Towards the Origin of Life: Modeling the Interplay of the Self and the External World
Definition of the Basic Structure of the Feedback Loop by Self and External World
I believe that the dualism of the external world and the self is fundamentally important to life. This distinction is essential for life to maintain itself and activate its immune functions.
I think that even in the process of chemical evolution before the emergence of cellular organisms, the essential nature of life, albeit very simple, would have appeared quite early.
One of these is the self-reinforcing feedback loop. During the chemical evolution process, when an entity appears, the fact that it exists in itself supports, strengthens, and amplifies its existence. I believe this feedback is one of the essential properties of life. This is clearly understood when thinking about DNA. Cells with DNA can amplify their existence through self-replication.
I believe that such feedback loops could have existed even before the emergence of DNA. And that they played an important role in chemical evolution, and were indispensable for the birth of life.
Here, when considering what is enhanced by the feedback loop, I think primarily it’s the self. And secondarily, it might be the external world.
The reason I focus on the dualism of self and external world is because I see it as an indispensable concept to define the basic structure of the feedback loop.
Structural Model of Self and External World
Here, I will model the structure of the self and the external world. Figure 1 shows a static block diagram, which I will explain in the following paragraphs.
Let’s call the self “X” and the external world “Y.”
The self X and the external world Y exchange energy and matter. Let’s call these exchanges “A” and “B”. A and B are determined by the states of X and Y, so they can be expressed as A=Fa(X, Y) and B=Fb(Y, X) using the functions Fa and Fb.
In addition to the changes in energy and matter exchanged between X and Y, X and Y also undergo self-referential changes. To define these self-referential state changes, we will represent them as functions Fx and Fy.
Figure 2 represents the time transition of the same model.
To model time, we consider time in unit intervals. Following this concept, we think of time as progressing in the form of T1, T2, T3, and so on.
Having defined time, let’s define the state of self X and external world Y over time. The state of X and Y at a given time T1 is represented as X(T1) and Y(T1).
The energy or matter that moves from the external world Y to the self X from time T1 to T2 is represented as A(T2). Conversely, the energy or matter that moves from the self X to the external world Y is represented as B(T2).
Now that we have defined the exchanged energy and matter, we can define the state changes of self X and external world Y over time. As time progresses from T1 to T2, the states change as follows:
Self X: X(T2) = Fx( X(T1) + A(T2) — B(T2) )
External World Y: Y(T2) = Fy( Y(T1) — A(T2) + B(T2) )
In this model, the quantity of energy or matter moving between the self and the environment varies depending on the state of self X and the external world Y. How each varies is expressed in the form of functions Fa and Fb.
Although the contents of each function differ depending on the specific application, their effects are consistently reflected in this model as follows:
From External World Y to Self X: A(T2) = Fa( X(T1), Y(T1) )
From Self X to External World Y: B(T2) = Fb( Y(T1), X(T1) )
Applying these equations to the time changes of self X and external world Y, we get:
Self X: X(T2) = Fx( X(T1) + Fa( X(T1), Y(T1) ) — Fb( Y(T1), X(T1) ) )
External World Y: Y(T2) = Fy( Y(T1) — Fa( X(T1), Y(T1) ) + Fb( Y(T1), X(T1) ) )
Thus, the time changes in the states of the self and the external world can be represented using the models defined by functions Fx, Fy, Fa, and Fb.
Quality Improvement: Beyond the Zero-Sum Game of Quantity
When focusing merely on the amount of energy or material exchanged between the self, X, and the external environment, Y, this process appears similar to a zero-sum game. This is because, unless there’s a highly specific state change, the conservation of energy and the law of conservation of mass ensure that the total quantity of energy and material within self X and external Y remains constant.
However, the structure of the exchanged energy and material can change over time. For instance, even if the type and quantity of atoms remain the same, they could either be exchanged as simple inorganic molecules or as structured molecules like amino acids, sugars, lipids, or nucleic acids.
Compared to exchanging inorganic molecules, exchanging structured substances likely has a greater impact on subsequent exchanges. This suggests an improvement not just in quantity but also in quality. Here, “quality improvement” refers to exchanges in more structured forms.
Therefore, even if the exchange of energy or matter seems like a zero-sum game in terms of quantity, its quality can improve over time. The conservation of energy and the law of conservation of mass are constraints about quantity. Fundamentally, there are no laws hindering or limiting quality improvement.
Figure 3 depicts the concept of how, over time, even if the total amount of matter or energy remains unchanged, the quality can improve, leading to increased exchanges of energy or matter.
Next, we will also touch on the law of entropy.
For entropy to increase, it’s sufficient that the overall entropy grows. Hence, for the structured matter exchanged here, as long as some structure breaks down elsewhere, it’s acceptable.
This boundary doesn’t necessarily lie between the self and the external. If inside a different boundary structure advances and entropy reduces, as long as entropy increases more outside of that boundary, it’s not problematic. Therefore, the law of entropy doesn’t directly constrain the improvement in the quality of exchanged matter between the self and the external.
In this way, when considering quality, the exchanges between the self and the external can possess a meaning beyond a zero-sum game.
What is Reinforced by the Feedback Loop?
Initially, we posed the question: “What is enhanced by a self-reinforcing feedback loop?”
From the perspective of the amount of energy or material, life indeed aims to absorb more from the environment. Life has evolved in a direction where it aims to integrate more energy and material.
On the other hand, our discussion so far has shown that it’s also crucial to consider quality. We have stated that quality is not a zero-sum game. It can be inferred that life’s self-reinforcing feedback loop exploits this fact. That is, the feedback loop not only improves the quality within the self but can also be viewed as enhancing the quality of the external.
One might question how we define “quality improvement.” Here, let’s consider it as an enhancement in the performance of the self-reinforcing feedback loop. Primarily, it denotes the ease of transferring quantity towards oneself. Secondarily, it implies further elevating the quality of both self and the external.
On Earth, with the appearance of cyanobacteria performing photosynthesis, atmospheric carbon dioxide was absorbed, sugars were stored internally in life forms to easily handle energy, and oxygen useful for sugar decomposition was released.
This can be seen as an improvement in the quality of both the self and the environment. As a result, organisms that intake oxygen to decompose sugars for energy emerged.
On land, bacteria and small organisms activity in mere sand or clay leads to chemical fixation of elements like nitrogen, and physically, the sand or clay forms granules that can store and release oxygen and water. This balanced composition is soil. Quality soil is easier for plants to root and aids in the absorption of nutrients and water required for growth.
This formation of soil is also an enhancement in the quality of the external environment when viewed from the perspective of all life.
Humans have paved roads, crafted tools for resource extraction, and made it easier to integrate energy and materials for their activities. Based on the enhanced energy and material wealth, further scientific and technological advancements were made, leading to the creation of even more convenient tools. All these activities contribute to both the quantitative strengthening of the self and the qualitative improvement of both self and the environment.
Types of Quality Improvement
Through a self-reinforcing feedback loop, the quality improves, leading to an increase in the amount of matter and energy exchanged between the self and the external world.
There are several types of this quality improvement, and I will list some of the possibilities here:
[A] Generation of Easily Exchangeable Matter
Because the exchange is easy, the amount of matter or energy exchanged per unit of time increases. For example, the creation of organic compounds with higher energy density in the external world allows a high amount of energy to be transferred from the external world to the self in a short time.
In the structural model, this is a substance that is easily outputted by functions Fa and Fb.
[B] Production of Matter that Facilitates Exchange
Exchange is promoted, so the amount of matter or energy exchanged per unit of time increases. For instance, if digestive fluids, hard teeth, or strong jaws develop, the intake of energy will likely increase. Other possibilities include creating chemical gradients that make it easier to intake matter and energy.
In the structural model, this is a substance that has the effect of increasing the substance processed by functions Fa and Fb.
[C] Generation of Catalysts that Ease the Production of Quality-improving Materials
Through catalysts, it becomes easier to produce the substances of [A] and [B], leading to a continuous improvement in quality. Also, if catalysts for producing the [C] catalysts are developed, the speed of quality structuring will accelerate.
In the structural model, it’s a substance that increases the amount of substance produced by functions Fx and Fy.
[D] Production of Matter that Facilitates the Synthesis of New and Diverse Materials
For the above [A], [B], [C], and even [D] itself to be produced, diverse materials must be synthesized in various combinations. If substances that enable aiming at diverse combinations in a short time are developed, evolution should accelerate.
In the structural model, it’s a substance that increases the variety of substances produced by functions Fx and Fy.
In Conclusion: Towards the Origin of Life
In this article, I have illustrated the self-reinforcing feedback loop concerning the mathematical model of the self and the external world and its semantics of the transfer of quantity from the external world to the self, and the improvement of quality in both the self and the external world.
This mathematical model and semantics are based on the observation of life and intelligence after the appearance of cellular organisms. However, I believe that they can also be applied to the process of chemical evolution of organic matter in the origins of life before the appearance of cellular organisms.
In other words, I think it might be possible to describe the mysterious process of chemical evolution at the origins of life using this model of the self-reinforcing feedback loop between the self and the external world and its related semantics.
The origin of life can’t simply be explained as inorganic matter becoming organic, which by random chance evolved into a structure functioning as a cell. There is likely an important perspective that, as life has done, it evolved while influencing the external environment in a way that is advantageous for its evolution.
By delving into this perspective, I believe a more convincing explanation for the mechanism of the origin of life will become possible.
