Morpho process
Morphoprocess is a term originally used by Russian scientists ( Vladimir Wernadski and Vladimir Beklemischew ) to characterize the continuous process of evolutionary changes in living things .
Beklemischew distinguished three types of morpho processes:
- Among the cyclical morpho processes he counted mainly single-celled organisms , which are potentially immortal due to their ability to divide cells .
- He counted all multicellular organisms that reproduce themselves, but then die after a certain lifespan, among the cyclically terminal morpho processes .
- He counted the earth's biosphere as one of the terminal morpho processes , as it will find a terminal end in the distant future without being able to produce offspring .
Beklemischew and Vernadsky's morpho-process ideas are little known outside of the Russian-speaking world, but are of particular importance for evolutionary research because they bring a process-related perspective to the fore. Evolution is usually viewed as the result of mutation , selection, and environmental adaptation. Considering evolution as a morpho process that is influenced by different factors is of particular advantage in this context.
In the morpho process theory of evolution, which can be viewed as a further development of the Frankfurt evolution theory , this idea is taken up and consistently further developed by naming and investigating 'mechanisms and factors of evolution' (= of the morpho process change).
literature
- Gudo, M., & Zeller, D. (2005, in press): Adaptation & Environment in the Evolutionary Morpho Process. - in: Edlinger, K. (ed): Adaptation. - Publishing house Peter Lang (Frankfurt) [1]
- Gudo, M., & Gutmann, M. (2003): Konstruktija, reconstruction i evoljutsionnyje mechanizmy / Evolution - construction, reconstruction and evolutionary mechanisms. - 174-191 in: Levit, GS, Popov, IY, Hossfeld, U., Olsson, L., & Beidbach, O. (ed.). V teni darwinizma: alternativnyje teorii evoliutsii v XX veke / In the Shadow of Darwinism: Alternative Evolutionary Theories in the 20th Century. 248 pp., St-Petersburg (Fineday-Press). [2]
- Levit, GS (1999). Biogeochemistry-Biosphere-Noosphere: The Growth of the theoretical system of Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky, Oldenburg.
- Levit, GS, M. Gudo, et al. (2002). "Mechanicism in the 21st Century." Negotiations on the History and Theory of Biology 9: 97-124. [3]
- Levit, GS, IY Popov, et al. (2003). V teni darwinizma: alternativnyje teorii evoliutsii v XX veke / In the Shadow of Darwinism: Alternative Evolutionary Theories in the 20th Century. St-Petersburg, Fineday-Press.
- Levit, GS and J. Scholz (2002). "The Biosphere as a Morphoprocess and a New Look at the Concepts of Organism and Individuality." Senckenbergiana lethaea 82 (1): 367-372.
Web links
- Article on morpho process theory ( Memento from November 20, 2005 in the Internet Archive )