Biological contingent identity and transient autonomy

1. Biological contingent Identity and
Transient Autonomy
Search for reconciling multiple Identities
Presentation at Institute of Philosophy, Jagiellonian
University conference
What is an Individual Organism? Philosophical
Problems
Presented by Ganesh Bharate - PhD Candidate
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

2. Overview of Presentation
Laws of Thought and its relation to Biological Identity
Ramsification - From variables to entities (Biological)
General problem of Diachronic Identity
a) Ontogenetic
b) Phylogenetic
General Problem of Synchronic Identity
a) Heteronomous
b) Autonomous
Boniolo’s solution to Diachronic Identity
Transient autonomy - Distinguishability solution to synchronic Identity ?

3. Laws of thought and tweaking of axioms
Traditional Laws Tweaked Laws
I Absolute Identity
For all A: A = A
Whatever is, is
Relative Identity
All A’s are B’s: A = B
II Law of Noncontradiction
¬ ( A ∧ ¬ A) negation of A and not A
Nothing can both be and not be
Paraconsistent Logics allowing contradictions
III Law of excluded middle
A∨¬A Either A or not A
Everything must either be or not be
Fuzzy Logics that include the middles

4. Ramsification - From propositional variables to
theoretical entities
First order logic Second order logic
Propositions, subject, predicate Quantification, properties
T or F to whole proposition T or F to parts of propositions
Ramsey (1929a, [FM] 231) suggests a way of applying a theory without defining the secondary terms: The best
way to write our theory seems to be this: (∃α,β,γ): dictionary⋅axioms.
α,β, andγ are variables for the terms of the secondary system and are interpreted purely extensionally, so that the
theory states “There are extensions α, β, andγthat satisfy the sentences of the dictionary and the axioms”.
Observational Predicates Theoretical predicates
Red, Square etc DNA, strangeness, Genome

5. A.Problem of Diachronic Identity

6. A I. Diachronic Identity: Ontogenetic Metamorphosis - Same
Individual Organism

7. A II. Diachronic Identity: Phylogenetic
identity of Species over period of time with
morphological, genetic changes, through
phylogenetic inference. A tree not a linear
progression

8. B. Synchronic Identity
Part - Whole Identity: Problem of One and the many.
Eg. Cloud no sharp boundary = Water molecules

9. Synchronic Identity - Heteronomous
Tibbles - Tibtail = Tib

10. Synchronic Identity - Autonomous
Genetic identity

11. Synchronic Identity-Transient autonomy
Viro-Micro-Sym-Holo-Meta-BIONT-(Gaia ?)
continuum X discrete

12. Diachronic Identity criterion for biological entities by Boniolo
Given any two biological entities E and E’ we have
E ≡ EI ↔ [(W ⊕ L i=1,...,N⊕VPi) ≡v (W ⊕ L i=1,...,N ⊕V Pi)],
where W and W are the worldlines of, respectively, E and E ; L is
the complex of properties distinguishing a living entity from a
non-living entity; i=1,...,N ⊕ VPi and i=1,...,N⊕V Pi are the
complexes of properties, singled out from the particular point of
view V, that characterize respectively E and E ; ≡ V is the identity,
singled out from the point of view V, of the two triple complexes
of properties. For Diachronic Identity this serves well.

13. For Synchronic
TRANSIENT AUTONOMY
the macro-structure emerges and then persists
through substitutions of micro-constituents of the
same type as the original(Humphreys 2008).
( (Φx)t1 = (Φx)t2) ⊃ ((Φx)t1 z (Φx)t2) (where Φ can
take isomorphic forms Φ1,Φ x2,Φ 3........)where z is
combination of >, < & = meaning different but equal
to and Φ is the set of micro-constituents of object x.

14. Bibliography
Boniolo, Giovanni, and Massimiliano Carrara. "On Biological Identity." Biology & Philosophy 19.3 (2004): 443-57. Print.
Griffin, Nicholas. Relative Identity. Oxford: Clarendon, 1977. Print.
Humphreys, Paul. "Synchronic and Diachronic Emergence." Minds and Machines 18.4 (2008): 431-42. Print.