Perspectives on Living Systems

LIVING SYSTEMS IN ORAL TRADITIONS

Biology

  • Reflects our efforts to answer the questions we have
    • Biology concepts and principles have explained the operations within the physicality and materiality of living systems
  • Reflects how we figured out the means of answering them + the answers we have given
    • The answers given to questions such as "Where did we come from" and "What is our relationship to the world around us"
    • Answers how we perceive ourselves and our place in the world
    • Answers how we should act in accordance to the order that we see in our environment

Oral Tradition

  • Knowledge of the environment was gained through Systematic Observations
    • Was a matter of life and death for an individual of the tribe as they were dependent on their immediate environment for their basic needs
  • Ancestors (tribes, oral tradition) --> a time when there was no written word, ORAL TRADITION
    • Due to the absence of writing, knowledge was transmitted orally through generations
    • Knowledge was also transmitted experientially
    • Direct teaching of the younger generations
      • Hunting and gathering expeditions + experiencing living systems both physically and metaphorically (nature walks, rituals, and dream journeys)
  • Elders → esteemed for their knowledge. The more knowledgeable elders are required to perform special roles
    • Types of Elders:
    • The Storyteller
      • Has the ability to tell stories in a memorable and engaging way
      • Performs an important teaching function
      • Passes down the stories, myths, and legends of the tribe
      • Records and stores these events
    • The Hunter
      • Has the knowledge of wildlife
      • Capable of reading signs, creating tools and weapons, and teaching others about the environment without necessarily using words
    • The Gatherer
      • Has the knowledge of fruits, animals, and herbs + their uses
    • The Farmer
      • Has the knowledge of the seasons + the signs of the wind and sky
  • Elders play roles in the creation, recording, and teaching of knowledge for the survival of the tribe
  • Through myths, legends, folklore, art and other activities → The tribe communicates their holistic appreciation of their place in the living system
    • Their understanding of the natural world was sophisticated and comprehensive
    • The natural world has been a central part of their lives and worldviews
    • They did not treat their environment as a separate identity
    • Treated it as an interconnected aspect of a whole
      • Interconnectedness = a moral responsibility to care for, live in harmony with, and respect the natural world

INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE, SYSTEMS, AND PRACTICES (IKSP)

  • Myths, legends and folklore → part of IKSP (Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices)
    • Traditional knowledge passed on through traditional means through generations
    • Are a product of careful and methodologically sound observations of the natural world
    • Have been tested and re-tested in real-life laboratories
  • Indigenous cultural communities → subscribed to the holistic worldview
  • IKSP affects the early people's form of art and oral literature, as well as all other aspects of their life
    • Influences their knowledge of geography and climate (allows them to read "signs" from nature - such as wind, animal behavior, etc. - to predict future environmental conditions)
    • This has allowed them to create inventions and technologies based on their needs
      • Related to domestication of food, storage, herbal medicine, etc.
  • Biocultural Knowledge
    • The intimate knowledge of the interplay among elements in local living systems
    • Has also given rise to applications validated by indigenous knowledge systems and modern scientific method
    • Rooted in the natural environment and what is readily available + Grounded on the culture, values and norms of the people who hold it

LIVING SYSTEMS FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE RENAISSANCE

  • Earliest material evidence in civilizations that used the written word have shown that societies kept track of their livestock and grains + made food (bread wine and cheese) + recorded astronomical data to keep time and predict the weather
  • However, there was still a great need for myths and legends
    • The heavenly bodies were still attributed to gods
  • The Priestly Class
    • The bridge; the human connection to the gods
    • The priestly class were the sole interpreters of the gods' desires --> they had exclusive access to stored knowledge as they were the only ones authorized to interpret them
    • Hence, knowledge was at the hands of the priests
    • They controlled much political power

The Invention of the Written Word

  • Literacy → allowed for the expansion of collective knowledge
    • Whereas in oral cultures, the Storyteller was the only keeper of knowledge
    • Knowledge is stored in their memory and is transmitted orally
    • In literature cultures, knowledge was stored and transmitted through written accounts
    • Clay tablets of the Sumerians, Papyrus scrolls of the Egyptians, etc.
  • There is a relationship between the invention of the written word and knowledge production, transmission, and storage
    • Hence, literacy allowed for the expansion of collective knowledge BEYOND the Storytellers' collective memories
    • Also allowed for more complicated trains of logic, for more abstraction + analytical knowledge, reflection, and introspection
      • All of which were very difficult to keep track of in a story, song, or art

SUMERIANS AND THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF BIOLOGY (4500 - 1750 BCE)

  • Knowledge of the Sumerians → documented in CUNEIFORM (written on clay tablets)
    • Sumerians recorded the medical lore of their time
    • Treatment of diseases, use of herbs and animal materials as Materia Medica, dentistry, endocrinology, histology, health, and sanitation
  • The Sumerian belief system → Encompassed both the Empirical and Magical
    • For example, in the treatment of disease, some diseases were attributed to demon possession
    • It was believed that animal sacrifice would cure this possession (transmission of the demon towards the lamb)
    • Science Historians have argued that these early attempts to explain causes of disease can be considered scientific to an extent
    • "The 'demon' idea really was scientifically sound, in this sense: In the absence of a scientific canon, all ancient civilizations sought to fathom the workings of the universe in some other manner."
      • If they could not explain the cause, they attributed the events to demons, witches, etc.
      • They were still speculating in a theoretical manner

GREEK PHILOSOPHERS AND THEIR THEORIES (800 - 300 BCE)

  • History of Biology → traces the beginnings of abstract scientific thought to GREEK PHILOSOPHERS
    • Written transcripts of lectures from Greek Philosophers have been transmitted through the years
    • Their lectures have been expanded through the centuries because Greek philosophical inquiry resonated with the most important questions of human existence: What is man? What is the world?
  • Greek philosophers were known for their eloquent explanations on their observations, hypotheses, and conclusions about the world and Man
    • Therefore, there has been an exposition of their ontology and epistemology
    • This is similar in ancient and indigenous (oral) knowledge, but not described in an abstracted and detailed manner
  • The methods used by Greek philosophers were similar to the methods used by ancient and indigenous people
    • They used their experience, meditation, and learned intuition in trying to understand the nature of things
    • However, there was little actual experimentation
      • These studies in the natural sciences were much more utilized in practical ventures such as medicine, astronomy, and engineering

MEDIEVAL EUROPE AND THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

  • Medieval Europe → feudal and hierarchical
    • Seeking and using knowledge was relegated to the few who could read write
    • Thus, knowledge (and its interpretation) were prescribed only by the ruling class - the monarchies, and the Church
    • Monastic schools were important in terms of education, governance, and practical applications of astronomy and medicine
  • The Church were influential in terms of territory and ideology
    • The Church was the sole interpreter of the Holy Texts, and the arbiter of the appropriate knowledge and its uses
    • Thus, individuals, philosophies, and discoveries had to PASS THROUGH the censure of the Church
    • Not conforming with the Church was regarded as HERESY, and those who tried to explain miracles and other matters of faith were harshly punished
    • Outside the Church's purview were the practical arts
    • Hence, metallurgy, navigation, agriculture, and engineering continued to flourish even after the Roman Empire's collapse
  • Europe was also exposed to eastern cultures (via the Silk Road, Crusades, and colonial expansion)
    • Led to the transmission of knowledge coming from the Arabic, Byzantine, Persian and Indian cultures from the Golden Age of Islamic Civilization
    • This exposed European scholars and scribes to other understandings of the history of the Earth, natural sciences, and philosophy beyond the constraints of the Church --> RESURGENCE of interest in gaining knowledge in Europe
    • "In the end, these scholars renewed western knowledge of the Greek science and philosophy and to this added the treasures of Arabic mathematics and medicine" (Kreis, 2004).
  • Islamic scientists and mathematicians had some criticisms of Greek assertions
    • They refined the theories of the classical philosophers to conform to current empirical information
    • They slightly modified Aristotelian ideas
    • They invented Algebra and Trigonometry as new fields of mathematics
    • And they improved on the Indian numeral system to include zeros (now known as the Arabic number system)
  • Resurgence in interest in gaining knowledge → resulted in creations of learning outside the monasteries, the University
    • These institutions were open to scholars
    • However, this level of democratization of education came with a challenge
      • Traditional authority became questioned throughout Europe as the new scholars embraces the notion that humanity could be improved NOT only through prayer, but through rational change

THE EUROPEAN ENLIGHTENMENT: THE HYPOTHETICO-DEDUCTIVE METHOD AND DEMOCRATIZING KNOWLEDGE

  • Aristotelian thought was dominant for a millennium in the West
    • Aristotle's "Great Chain of Being", as a classification system, was the major organizing principle and foundation of the emerging science of biology (until the 18th century)
    • Even though there were other theories available, only the Aristotelian world view was being taught in universities
  • This changed in the mid-17th century
    • The arguments of Descartes proved to be convincing
    • Cartesian metaphysics, the mechanistic worldview, the duality between matter and mind, and the Cartesian hypothetico-deductive methodology → all became accepted by the scholars of that time
  • "It may sound surprising to many modern day scientists that the beginnings of the current agnostic, materialistic epistemology in Science was a train on reasoning deeply grounded in seemingly disparate threads of methodological skepticism and an inherent assumption of the existence of God."
  • This era was defined by change and progress
    • The 18th century → marked by different, divergent and conflicting theories on the origins and purposes of living systems
    • Questions regarding the age of the earth were debated
      • This was a subject broached by the exposure to non-Christian doctrine and archaeological discoveries
    • The evolution of living things → were considered with the increasing tolerance
      • Questioning long-established dogma, discovery of fossils, and testing theories by experimentation
    • The Experiments on the Generation of Insects (Francesco Redi, late 17th century)
    • Disproved the one-held notion of spontaneous generation of living things
    • The Theory on Transmutation of Life → was raised by Lamarck in the early 1800s
    • Argued for evolution, argued that species change as individuals relate to their environment
  • New ideas were more freely discussed, and hypotheses on phenomena and their underlying mechanisms were tested based on actual, physical experimentation (and not only based on logic and reasoning)
  • Advancements in optics
    • Allowed for the visualization and discovery of microscopic entities
    • Paved way for the study of anatomy in greater detail
  • Advancements in chemistry
    • Allowed for analytic studies of phlogiston (which was purified into oxygen gas) and look into enzymes (which were once thought of as a metaphysical vital substance that animated living organisms)
  • The understanding of mechanisms of living systems became independent of the need for spiritual and magical causes
    • With credit to the works of the scholars and philosophers of that time

LIVING SYSTEMS IN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY

REDUCTIONIST SCIENCE AND THE GROWTH OF BIOLOGY

  • Scientific Method → was accepted and eventually became dominant
    • A hypothetico-deductive method
    • Has a materialist, mechanistic, and reductionist philosophy
    • Analyses a larger system by breaking it down into pieces, and then determining the connections between the parts
  • A reductive study of organism + development of specialized equipment = a powerful and effective means for analysis
    • The elegance of the experiments + The method used (controlling conditions to minimize variables)
    • Helps bring into focus the definitive relationships among the various
      • This highlights the direct relationship between a given cause and a given effect
  • The capacity to test new theories allowed for growth of the field of Biology
    • Its benefits spread to the fields of medicine, food, agriculture, and more

ADVANCES OF BIOLOGY TO THE 20TH CENTURY

The discovery of the circulation of blood

  • William Harvey → became the first to describe the full circulation of blood through the human body in the early 17th century
    • Prior to Harvey, blood was believed to be consumed by the body and produced anew, not continuously circulated
  • Harvey, in his study,
    • Demonstrated that the heart expands passively and contracts actively
    • He measured the amount of blood flowing from the heart and concluded the body could not continuously produce that amount
    • He also showed that blood is returned to the heart through the veins

The establishment of scientific societies

  • The establishment of academies or societies → was of great importance to science
    • Consisted of small groups of men who met to discuss subjects of mutual interest
    • Societies were sustained by the members' interest in science
  • The academies also provided freedom of expression
    • This, together with the stimulus of exchanging ideas, contributed to the development of scientific thought
  • Publications → another important aspect of these societies
    • Before printing, there were no convenient means for wide dissemination of scientific knowledge
    • This means that other scientists were often not well informed about the works of others
    • To correct this deficiency in communication, academies initiated publications
    • At first, the publications were devoted to reviews of completed and in progress works
    • Over time, publications began to focus more on accounts of original investigations that maintained a high level of scientific quality
    • This evolved to specialized journals of science, though not until at least another century

The development of the microscope

  • Magnifying power of segments of glass spheres was already known to the Assyrians before the time of Christ
  • Ptolemy (astronomer, mathematician, and geographer) wrote a treatise on optics in the 2nd century CE
    • Discussed the phenomena of magnification and refraction
  • However, glass lenses were not extensively used until around 1300
  • In the late 16th century, Dutch optician Hans Jansen and his son Zacharias invented the compound microscope
    • However,  the microscope was not used in the biological sciences until the following century

Microscopists who have had a profound effect on Biology

  • Marcello Malpighi
    • Conducted extensive studies in animal anatomy and histology
    • Was the first to describe the inner layer of the skin (Malpighian), the papillae of the tongue, the outer part of the cerebral area of the brain (Cortex) and the red blood cells
    • Animal studies → monograph on the silkworm, description of the development of a chick
    • Also made detailed investigations in plant anatomy
    • Systematically described various parts of the plant
  • Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
    • Became interested in grinding lenses. He became obsessed with the idea of making perfect lenses.
    • He used single lenses instead of compound ones
    • Was able to achieve magnifications from 40 to 270 diameters
    • Discovered in 1675 the ANIMALCULES → exists in stagnant water and prepared infusions of many protozoans
    • Also observed the connections between the arteries and veins, and took account of the microscopic structure of the muscles, eyes, and teeth
    • Discovered spermatozoa in male seminal fluid and in animals
  • Jan Swammerdam
    • Was highly educated in medicine and placed his attention to microscopical studies
    • Was known for his highly innovative techniques
    • He injected wax into the circulatory system → to hold the blood vessels firm
    • Dissected fragile structures under water → to avoid destroying them
    • Used micropipettes → to inject and inflate organisms under the microscope
    • Also described the structure of a large number of insects
    • Was able to discover a great deal of information regarding insect development
  • Nehemiah Grew
    • One of the founders of plant anatomy
    • Recognized cells in plants
    • Recognized flowers as the sexual organs of plants + Is also known for his description of the parts of a plant
  • Robert Hooke
    • Exhibited interest in disparate subjects, such as flying and the construction of clocks
    • Published Micrographia → a review of a series of observations he had made following the development and improvement of the microscope
    • Described the structure of feathers, the stinger of a bee, the radula of mollusks, and the foot of the fly
    • Coined the word "CELL"
    • In a drawing of the microscopic structure of cork, he showed walls surrounding empty spaces and referred to them as cells
    • Also described structures in the tissue of other trees and plants
  • All of these men embodied the concept that observation and experiment were of prime importance
    • Reiterated that mere hypothetical philosophical speculations were not sufficient

REDUCTIONIST SCIENCE AND THE GROWTH OF BIOLOGY (CONT.)

  • Through this, Biology branched into sub-disciplines
    • Including Anatomy, Microbiology, Genetics, Taxonomy, Cell Biology, Embryology, Biochemistry, Physiology, and Molecular Biology
  • Following the development of chemistry + increase in analytical power of X-ray crystallography
    • The chemical composition of cells  became an object of study
  • Over the years, increasing analytical power moved from organism to organ to tissue to cell, and even further within the cell (organelle, macromolecules, etc.)
  • Increase in exposure of Europeans to the knowledge and environments of their colonies in the 16h to 17th centuries → led to an increase in collecting, cataloguing, and studying different kinds of organisms in different environments
    • 18th and 19th Centuries → scientific expeditions were conducted by naturalists, which led to the establishment of Ecology in the late 19th century
    • The concept of ecosystems then emerged in the mid 20th century
    • This became the basis of systems ecology (which began in the 1960s to 1970s).
    • Threats to the environment also became evident in this period, and the scientific community communicated through books such as Carson's The Silent Spring (1962).
  • Environment Science → an interdisciplinary field
    • Includes traditional science disciplines such as biology, geology, and chemistry + combines in issues such as environmental ethics and social issues

LIMITS OF MECHANISTIC AND REDUCTIONIST PARADIGMS

  • With Cartesian and Newtonian Science, abstract and practical scientific knowledge has increased

    • The analytical power of the human senses has been extended by the creation of tools developed precisely to study various physical phenomena

  • Energy available to do work has also increased beyond biological sources (such as human and animal power)

    • This is due to the development of machines fueled by coal, then petroleum, and then through electricity

  • The accumulation of knowledge and the culture of rational skepticism

    • Allowed scientific communities to abrogate models not backed by the current state of data, or have been disproved by experimentation

  • The Cartesian Framework

    • Uses its analytical power and focus on controlling conditions in order to maximize gains (a useful tool for industrial and economic growth)

  • Additionally, the exploration of many frontiers in knowledge

    • Were mainly utilitarian in objective
    • Were not held back by issues of tradition, balance, ethics, or reciprocity

  • The Cartesian Analytical Framework

    • Has led to the use of industrial practices that were very efficient in bringing forth its desired outcomes
    • However, the singular focus on desired outcomes → had led to many unforeseen consequences to the environment and to human societies
      • These severely lack safeguards that maintain balance and ensure sustainability of the industry and the environment
    • For many advocates, this utilitarian view of nature → has caused the environmental crises we experience today
    • They believe that the framework from which these problems arose cannot be the same framework that will give rise to solutions."
    • “Cartesian science believed that, in any complex system, the behaviour of the whole could be analyzed in terms of the properties of its parts. Systems science shows that living systems cannot be understood by analysis. The properties of the parts are not intrinsic properties, but can be understood only within the context of a larger whole” (Capra, 1996).

  • The study of Living Systems has grown

    • It now seeks to predict and mitigate current environment crises

  • Reductionist Science

    • Has given us the concepts and tools with which to analyze parts of the living system
    • But a new perspective, and thus new tools, are needed in order to make sense of the whole

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