A quasi-living system is a switch-bearing, information-processing system that exhibits partial covolutionary organization, including distinguishable states, selective responsiveness, persistence, coupling, and partial operational closure, but lacks one or more defining features of full biological life such as autonomous metabolism, self-repair, bounded reproduction, or heritable evolutionary continuity.
A system Q is quasi-living if it contains a non-random network of operational or proto-operational switches whose collective dynamics satisfy some degree of respond, distinguish, hold, and couple functionality, and may exhibit partial Markov-blanketed encapsulation, but does not yet form a fully autonomous, self-maintaining, reproducing biological horon.
| Feature | Quasi-living system | Fully living system |
|---|---|---|
| Switches | Present, partial, or proto-operational | Integrated and operationally complete |
| Information processing | Present | Present and self-maintaining |
| Feedback | Present | Deeply integrated across levels |
| Boundary | Partial or externally maintained | Strong biological boundary |
| Metabolism | Absent, incomplete, or externally dependent | Autonomous enough for self-maintenance |
| Reproduction | Absent, partial, parasitic, or template-like | Heritable reproduction |
| Markov blanket | Partial, weak, or externally imposed | Strong operational encapsulation |
| Covolution | Possible but incomplete | Full organism-symvironment covolution |
A single switch is not automatically quasi-living.
For example, NF-κB may be an operationally complete biological switch, but by itself it is not a quasi-living system. It is a component of a living system.
A quasi-living system requires a network of switches with some degree of self-maintenance, boundary, or organizational closure.
Switch ≠ quasi-living system.
Switch network + partial autonomy + partial closure = quasi-living system.
댓글 0