The theory of metabolism-repair systems

摘要

Classical control systems based upon the Newtonian framework make the implicit assumption that there is a controller who injects regulating signals into the system from the outside. In biology as well as the social and behavioral sciences, there is usually no readily recognizable external controller, and the system somehow controls itself from the inside, so to speak. The theory of metabolism-repair (M,R) systems has been developed as a mathematical extension of the classical setup aimed directly at the formal characterization of such self-referential or “lifelike” systems. This paper outlines the way in which a controlled (M,R) systems can be naturally obtained from an uncontrolled classical system, as well as providing a fairly detailed mathematical consideration of the new system-theoretic questions arising when the processes of repair and replication are added to the classical “metabolism only” framework. In addition to giving a general framework suitable for the mathematical representation of living systems, the paper also considers a variety of questions arising out of the underlying biological motivation, including the problems of growth, differentiation, repair, replication, and Lamarckian inheritance. A number of possible applications from the areas of cellular biology, economics and manufacturing are also discussed, as are extensions to the basic framework.