CH9 - Carina, Rebecca, Andrea, Laurence

Like the church of Computationalism Neo-Darwinism has long ruled over the field of evolutionary studies. This theory minimizes certain phenomena in favor of the idea of natural selection and reproductive fitness abundance & selection pressures. however, there are flaws in this way of thinking. The first of theses is genetic interdependence: the interconnectedness of genetic expression (following the trend of emergent properties). Second is the self-organizing process during embryonic development. Thirdly the randomness and existence of junk DNA. Fourthly selfish DNA and stasis.

Emerging from the dissatisfaction is a modification to Darwinism which describes a sort of drift along the previous defined path of natural selection. There are two steps which scientists must take in order to accommodate this new idea. The first is the switch from prescriptive logic to proscriptive. The second is to view evolution as a process that satisfies a need rather than optimizing a solution for it.

Upon taking these steps we can adopt the diea of natural drift: 1) self-organization of a genetic network 2) genetic networks work to satisfy trajectories 3) expression is the result of the network 4) environment and organism trigger changes in DNA. In order to have these changes, three conditions are involved: 1) capacities of the self-organizing network 2) interactin bewteen subnetwork modules 3) mode of structural coupling. We are again reminded that the environment is not a world which we happen to stumble into but something in which we have a relationship with. The encironment seems to co-evolve with organisms (chicken & egg). The world is enacted.

We return to cognitive science often establishing enaction of the world. We can begin to see trends in which cognitive performance occurs. In order to determine where enaction takes place we must look within the layers of activities and intelligence to further understand implementation. We see these layers working on their own while at the same time together to give rise to emergent properties. And that the domain in which this occurs is not fixed but dependent on biological needs, the most viable path.