5), 545-558.
  • Luisi, P. L. (2006). The Emergence of Life: From Chemical Origins to Synthetic Biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Maturana, H. R., & Varela, F. J. (1980). Autopoiesis and Cognition: The Realization of the Living. R. S. Cohen & M. W. Wartofsky (ed.) içerisinde, Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science. Boston & London: D. Reidel Publishing Company.
  • McLaughlin, P. (2001). What Functions Explain: Functional Explanation and Self-Reproducing Systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Milo, R. & Phillips, R. (2015). Cell Biology by the Numbers. New York: Garland Science.
  • Montévil, M., & Mossio, M. (2015). Biological Organisation as Closure of Constraints. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 372, 179–191.
  • Moore, W. (2015). Schrödinger: Life and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Moreno, A., & Mossio, M. (2015). Biological Autonomy: A Philosophical and Theoretical Enquiry. C. T. Wolfe, P. Huneman, & T. A. C. Reydon (Ed.) içerisinde, History, Philosophy and Theory of Life Sciences.
  • Moss, L. (2003). What Genes Can’t Do. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.
  • Muller, H. J. (1927). Artificial Transmutation of the Gene. Science, 66 (1699), 84-87.
  • Muller, H. J. (1946). A Physicist Stands Amazed at Genetics. Journal of Heredity, 37, 90-92.
  • Murphy, M. P., & O’Neill, L. A. J. (1997). What is Life? The Next Fifty Years: Speculations on the Future of Biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Needham, J. (1930). Order and Life. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.
  • Newman, S. A., and Linde-Medina, M. (2013). Physical Determinants in the Emergence and Inheritance of Multicellular Form. Biological Theory, 8 (3), 274-285.
  • Prigogine, I., & Stengers, I. (2017). Order Out of Chaos: Man’s New Dialogue with Nature. Londra: Verso.
  • Schrödinger, E. (2012). What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (İlk kez 1944’te basıldı.)
  • Smolin, L. (1999). Life of Cosmos. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Von Stockar, U., & Liu, J. S. (1999). Does Microbial Life Always Feed on Negative Entropy? Thermodynamic Analysis of Microbial Growth. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Bioenergetics, 1412 (3), 191-211.
  • Watson, J. D. (2001). The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. New York: Touchstone.
  • Weber, B. H. (2010). What is Life? Defining Life in the Context of Emergent Complexity. Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres, 40 (2), 221-229.
  • Wilkins, M. H. F. (1963). Molecular Configuration of Nucleic Acids. Science, 140 (3570), 941-950.
  • Yoxen, E. J. (1979). Where does Schroedinger’s “What is Life?” Belong in the History of Molecular Biology? History of Science, 17(1), 17–52.

Schrödinger’s What is Life?, Gene-Centrism, and Biological Organization

Year 2021, Issue: 1, 33 - 51, 25.04.2021

Abstract

In this paper, I address Erwin Schrödinger’s contribution to theoretical biology in What is Life? and the gene-centric approach, which was influenced by Schrödinger’s book, from a critical point of view. Discussing Schrödinger’s intellectual heritage in this area is essential for understanding how molecular biology has become dominant in life sciences and why life is based on organization. Since it was published, Schrödinger’s book led to significant discussions in philosophy of biology due to considering life in relation with the laws of thermodynamics. On the other hand, Schrödinger’s notion of the aperiodic crystal was preliminary to the idea that genes are the code of life. Schrödinger held the view that living things have to cope with the increase of entropy, and this view has been widely adopted as a basic principle of life. Yet, Schrödinger’s attempt at explaining life’s order based on the hypothesis of the aperiodic crystal is rather controversial. In this context, I discuss Schrödinger’s ideas and gene-centrism, as well as the alternative view for gene-centrism based on life’s organization at the organism level. The latter is in line with the Kantian understanding of life that considers reciprocity of the part-whole relations within an organism. Finally, I discuss philosophical approaches towards life’s organization and the role of entropy. The networks of multiple factors at the level of organism and across the relations between the organism and its environment, which involve feedback relations, provide a viable and comprehensive alternative against gene-centrism.

References

  • Beadle, G. W., & Tatum, E. L. (1941). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 27, 499-506.
  • Bernal, J. D. (1951). The Physical Basis of Life. Abingdon: Routledge and Paul.
  • Brooks, D. R., & Wiley, E. O. (1988). Evolution as Entropy: Towards a Unified Theory of Biology. D. L. Hull (Ed.), Science and Its Conceptual Foundations içerisinde. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
  • Bussard, A. E. (2005). A Scientific Revolution? EMBO Reports 6 (8), 691-694.
  • Crutchfield, J. P., & Görnerup, O. (2006). Objects that Make Objects: the Population Dynamics of Structural Complexity. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 3 (7), 345-349.
  • Davis, R. H. (2007). Beadle's Progeny: Innocence Rewarded, Innocence Lost. Journal of Biosciences, 32 (2), 197-205.
  • Dawkins, R. (1989). The Selfish Gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Delbrück, M. (1971). Aristotle-totle-totle. J. Monod & E. Borek (Ed.) içerisinde, Of Microbes and Life (ss. 50-5). New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Domondon, A. T. (2006). Bringing Physics to Bear on the Phenomenon of Life: the Divergent Positions of Bohr, Delbrück, and Schrödinger. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 37 (3), 433-458.
  • Dronamraju, K. R. (1999). Erwin Schrödinger and the Origins of Molecular Biology. Genetics, 153 (3), 1071-1076.
  • Gribbin, J. (2005). Schrödinger’in Kedisinin Peşinde (N. Çatlı, çev.). İstanbul: Metis Yayınları.
  • Haldane, J. B. S. (1949). What Is Life? Londra: Alguin Press.
  • Hopkins, F. G. (1913). The Dynamic Side of Biochemistry. Nature, 9 2 (2294), 213-223.
  • Hordijk, W., Steel, M., & Kauffman, S. A. (2012). The Structure of Autocatalytic Sets: Evolvability, Enablement, and Emergence. Acta Biotheoretica, 60 (4), 379-392.
  • Judson, H. F. (1996) The Eighth Day of Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Biology. New York: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
  • Kant, I. (2007). Critique of Judgement (J. C. Meredith, çev.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Kauffman, S. A. (1993). The Origins of Order. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Kauffman, S. A. (2000). Investigations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Kauffman, S. A. (2020). Answering Schrödinger’s “What Is Life?” Entropy, 22 (8), 815.
  • Keller, E. F. (2009). Organisms, Machines, and Thunderstorms: A History of Self-organization, Part Two. Complexity, Emergence, and Stable Attractors. Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences, 39 (1), 1-31.
  • Longo, G. (2009). From exact sciences to life phenomena: Following Schrödinger and Turing on programs, life and causality. Information and Computation, 207 (5), 545-558.
  • Luisi, P. L. (2006). The Emergence of Life: From Chemical Origins to Synthetic Biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Maturana, H. R., & Varela, F. J. (1980). Autopoiesis and Cognition: The Realization of the Living. R. S. Cohen & M. W. Wartofsky (ed.) içerisinde, Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science. Boston & London: D. Reidel Publishing Company.
  • McLaughlin, P. (2001). What Functions Explain: Functional Explanation and Self-Reproducing Systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Milo, R. & Phillips, R. (2015). Cell Biology by the Numbers. New York: Garland Science.
  • Montévil, M., & Mossio, M. (2015). Biological Organisation as Closure of Constraints. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 372, 179–191.
  • Moore, W. (2015). Schrödinger: Life and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Moreno, A., & Mossio, M. (2015). Biological Autonomy: A Philosophical and Theoretical Enquiry. C. T. Wolfe, P. Huneman, & T. A. C. Reydon (Ed.) içerisinde, History, Philosophy and Theory of Life Sciences.
  • Moss, L. (2003). What Genes Can’t Do. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.
  • Muller, H. J. (1927). Artificial Transmutation of the Gene. Science, 66 (1699), 84-87.
  • Muller, H. J. (1946). A Physicist Stands Amazed at Genetics. Journal of Heredity, 37, 90-92.
  • Murphy, M. P., & O’Neill, L. A. J. (1997). What is Life? The Next Fifty Years: Speculations on the Future of Biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Needham, J. (1930). Order and Life. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.
  • Newman, S. A., and Linde-Medina, M. (2013). Physical Determinants in the Emergence and Inheritance of Multicellular Form. Biological Theory, 8 (3), 274-285.
  • Prigogine, I., & Stengers, I. (2017). Order Out of Chaos: Man’s New Dialogue with Nature. Londra: Verso.
  • Schrödinger, E. (2012). What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (İlk kez 1944’te basıldı.)
  • Smolin, L. (1999). Life of Cosmos. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Von Stockar, U., & Liu, J. S. (1999). Does Microbial Life Always Feed on Negative Entropy? Thermodynamic Analysis of Microbial Growth. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Bioenergetics, 1412 (3), 191-211.
  • Watson, J. D. (2001). The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. New York: Touchstone.
  • Weber, B. H. (2010). What is Life? Defining Life in the Context of Emergent Complexity. Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres, 40 (2), 221-229.
  • Wilkins, M. H. F. (1963). Molecular Configuration of Nucleic Acids. Science, 140 (3570), 941-950.
  • Yoxen, E. J. (1979). Where does Schroedinger’s “What is Life?” Belong in the History of Molecular Biology? History of Science, 17(1), 17–52.
There are 42 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Journal Section Makaleler
Authors

Çağlar Karaca 0000-0002-4059-6916

Publication Date April 25, 2021
Published in Issue Year 2021 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Karaca, Ç. (2021). Schrödinger’in Yaşam Nedir? Kitabı, Gen-Merkezcilik ve Biyolojik Organizasyon. Kilikya Felsefe Dergisi(1), 33-51.
AMA Karaca Ç. Schrödinger’in Yaşam Nedir? Kitabı, Gen-Merkezcilik ve Biyolojik Organizasyon. KFD. April 2021;(1):33-51.
Chicago Karaca, Çağlar. “Schrödinger’in Yaşam Nedir? Kitabı, Gen-Merkezcilik Ve Biyolojik Organizasyon”. Kilikya Felsefe Dergisi, no. 1 (April 2021): 33-51.
EndNote Karaca Ç (April 1, 2021) Schrödinger’in Yaşam Nedir? Kitabı, Gen-Merkezcilik ve Biyolojik Organizasyon. Kilikya Felsefe Dergisi 1 33–51.
IEEE Ç. Karaca, “Schrödinger’in Yaşam Nedir? Kitabı, Gen-Merkezcilik ve Biyolojik Organizasyon”, KFD, no. 1, pp. 33–51, April 2021.
ISNAD Karaca, Çağlar. “Schrödinger’in Yaşam Nedir? Kitabı, Gen-Merkezcilik Ve Biyolojik Organizasyon”. Kilikya Felsefe Dergisi 1 (April 2021), 33-51.
JAMA Karaca Ç. Schrödinger’in Yaşam Nedir? Kitabı, Gen-Merkezcilik ve Biyolojik Organizasyon. KFD. 2021;:33–51.
MLA Karaca, Çağlar. “Schrödinger’in Yaşam Nedir? Kitabı, Gen-Merkezcilik Ve Biyolojik Organizasyon”. Kilikya Felsefe Dergisi, no. 1, 2021, pp. 33-51.
Vancouver Karaca Ç. Schrödinger’in Yaşam Nedir? Kitabı, Gen-Merkezcilik ve Biyolojik Organizasyon. KFD. 2021(1):33-51.