Andrée C. Ehresmann

INFORMATION PROCESSING AND SYMMETRY-BREAKING IN MEMORY EVOLUTIVE SYSTEMS

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the role of symmetry and symmetry-breaking processes on the complex information processing developed by hierarchical evolutionary natural systems, such as biological, neural, social or cultural systems. The study is conducted in the frame of the Memory Evolutive Systems, which give a mathematical model of these systems. The dynamics of a MES is modulated by the competition between a net of internal regulation centers which act apart-but encode overlapping strategies which have to be equilibrated. The main characteristics of these systems, at the root of their complexity and adaptability, is a symmetry-breaking in the passage from a higher (or macro) level to a lower (or micro) level: several disparate sub-systems with different comportments at the micro level can be undistinguishable at the higher macro level because of a similar macro behavior (Multiplicity Principle). It is responsible for the development of a dialectics between heterogeneous regulation centers, and for the emergence in time of more and more complex objects. An application to neural systems vindicates an emergentist dynamical reduction of mental states to physical states.

Hyperstructures and memory evolutive systems

The aim of the paper is to compare two different approaches to the modeling of complex natural systems, in particular of their hierarchical organization with higher-order structures and their emergence processes. These approaches are, respectively, the hyperstructures (HS) of Baas and the memory evolutive systems (MES) of Ehresmann and Vanbremeersch. The HS are “structural” while MES, based on category theory, take dynamics more into account. It is shown how the dynamical organization and mechanisms developed for MES rely on simple ideas of a philosophical nature, that might be disengaged from the categorical setting and extended to the general frame of HS.

A new biology: a modern perspective on the challenge of closing the gap between the islands of knowledge

This paper discusses the rebirth of the old quest for the principles of biology along the discourse line of machine-organism disanalogy and within the context of biocomputation from a modern perspective. It reviews some new attempts to revise the existing body of research and enhance it with new developments in some promising fields of mathematics and computation. The major challenge is that the latter are expected to also answer the need for a new framework, a new language and a new methodology capable of closing the existing gap between the different levels of complex system organization.

MENS, an Info-Computational Model for (Neuro-)cognitive Systems Capable of Creativity

MENS is a bio-inspired model for higher level cognitive systems; it is an application of the Memory Evolutive Systems developed with Vanbremeersch to model complex multi-scale, multi-agent self-organized systems, such as biological or social systems. Its development resorts to an info-computationalism: first we characterize the properties of the human brain/mind at the origin of higher order cognitive processes up to consciousness and creativity, then we ‘abstract’ them in a MENS mathematical model for natural or artificial cognitive systems. The model, based on a ‘dynamic’ Category Theory incorporating Time, emphasizes the computability problems which are raised.

Emergence Processes up to Consciousness Using the Multiplicity Principle and Quantum Physics

Evolution is marked by the emergence of new objects and interactions. Pursuing our preceding work on Memory Evolutive Systems (MES; cf. our Internet site), we propose a general mathematical model for this process, based on Category Theory. Its main characteristics is the Multiplicity Principle (MP) which asserts the existence of complex objects with several possible configurations. The MP entails the emergence of non‐reducible more and more complex objects (emergentist reductionism). From the laws of Quantum Physics, it follows that the MP is valid for the category of particles and atoms, hence, by complexification, for any natural autonomous anticipatory complex system, such as biological systems up to neural systems, or social systems. Applying the model to the MES of neurons, we describe the emergence of higher and higher cognitive processes and of a semantic memory. Consciousness is characterized by the development of a permanent ‘personal’ memory, the archetypal core, which allows the formation of ex...

WLIMES, The Wandering LIMES: Towards a Theoretical Framework for Wandering Logic Intelligence Memory Evolutive Systems

This paper compares two complementary theories, Simeonov’s Wandering Logic Intelligence and Ehresmann’s & Vanbremeersch’s Memory Evolutive Systems, in view of developing a common framework for the study of multi-scale complex systems such as living systems. It begins by a brief summary of WLI and MES, then analyzes their resemblances and differences. Finally, the article provides an outlook for a future research.

A theoretical frame for future studies

Purpose – Future studies can be given several interpretations. The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology for anticipation in a well delimited frame, that of multi‐scale complex systems with a dynamic directed by the cooperation/competition between a net of agents, the “co‐regulators”, each operating with its own rhythm and logic, with the help of a central memory. These systems include social systems of different sizes from small social groups, to large societies, and also living or artificial cognitive systems.Design/methodology/approach – The study is conducted in the frame of the Memory Evolutive Systems, a model for such systems, which the author has developed with Jean‐Paul Vanbremeersch in a series of publications since 1987; this model is based on a “dynamic” category theory.Findings – It is found that the characteristics of these systems making them capable of developing complex scenarios are: a kind of “flexible redundancy” (possibility of switches between decompositions of complex co...

Stepping beyond the Newtonian Paradigm in Biology

The INBIOSA project brings together a group of experts across many disciplines who believe that science requires a revolutionary transformative step in order to address many of the vexing challenges presented by the world. It is INBIOSA’s purpose to enable the focused collaboration of an interdisciplinary community of original thinkers.

MENS: From Neurons to Higher Mental Processes up to Consciousness

How do higher mental processes, learning, intentions, thoughts, emotions, arise from the functioning of the brain? That is the question which, with Jean-Paul Vanbremeersch, we have attempted to approach in the model MENS (for Memory Evolutive Neural Systems), proposing a unified frame for the functioning of the neural, mental and cognitive systems. It is an application to neuro-cognitive systems of our Memory Evolutive Systems, a model for self-organized multi-scale dynamic systems, based on a ’dynamic’ theory of categories (a summary on MES is given by Ehresmann & Simeonov, 2011, in this volume). Here I just indicate the main ideas; for more details, cf. Ehresmann & Vanbremeersch (2007, 2009).