Abstract
According to vitalism, living organisms differ from machines and all other inanimate objects by being endowed with an indwelling immaterial directive agency, ‘vital force,’ or entelechy. While support for vitalism fell away in the late nineteenth century many biologists in the early twentieth century embraced a non vitalist philosophy variously termed organicism/holism/emergentism which aimed at replacing the actions of an immaterial spirit with what was seen as an equivalent but perfectly natural agency—the emergent autonomous activity of the whole organism. Organicists hold that organisms unlike machines are ‘more than the sum of their parts’ and predict that the vital properties of living things can never be explained in terms of mechanical analogies and that the reductionist agenda is doomed to failure. Here we review the current status of the mechanist and organicist conceptions of life particularly as they apply to the cell. We argue that despite the advances in biological knowledge over the past six decades since the molecular biological revolution, especially in the fields of genetics and cell biology the unique properties of living cells have still not been simulated in mechanical systems nor yielded to reductionist—analytical explanations. And we conclude that despite the dominance of the mechanistic–reductionist paradigm through most of the past century the possibility of a twentyfirst century organicist revival cannot be easily discounted.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agar WE (1943) A contribution to the theory of the living organism. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne
Ainsworth C (2009) Cells go fractal. Nature News published on line 4 Sept. doi:10.1038/news.2009.880
Alberts B et al (2007) Molecular biology of the cell. Garland Press, NY
Alexander S (1920) Space, time, and deity. Macmillan, London
Anderson PW (1972) More is different. Science 177:393–396
Aon MA, O’Bourke B, Cortassa S (2004) The fractal architecture of cytoplasmic organization: scaling, kinetics, and emergence in metabolic networks. Mol Cell Biochem 256(257):169–184
Aristotle (1937) Parts of animals. English translation by A. L. Peck. Heinemann, London
Beckner M (1967) Organismic biology. In: Paul E (ed) Encyclopedia of philosophy, vol 5. MacMillan Publishing Inc.\The Free Press, NY, pp 549–551
Bedau M (2002) Downward causation and the anatomy of weak emergence. Principia 6:5–50
Bertalanffy VL (1969) General systems theory, foundations, development, applications. George Braziller, NY
Brandon C, Tooze J (1999) Introduction to protein structure, 2nd edn. Garland Publishing Inc., NY
Broad CD (1925) The mind and its place in nature. Kegan Paul, London
Camazine S, Deneubourg J-L, Franks NR, Theraulaz G, Bonabeau E (2001) Self-organization in biological systems. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Carelli PV, Reyes MB, Sartorelli JC, Pinto RD (2005) Whole cell stochastic model reproduces the irregularities found in the membrane potential of bursting. Neurons J Neurophysiol 94:1169–1179
Chalmers DJ (2006) Strong and weak emergence. In: Clayton P, Davies PCW (eds) The reemergence of emergence; the emergentist hypothesis from science and religion. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 244–255
Chialvo DR (2010) Emergent complex neural dynamic. Nat Phys 6:744–750
Clark KB (2010) Origins od learned reciprocity in solitary ciliates searching groups ‘courting’ assurances at quantum efficiencies. Biosysystems 99:27–41
Clayton P (2004) Mind and emergence: from quantum to consciousness. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Clayton P (2006) The conceptual foundations of emergence theory. In: Clayton P, Davies PCW (eds) The re-emergence of emergence: the emergentist hypothesis from science to religion. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 1–25
Clayton NS, Emery NJ (2008) Clever corvids and political primates. In: Morris SC (ed) The deep structure of biology. Templeton Foundation Press, Pennslyvania
Collins J (2010) Got parts, need manual. Nature 465:424
Crick FC (1957) On protein synthesis. Symp Soc Exp Biol 12:138–163
Crick F (2004) Of molecules and men. Prometheus Books, NY
Davies PCW (2006) The physics of downward causation. In: Clayton P, Davies PCW (eds) The reemergence of emergence; the emergentist hypothesis from science and religion. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 35–51
Descartes (1985) Principles of philosophy. In: The philosophical writings of Descartes, vol 1 (Trans: Cottingham J, Stoothhoff R, Murdoch D). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Drexler E (1986) The engines of creation. Ancor Press, NY
Driesch H (1914) The history and theory of vitalism. Macmillan, London
Driesch H (1929) The science and philosophy of the organism. A. and C. Black, London
Dupont C, Randall AD, Brenner CA (2009) Epigenetics: definitions mechanism and clinical perspectives. Semin Reprod Med 27:351–357
Eccleston A, DeWitt N, Gunter C, Marte B, Noth D (eds) (2007) Epigenetics. Nat Insights Epigenet 447:396–440
Edelmann J, Denton MJ (2007) The uniqueness of biological self organization: challenging the Darwinian paradigm. Biol Philos 22:579–601
Fletcher DA, Mullins RD (2010) Cell mechanics and the cytoskeleton. Nature 463:485–492
Ford BJ (2010) The secret power of the single cell. New Sci (2757):26–27
Forgacs G, Newman SA (2005) The biological physics of the developing embryo. CUP, NY
Gierasch LM, Gershenson A (2009) Post-reductionist protein science, or putting Humpty–Dumpty back together again. Nat Chem Biol 11:774–777
Gilbert SF, Sarkar S (2000) Embracing complexity: organicism for the 21st century. Dev Dyn 219:1–9
Gleick J (1998) Chaos. Vintage Press, London
Goldberg AD, ALLis CD, Berstein E (2007) Epigenetics: a landscape takes shape. Cell 128:635–638
Gould SJ (2002) The structure of evolutionary theory. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Gribben J (2005) Deep simplicity. Penguin Books, London
Haig D (2004) The (dual) origins of epigenetics. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol 69:67–71
Haken H (1977) Synergetics: an introduction. Nonequilibrium phase transitions and self-organization in physics chemistry and biology. Springer, NY
Harold F (2005a) To shape a cell: an enquiry into the causes of morphogenesis of microorganisms. Microbiol Rev 54:381–431
Harold F (2005b) Molecules into cells: specifying spatial architecture. Micro Mol Biol Rev 69:544–564
Hayden EC (2010) Life is complicated. Nature 464:664–667
Hofstadter DR (1999) Gödel, Escher, Bach. Basic Books, NY
Hyman AA, Karsenti E (1996) Morphogenetic properties of microtubules and mitotic spindle assembly. Cell 84:401–410
Jennings HS (1906/1976) Behavior of the lower organisms. Indiana University Press, Bloomington
Jirtle RL, Skinner MK (2007) Environmental epigenomics and disease susceptibility. Nat Rev Genet 8:253–262
Johannsen W (1923) Some remarks about heredity. Hereditas 4:133–141
Jonas H (2001) The phenomenon of life. North Western University Press, IL
Judson HF (1979) The eighth day of creation. CSHL Press, Plainview
Kant I (2010) Critique of judgement. Digireads, KS
Karsenti E (2008) Self-organization in cell biology: a brief history. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 9:255–262
Kauffman SA (2000) Investigations. Oxford University Press, NY
Keller EF (2000) The century of the gene. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Kelly EF (2007) Introduction. In: Kelly EF, Kelly EW (eds) Irreducible mind. Rowman and Littlefield, MD
Keren K, Pinccus Z, Allen GM, Barnhart EL, Marriot G, Mogilner A, Theriot JA (2008) Mechanism of shape determination in motile cells. Nature 453:475–480
Kim J (1999) Making sense of emergence. Philos Stud 95:3–36
Kim J (2005) Physicalism, or something near enough. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Kirschner M, Mitchison T (1986) Beyond self-assembly: from microtubules to morphogenesis. Cell 45:329–342
Kitano H (2002) Computational systems biology. Nature 420:206–210
Koestler A (1990) The ghost in the machine. Penguin, London
Kuhn TS (1962) The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Lanza R, Gearhart J, Hogan B, Melton D, Pedersen R, Thomas ED, Thompson J, Wilmut I (2009) Essentials of stem cell biology. Academic Press, NY
Laughlin RB, Pines D, Schamlian J, Stojkovic BP, Wolynes P (2000) The middle way. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97:32–37
Lazarides E (1987) From genes to structural morphogenesis: the genesis and epigenesis of a red blood cell. Cell 51:345–356
Lear J (1988) Aristotle: the desire to understand. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Lehn JM (2002) Towards self-organization and complex matter. Science 295:2400–2403
Lewin R (1992) Complexity. Macmillan Press, NY
Li M, Wang IX, Li Y, Bruzel A, Richards AL, Toung JM, Cheung VG (2011) Widespread RNA and DNA sequence differences in the human transcriptome. Science 333:53–58
Lopez J, Percharde M, Coley HM, Webb A, Crook I (2009) The context and potential of epigenetics in ocology. Br J Cancer 100:571–577
Maher B (2008) Personal genomes: the case of the missing hereditability. Nature 456:18–21
Mayer BJ, Blinoy ML, Loew LM (2009) Molecular machines or pleiomorphic ensembles: signaling complexes revisited. J Biol 8:81.1–81.8. doi:10.1186/jbiol185
McDougall W (1938) The riddle of life. Methuen, London
Misteli T (2001) The concept of self organization in cellular architecture. J Cell Biol 155:181–185
Misteli T (2009) Self organization in the genome. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 106:6885–6886
Monod J (1972) Chance and necessity. Collins, London
Morgan Lloyd C (1923) Emergent evolution. Williams and Norgate, London
Morrison M (2006) Emergence, reduction and theoretical principles: rethinking fundamentalism. Philos Sci 73:876–887
Nanney DL (1957) The role of the cytoplasm in heredity. In: McElroy WD, Glass B (eds) The chemical basis of heredity. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp 134–163
Nanney DL (1958) Epigenetic control systems. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 44:712–717
Nedelec FJ, Surrey T, Maggs AC, Liebler S (1997) Self-organization of microtubules and motors. Nature 389:305–308
Nijhout HF (1990) Metaphors and the role of genes in development. Bioessays 12:441–446
Nijhout FH (1999) When developmental pathways diverge. PNAS US 96:5348–5350
Nilsen TW, Graveley BR (2010) Expansion of the eukaryotic proteome by alternative splicing. Nature 463:457–463
Perdew GH, Vanden Heuvel JP, Peters JM (2006) Regulation of gene expression: molecular mechanisms. Humana Press, Totowa
Platt JR (1961) Properties of large molecules that go beyond the properties of their chemical subgroups. J Theoret Biol 1:342–358
Rajapakse I, Perlmanc MD, Scalzoa D, Kooperbergb C, Groudinea M, Kosake ST (2009) The emergence of lineage-specific chromosomal topologies from coordinate gene regulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106:6679–6684
Rhind SM, Taylor JE, De Sousa PA, King TJ, McGrary M, Wilmut I (2003) Human cloning: can it be made safe. Nat Rev Genet 4:855–864
Rickles D (2006) Supervenience and determination. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://www.iep.utm.edu/superven/
Ridley M (2007) Thinker: Francis Crick. New Humanist 122(1):6
Ritter WE (1919) The unity of the organism, or the organismal conception of life. Gorham Press, Boston
Roll-Hansen N (1984) E. S. Russell and J. H. Woodger: the failure of two twentieth-century opponents of mechanistic biology. J Hist Biol 17:399–428
Russell ES (1930) The interpretation of development and heredity. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Searle J (1992) The rediscovery of the mind. MIT Press, Cambridge
Sherrington C (1963) Man on his nature. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Shinbrot T, Muzzio FJ (2001) Noise to order. Nature 410:251–258
Silberstein M, McGeever J (1999) The search for ontological emergence. Philos Q 49:182–200
Sipper M, Reggia JA (2001) Go forth and replicate. Sci Am 285:34–43
Smith A-S (2010) Physics challenged by cells. Nat Phys 6:726–729
Smuts J (1927) Holism and evolution. Macmillan Press, London
Strohman RC (1993) Ancient genes, wise bodies, unhealthy people: limits of genetic thinking in biological medicine. Perspect Biol Med 37:112–144
Sowerby SJ, Holm NG, Petersen GB (2001) Origins of life: a route to nanotechnology. Biosystems 61:69–78
Strogatz SH (1994) Non linear dynamics and chaos. Perseus Books, NY
Tartar V (1961) The biology of Stentor. Pergammon Press, London
Taylor E (2001) E.B. Wilson lecture: the cell as a molecular machine. Mol Biol Cell 12(2):251–254
Thompson DW (1942) On growth and form, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
von Neumann J (1966) Theory of self-reproducing automata. University of Illinois Press, Urbana
Waddington CH (1956) Embryology, epigenetics and biogenetics. Nature 177:1241
Waddington CH (1962) New patterns on genetics and development. Columbia Press, New York
Watson JD (2003) DNA: the secret of life. Heinemann, London
Weismann A (1904) The evolution theory. Edward Arnold, London
Weiss P (1963) The cell as unit. J Theor Biol 5:389–397
Weiss P (1969) The living system: determinism stratified. In: Koestler A, Smythies JR (eds) Beyond reductionism. Hutchinson and Co, UK, pp 3–55
Welch GR, Clegg JS (2010) From protoplasmic theory to cellular systems biology: a 150-year reflection. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 298:C1280–C1290
Whitehead AN (1927) Science and the modern world. Cambridge University press, Cambridge
Whitesides GM, Grzybowski B (2002) Self-assembly at all scales. Science 295:2418–2421
Wolpert L, Lewis J (1975) Towards a theory of development. Fed Proc 34:14–20
Woodger JH (1929) Biological principles: a critical study. Paul Trench Trubner and Co, London
Yates FE (1994) Order and complexity in dynamical systems: homeodynamics as a generalized mechanics for biology. Math Comput Model 19:49–74
Yerkes RM (1905) Animal psychology and criteria of the psychic. J Philos Psychol Sci Method 2:141–149
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Denton, M.J., Kumaramanickavel, G. & Legge, M. Cells as irreducible wholes: the failure of mechanism and the possibility of an organicist revival . Biol Philos 28, 31–52 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-011-9285-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-011-9285-z