-
36Epistemology of the Inert and Epistemology of the LivingHumana Mente (31): 37-55. 2016.The intellectual act of imposing borders to contain and delimit objects has been a constituent factor in physics since its origins, and is also fundamental for philosophical reflection. However, the characteristics of the conceptual universe thus constructed (tendency towards the ideal limit, invariance in variation, a conception of matter as residue, etc.) seem inadequate in biology. The essential characteristic of the living thing is, in fact, that of having a history: that is, of being the co…Read more
-
12Dans la mythologie grecque, Prométhée - le 'prévoyant' - déroba le feu aux dieux et le transmit aux hommes. Zeus, courroucé par ce transfert technologique, condamna Prométhée à un châtiment itéré à l'identique, à l'infini, algorithmique. Le problème que pose l'ancien mythe est celui des limites de la connaissance. En termes modernes, jusqu'à quel point pouvons-nous transformer la nature sans une connaissance des conséquences de nos actions sur elle? Cette question nous pousse à …Read more
-
5Today’s ecological relevance of Bergson-Einstein debate on timeIn Alessandra Campo & Simone Gozzano (eds.), Einstein Vs. Bergson: An Enduring Quarrel on Time, De Gruyter. pp. 375-406. 2021.
-
22Set-theoretical models of lambda-calculus: theories, expansions, isomorphismsAnnals of Pure and Applied Logic 24 (2): 153. 1983.
-
206The Deluge of Spurious Correlations in Big DataFoundations of Science 22 (3): 595-612. 2016.Very large databases are a major opportunity for science and data analytics is a remarkable new field of investigation in computer science. The effectiveness of these tools is used to support a “philosophy” against the scientific method as developed throughout history. According to this view, computer-discovered correlations should replace understanding and guide prediction and action. Consequently, there will be no need to give scientific meaning to phenomena, by proposing, say, causal relation…Read more
-
4Zalamea’s book is as original as it is belated. It is indeed surprising, if we give it a moment’s thought, just how greatly behind schedule philosophical reflection on contemporary mathematics lags, especially considering the momentous changes that took place in the second half of the twentieth century. Zalamea compares this situation with that of the philosophy of physics: he mentions D’Espagnat’s work on quantum mechanics, but we could add several others who, in the last few decades, have elab…Read more
-
7The rich blend of theories and experiences that made the history of physics possible still now enlightens the scientific method. We stress the need to learn from this method the force of making its principles explicit, while developing a rich diversity of theories, which are often incompatible. Unity is preserved by common founding principles and their mathematical form, such as the understanding of conservation properties (energy, momentum etc.) in terms of symmetries. When moving from the iner…Read more
-
18SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT AND ABSOLUTES: for an image of the sciences, between computing and biologyAngelaki 25 (3): 120-130. 2020.We propose a reflection on the construction of scientific knowledge and in so doing an image of this knowledge. This will allow us to develop a comparative analysis of some of the main principles underpinning the constitution of the different sciences. We will highlight the role of critical thought in science, or even “negative results,” which pose limits and hence open new trajectories. In particular, we will address a misleading point of view, based on some informal concepts taken from compute…Read more
-
18Scientific thought and absolutesAngelaki 25 (3): 120-130. 2020.We propose a reflection on the construction of scientific knowledge and in so doing an image of this knowledge. This will allow us to develop a comparative analysis of some of the main principles u...
-
273No entailing laws, but enablement in the evolution of the biosphereIn G. Longo, M. Montévil & S. Kauffman (eds.), Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference, Acm. 2012.Biological evolution is a complex blend of ever changing structural stability, variability and emergence of new phe- notypes, niches, ecosystems. We wish to argue that the evo- lution of life marks the end of a physics world view of law entailed dynamics. Our considerations depend upon dis- cussing the variability of the very ”contexts of life”: the in- teractions between organisms, biological niches and ecosys- tems. These are ever changing, intrinsically indeterminate and even unprestatable: w…Read more
-
311The Inert vs. the Living State of Matter: Extended Criticality, Time Geometry, Anti-Entropy - An OverviewFrontiers in Physiology 3 39. 2012.The physical singularity of life phenomena is analyzed by means of comparison with the driving concepts of theories of the inert. We outline conceptual analogies, transferals of methodologies and theoretical instruments between physics and biology, in addition to indicating significant differences and sometimes logical dualities. In order to make biological phenomenalities intelligible, we introduce theoretical extensions to certain physical theories. In this synthetic paper, we summarize and pr…Read more
-
317Randomness Increases Order in Biological EvolutionIn M. Dinneen, B. Khoussainov & A. Nies (eds.), Computation, Physics and Beyond, Springer. pp. 289-308. 2012.n this text, we revisit part of the analysis of anti-entropy in Bailly and Longo (2009} and develop further theoretical reflections. In particular, we analyze how randomness, an essential component of biological variability, is associated to the growth of biological organization, both in ontogenesis and in evolution. This approach, in particular, focuses on the role of global entropy production and provides a tool for a mathematical understanding of some fundamental observations by Gould on the …Read more
-
321A 2-dimensional geometry for biological timeProgress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology 106. 2011.This paper proposes an abstract mathematical frame for describing some features of biological time. The key point is that usual physical (linear) representation of time is insufficient, in our view, for the understanding key phenomena of life, such as rhythms, both physical (circadian, seasonal …) and properly biological (heart beating, respiration, metabolic …). In particular, the role of biological rhythms do not seem to have any counterpart in mathematical formalization of physical clocks, wh…Read more
-
346From physics to biology by extending criticality and symmetry breakingsProgress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology 106. 2011.Symmetries play a major role in physics, in particular since the work by E. Noether and H. Weyl in the first half of last century. Herein, we briefly review their role by recalling how symmetry changes allow to conceptually move from classical to relativistic and quantum physics. We then introduce our ongoing theoretical analysis in biology and show that symmetries play a radically different role in this discipline, when compared to those in current physics. By this comparison, we stress that sy…Read more
-
316Protention and retention in biological systemsTheory in Biosciences 130 107-117. 2011.This article proposes an abstract mathematical frame for describing some features of cognitive and biological time. We focus here on the so called “extended present” as a result of protentional and retentional activities (memory and anticipation). Memory, as retention, is treated in some physical theories (relaxation phenomena, which will inspire our approach), while protention (or anticipation) seems outside the scope of physics. We then suggest a simple functional representation of biological …Read more
-
14This authored monograph introduces a genuinely theoretical approach to biology. Starting point is the investigation of empirical biological scaling including their variability, which is found in the literature, e.g. allometric relationships, fractals, etc. The book then analyzes two different aspects of biological time: first, a supplementary temporal dimension to accommodate proper biological rhythms; secondly, the concepts of protension and retention as a means of local organization of time in…Read more
-
20C. P. J. Koymans. Models of the lambda calculus. CWI tract no. 9. Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica, Amsterdam1984, iii + 181 pp (review)Journal of Symbolic Logic 52 (1): 284-285. 1987.
-
37Solomon Feferman. Weyl vindicated: “Das Kontinuum” 70 years later. Atti del congresso, Temi e prospettive della logica e della filosofia della scienza contemporanee, Organizzato dalla Società Italiana di Logica e Filosofia delle Scienze , Cesena, 7–10 gennaio 1987, Volume I, Logica, edited by Carlo Cellucci and Giovanni Sambin, CLUEB, Bologna1988, pp. 59–93 (review)Journal of Symbolic Logic 58 (3): 1085-1086. 1993.
-
18Boris Trakhtenbrot. Comparing the Church and Turing approaches: two prophetical messages. The universal Turing machine, A half-century survey, edited by Rolf Herken, Kammerer & Unversagt, Hamburg and Berlin, and Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, 1988, pp. 603–630 (review)Journal of Symbolic Logic 59 (4): 1434-1436. 1994.
-
23Quantifying the World and Its Webs: Mathematical Discrete vs Continua in Knowledge ConstructionTheory, Culture and Society 36 (6): 63-72. 2019.This short paper is meant to be an introduction to the ‘Letter to Alan Turing’ that follows it. It summarizes some basic ideas in information theory and very informally hints at their mathematical properties. In order to introduce Turing’s two main theoretical contributions, in Theory of Computation and in Morphogenesis, the fundamental divide between discrete vs. continuous structures in mathematics is presented, as it is also a divide in his scientific life. The reader who is familiar with the…Read more
-
7Recensione di A.G. Biuso, Temporalità e differenza (review)Rivista Internazionale di Filosofia e Psicologia 5 (1): 134-137. 2014.
-
87Big Data e Intelligenza Artificiale: Che Futuro Ci Aspetta?Scienza E Filosofia 20. 2018.BIG DATA AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE To say or write something innovative on the ongoing revolution in the fields of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence is very difficult. The advent of these two new technologies is in fact among the most relevant events in human history since in a little more than a decade it will likely lead to the creation of the First Artificial Intelligence of the Fourth level: i.e capable to think and create autonomously. This is a strong statement…Read more
-
1Rhythms, Retention and Protention: Philosophical Reflections on Geometrical Schemata for Biological TimeIn David Danks & Emiliano Ippoliti (eds.), Building Theories: Heuristics and Hypotheses in Sciences, Springer International Publishing. 2018.
-
1501Marriages of Mathematics and Physics: A Challenge for BiologyProgress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology 131 179-192. 2017.The human attempts to access, measure and organize physical phenomena have led to a manifold construction of mathematical and physical spaces. We will survey the evolution of geometries from Euclid to the Algebraic Geometry of the 20th century. The role of Persian/Arabic Algebra in this transition and its Western symbolic development is emphasized. In this relation, we will also discuss changes in the ontological attitudes toward mathematics and its applications. Historically, the encounter of g…Read more
-
16L’intelligence mathématique, l’infini et les machinesRevue de Synthèse 120 (1): 111-138. 1999.Action dans l'espace, l'infini, la cognition humaine (link to the English text)
Paris, France