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A Big World of Rules?

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Rules and Exceptions in Biology: from Fundamental Concepts to Applications

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Abstract

To establish criteria and theoretical possibilities for rules and exceptions in biology, it is helpful first to analyze what a rule is, as well as its many variants. This chapter presents some hierarchical levels of rules in biology, with examples of the most comprehensive and the most restrictive. In both contexts, we discuss the concepts of laws, rules, and patterns and how these boundaries are not always so clear. The topic of the search for universal laws in biology is introduced. In this context, the phenomena of emergence, biological complexity, and others are mentioned. We analyze when there are smaller rules, limited to a certain field within biology. We see as some introductory examples when there are rules of behavior, ecology, and evolution. We also discuss the links between rules and epistemology, especially regarding paradigm shifts.

Everyday life weaves us, daily, a spider’s web in our eyes

—Oliverio Girondo

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (CONICET – UNC), Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina

    Alfredo V. Peretti, Lucía S. Calbacho-Rosa, Paola A. Olivero, Mariela A. Oviedo-Diego & David E. Vrech

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  1. Alfredo V. Peretti
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  2. Lucía S. Calbacho-Rosa
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  3. Paola A. Olivero
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  4. Mariela A. Oviedo-Diego
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  5. David E. Vrech
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Correspondence to Alfredo V. Peretti .

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Peretti, A.V., Calbacho-Rosa, L.S., Olivero, P.A., Oviedo-Diego, M.A., Vrech, D.E. (2024). A Big World of Rules?. In: Rules and Exceptions in Biology: from Fundamental Concepts to Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55382-0_1

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