Evolution as the evolution of systemicity

Abstract

This paper proposes considering biological evolution from the perspective of the evolution of the systematicity (organization) of objects, that is, focusing not on traits or adaptations, but on the level and type of systematicity of evolving objects. Evolution is viewed as a process of growth, complication, transformation, and sometimes degradation of the systematicity of evolving objects – from loosely coupled molecular aggregates to stable, self-regulating, and self-reproducing systems, and further to multi-level systems with meta-connections and their own mechanisms for reproducing systematicity. This approach goes beyond the confines of biology and is applicable to cosmology, chemistry, culture, the psyche, and even the evolution of artificial intelligence. Evolution based on systematicity does not occur because objects strive for complexity, but because the environment demands the improvement of a systemic mode of existence. Leaps in systematicity are not a smooth increase in complexity; rather, they represent phase transitions in modes of organization caused by the accumulation of discrepancies between the capabilities of elements and the demands of the environment. Objects evolve in terms of systematicity when a persistent conflict arises between the intensity and variability of external factors and the insufficient adaptability of the current organization.