Biological Observer-Participation and Wheeler's 'Law without Law'

TL;DR

This paper proposes a philosophical shift towards viewing biological processes as fundamental, using semiotics and Circular Theory, to naturally explain Wheeler's observer-participation and emergent laws in nature.

Contribution

It introduces a novel perspective that integrates semiotics and Circular Theory to explain observer-participation and emergent laws without relying solely on quantitative methods.

Findings

Biological processes are more fundamental than traditional quantitative approaches.

Wheeler's observer-participation arises naturally in this framework.

Meaning plays a fundamental role in understanding nature, beyond quantitative science.

Abstract

It is argued that at a sufficiently deep level the conventional quantitative approach to the study of nature faces difficult problems, and that biological processes should be seen as more fundamental, in a way that can be elaborated on the basis of Peircean semiotics and Yardley's Circular Theory. In such a world-view, Wheeler's observer-participation and emergent law arise naturally, rather than having to be imposed artificially. This points the way to a deeper understanding of nature, where meaning has a fundamental role to play that is invisible to quantitative science.