Introduction

Abstract

Our conceptions of reality changed dramatically during the 20th century. The theories of quantum mechanics and relativity have altered our view of the composition of matter and of the structure of the universe. During the 1950s fundamental new insights into evolution were provided by the disclosure of the genetic code. This was followed in the 1960s by the development of a new paradigm, when the dynamic interactions of open systems that dominate nature became the focus of scientific research interest.