The bulletin of mathematical biophysics

, Volume 28, Issue 4, pp 655–661 | Cite as

A sociological approach to biology

  • N. Rashevsky
Article
Received:

Abstract

The paper develops further some suggestions made previously (Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics,28, 283–308, 1966) that certain biological phenomena may be more easily interpreted from a “sociological” point of view by considering the organism as a social aggregate of cells and a cell as a social aggregate of genes. In this light the problems of origin of life on earth, of aging, and of parasitism and symbiosis are discussed. The notion of social aggregates of different orders is introduced.

Keywords

Biophysics Volume Biological Phenomenon Oriented Graph Mathematical Biophysics Relational Force 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Literature

  1. Birren, James S. 1959. (Editor.)Handbook of Aging and the Individual. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
  2. Bramsen, John. 1966. “A Matrix Approach to the Theory of Biotopological Mapping.”Bull. Math. Biophysics,28, 107–116.MATHMathSciNetGoogle Scholar
  3. Lansing, Albert I. 1959. “General Biology of Senescence.”Handbook of Aging and the Individual. Edited by James E. Birren. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 119–135.Google Scholar
  4. Martinez, Hugo M. 1964. “Toward an Opimal Design Principle in Relational Biology.”Bull. Math. Biophysics,26, 351–365.MATHGoogle Scholar
  5. Rapoport, Anatol. 1956. “Some Game-Theoretical Aspects of Parasitism and Symbiosis.”Bull. Math. Biophysics,18, 15–30.Google Scholar
  6. Rashevsky, N. 1952. “Mathematical Biology of Division of Labor Between Two Individuals or Two Social Groups.”Bull. Math. Biophysics,14, 213–227.MathSciNetGoogle Scholar
  7. — 1954. “Topology and Life: In Search of General Mathematical Principles in Biology and Sociology.”,16, 317–348.MathSciNetGoogle Scholar
  8. — 1959. “A Note on the Nature and Origin of Life.”,21, 185–193.Google Scholar
  9. — 1960. “Life, Information Theory, Probability, and Physics.”,22, 351–364.MathSciNetGoogle Scholar
  10. — 1961. “Abstract Mathematical Molecular Biology.”,23, 237–260.MATHMathSciNetGoogle Scholar
  11. — 1962. “Abstract Mathematical Molecular Biology: II. Some Relational Consequences of the ‘One Gene—One Enzyme' Hypothesis.”,24, 327–334.MATHMathSciNetGoogle Scholar
  12. — 1965. “The Representation of Organisms in Terms of Predicates.”,27, 477–491.Google Scholar
  13. — 1966. “Physics, Biology, & Sociology: A Reappraisal.”,28, 283–308.MathSciNetGoogle Scholar
  14. Rosen, Robert. 1958a. “A Relational Theory of Biological Systems.”Bull. Math. Biophysics,20, 245–260.Google Scholar
  15. — 1958b. “The Representation of Biological Systems from the Standpoint of the Theory of Categories.”,20, 317–341.Google Scholar
  16. Trucco, Ernesto. 1956. “A Note on Reashevsky's Theorem about Point-Bases in Topological Biology.”Bull. Math. Biophys. 18, 65–85.MathSciNetGoogle Scholar
  17. —. 1957. “Topological Biology: A Note on Rashevsky's TransformationT.”19, 19–21.MathSciNetGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© N. Rashevsky 1996

Authors and Affiliations

  • N. Rashevsky
    • 1
  1. 1.Mental Health Research InstituteThe University of MichiganUSA

Personalised recommendations