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Relational Biology

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Abstract

Relational biology is a study of life in terms of the organization of entailment relations in living systems, independent of any particular physical mechanism or material realization. Anticipation is the pivot on which the relational study of life revolves. An organism is the very example of an anticipatory system. Robert Rosen’s systematic study of anticipation was founded under the auspices of his determined journey in relational biology, a quixotic adventure that is now continuing in the next generation and beyond.

This chapter was written when I was a resident Fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (stiαs), South Africa, in February–April 2016. I thank the stiαs staff and my contemporary Fellows, especially those involved in the Complexity and Anticipation project, for their inspiration and, indeed, fellowship.

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Correspondence to A. H. Louie .

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Louie, A.H. (2017). Relational Biology. In: Poli, R. (eds) Handbook of Anticipation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31737-3_17-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31737-3_17-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31737-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31737-3

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