Published: 2018-02-13

Algorithmicity of biology

Janusz Uchmański
Studia Philosophiae Christianae
Section: Papers
https://doi.org/10.21697/2016.52.1.05

Abstract

Mathematicity of physics is surprising, but it enables us to understand the laws of nature through the analysis of mathematical structures describing it. This concerns, however, only physics. The degree of the mathematization of biology is low, and attempts to mathematize it are limited to the application of mathematical methods used for the description of physical systems. When doing so, we are likely to commit an error of attributing to ecological systems features that they do not have. Some argue that biology does need new mathematical methods conforming to its needs, and not known from physics. In my opinion, however, because of a specific complexity of biological systems, we should speak of algorithmicity of biology, rather than of its mathematicity. As an example of algorithmic approach in biology one can indicate so called individual-based models used to describe population dynamics or fractal models applied to describe geometrical complexity of biological structures.

Keywords:

mathematicity of physics, mathematicity of biology, algorithmicity of biology

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Uchmański, J. (2018). Algorithmicity of biology. Studia Philosophiae Christianae, 52(1), 99–120. https://doi.org/10.21697/2016.52.1.05

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