The cell as a realization of the (M, R) system

Abstract

Robert Rosen defines organisms as natural systems closed to efficient causation, and proposes the (M, R) system as a model for them. He argues that the study of this formal system provides an understanding of living beings that cannot be obtained from conventional biology. However, he recognizes that answering specific questions about specific organisms requires identifying his relational concepts with specific characteristics of individual biological systems. Therefore, to apply the proposed model to biological research, it is necessary to recover the material systems through a process of realization of the formal system. The description of the cell as a realization of the (M, R) system has been notoriously problematic to date. This article posits a cell model based on the functional organization of cellular biochemical processes, and on Rosen's construction of the replication function. Then, based on the proposed model, the meaning of the replication function is discussed and the (M, R) system is analyzed as a theory of life.

Keywords: (M, R) system; Aristotelian causes; Cell biochemical processes; Cell model; Closure to efficient causation; Relational biology; Robert Rosen.