Reality is hierarchically organized: The recursive foundations of living systems and beyond

Abstract

Hierarchical recursive organization is a fundamental aspect of how the universe works. It forms part of a systems theory picture of reality as a steady emergence of new forms of organization over time, such as the emergence of living organisms from inorganic matter, and the emergence of consciousness, language and culture within the biological world. Each new emergent form of organization comes to change the way systems work, but each is nonetheless founded upon, and constrained by, all that came before. For a long time, living systems presented a challenge to this view, as it had historically been difficult to show how the regulation of living systems were founded upon accepted principles within physics. However, within the last twelve years, this has substantially changed. ...