2 Matching Annotations
- Jul 2023
-
-
The notion of functional integration as a basis for biological identity was fully developed only in the 19th century, where it was transformed by the rise of both cell and evolutionary theory. Herbert Spencer
- Herbert Spencer fully developed Digby's concept into the modern concept of functional integration
- Spencer introduced the term "survival of the fittest"
- ‘He tried to unite complex new findings about metabolism and organismic development with evolution and the seeming correspondence of organisms to their environments.
- In The Principles of Biology (1864), Spencer wrote
- a biological individual is one in which
- the interdependence of the parts allows it to function and
- respond to environmental change as a whole.
- That is: ‘any concrete whole having a structure which enables it,
- when placed in appropriate conditions,
- In The Principles of Biology (1864), Spencer wrote
- to continuously adjust its internal relations to external relations, - so as to maintain the equilibrium of its functions.’
- Herbert Spencer fully developed Digby's concept into the modern concept of functional integration
-
Digby’s answer was to say that the wholeness comes from the system being functionally interdependent and integrated.
- Digby’s answer to the fundamental question:
- What is it that unites the parts of a system into a living individual? was the precursor to the biological concept of functional integration:
- wholeness comes from the system being functionally interdependent and integrated.
- the activities in one part of the system are brought about
- by a cause external to the part where it occurs (interdependence);
- and the mutual workings of the parts account for the behaviour of the system as a whole,
- making this activity internal to the entire system (integration).
- Here is an example using an Elephant
- An elephant’s heart pumps blood only because it’s supplied with
- energy from the digestive system,
- oxygen from the respiratory system, and
- support from the skeletal system.
- All those bits working in tandem is what makes it possible for an elephant to walk around doing elephant things.
- An elephant’s heart pumps blood only because it’s supplied with
- Digby’s answer to the fundamental question:
-