• Information Metabolism - Kempinsky

    Just a piece I found in Russian and Babelfish-translated. Kempinsky was the Polish psychiatrist Augusta got the idea of information metabolism from.
    Here's a short article by Dmitri Lytov on "information metabolism".

    In the continuous exchange of energy and of information with the medium (metabolism energy and information) each living organism, from the simplest to the most complex, attempts to preserve its own order. The loss of this order is equivalent to death, being the victory of the second law of thermodynamics (entropy). In spite of the visibility of the constancy of living system not one atom in it remains the same; after the relatively short time it is substituted by atom from the environment. Constant there remains only the structure, the unique order, specific for this organism. This uniqueness, or individuality, relates to the order at the level biochemical (uniqueness of proteins), physiological, morphological, just as at the level information.
    This last kind of order relates to the signals, obtained from the surrounding peace and to specific reactions on them. Because of the information metabolism "my" becomes not only its own organism, but also surrounding peace, which by the unique method is received, survives and to which individual uniquely it reacts. In proportion to the phylogenetic development of nervous system information metabolism plays ever larger role in comparison with the metabolism energy.

    The retention of order specific for this organism requires from it a constant effort, which is living condition. The effort to live, which resists entropy, partially is saved because of the biological heredity. Because of it unique order is transferred from one generation to the next. Sexual reproduction ensures the wide variety of structures, since the genetic plan, which appears from the connection of two sex cells, is new plan, but not precise copy of mother cell as in the case of asexual reproduction. This latter resembles the technical production, with which the constructed models are the precise copy of prototype.

    Men, besides the biological inheritance, are located the inheritance social, because of which it can seize material and intellectual values. Efforts of thousands of generations, connected with the development speeches, by the formation of knowledge about the peace, the values of moral and artistic, technical devices, etc., are transferred to it, beginning from the generation. If it was deprived of this inheritance, it would be forced to begin first everything. The development of culture would be impossible.

    The problem of order is integrally connected with the problem of authority. In order to convert environment into its own order, structure of its own system, it is necessary to obtain first this part of the medium, to become its owner and lord. Fight for the territory, in which they live, is inherent not only in person, but also animals and even plants. An attempt at the annexation by intrusion causes in animals the reaction either of aggression or of flight; a commonplace example - dog, rychashchaya to that, who wants to select the bone in it. Sociology of animals gives many interesting examples both of the power contest and hierarchy forming in the groups of animals.

    The problem of authority exists also inside the multicellular organisms. In the multibillion "society" of cells must exist the determined order. This order is coded in the genetic substance, which composes the essential component of any cell nucleus. It is the "constituent (by agent)" of cell. It cannot exist without it. Endocrine and nervous systems perform in the organism role as auxiliary with respect to genetic plan, strengthening its integrating activity, simulating the plan of activity depending on the urgent needs of organism and conditions of medium.

    Tumor it would be possible to define as the "riot" of cell against the required in this organism order. Tumor cells, after being freed from general discipline, it is free, "without considering" the remaining organism, their rights to the retention of their life and life of their new form realize. They grow and are multiplied due to others, "not incited to revolt" cells.

    Looking at the organism integrally, it is not possible to pass the problem of authority; it is inherent even organisms, which stand at the lowest levels of phylogenesis. In order to live and to be multiplied, is required to conquer the surrounding peace this problem, and many basic moments of human life, it comes out in the pathologically exaggerated form also in the schizophrenia. Patient, especially in the acute period of schizophrenia, in her pathologic experiences frequently oscillates between the feeling of godly omnipotence, in which he reads the thought of people, he governs their will, governs the course of events on the earth and in the universe and by a feeling of the total loss of the authority, when others read its thought, they govern its actions, speech and thoughts, when he feels itself by the automaton, deprived of authority above the surrounding peace. In the predboleznennoy life of schizophrenics frequently to the foreground appear the difficulties of the achievement of their place in the surrounding peace and the adequate solution of dilemma "I govern - they govern me".

    The problem of authority is connected not only with the law of survival, but also with the law of conservation of form and with the information metabolism. In the first case the authority is one-sided, and in the second and the third - double-sided. That part of the environment, which must be destroyed and absorbed in order to deliver the energy necessary for the life to organism, no longer it has above it authority. In the sexual and erotic contacts the authority is double-sided. Individual becomes Mr. and slave of his partner. In the exchange of signals with the environment the individual is forced to assume the order of environment, simultaneously trying to impose its own on him.

    Three kinds of authority above the environment determine one and the same possessive pronoun "my". "my" are: food, apartment, money, etc., the objects, which ensure the law of survival. "my" are those, who ensure the law of conservation of form; in the narrow value sexual partner, in the wide - those, who belong to the same social groups: family, national, religious, professional, class, etc., since at the basis of the social connections of different kind lies the law of conservation of form. Family group (their simplest and earliest form) is the direct result of this law. "my" finally is their own experiences, impressions, feelings, thoughts, acquired knowledge, solutions and actions. The signals, which enter from the surrounding peace, are ordered by unique means, causing specific reaction on them.

    The information metabolism, defined by Pavlov as reflector activity, enlarges the sphere of the authority of the organism above the surrounding peace. "my" becomes not only that part of the environment, which is assimilated by organism itself, and not only that, transient connection, with which causes the appearance of a new organism, but considerably a wider circle of the surrounding peace, minimum quantities of energy of which, playing no role in the energy metabolism, they become signal, that cause the behavior of organism. Information metabolism is preparatory step toward the entrance into the assimilation and reproductive contact with the surrounding peace. Before becoming "my" in the sense of the creation of the substance of its own organism or sexual connection, it must become "my" in the sense of orientation in it. Organism must "know" as in it move in order to satisfy two basic biological laws: survival of its own and form.

    In proportion to the phylogenetic development of the information metabolism, which exists in each cell in the form of its ability to pick up signals from the environment and to react on them and which in the multicellular organisms becomes, first of all, the function of specialized in this direction cells (obtaining signals - receptors, reaction - effectors, and transfer and their ordering - nerve cells), life becomes increasingly more preparation to the life, if, as its essence, starts fulfilling of two basic biological laws. On the contrary, in the simplest organisms life is locked in the fulfillment of these laws, and margines of preparation in them is minimal. The surrounding peace serves as them only for its conversion into its own structure of organism, it becomes completely "my" peace, or, if this condition is not satisfied, it threatens by loss, destruction of its own order, which is equivalent to death. If we the attempt recreate experiences at this level of phylogenesis not was superfluous fantasizing, then it would be possible to assume that they oscillate between a feeling of omnipotence and a feeling of the threat of death; peace either completely "my" or completely stranger, the estrangement indicating death.

    The satisfaction of basic biological needs is connected with the pleasant experiences, noncompliance - with the unpleasant. "my" peace attracts, while "stranger" it repulses. Authority above the surrounding peace therefore is the source of pleasure, and its absence - by source of unpleasant feelings. "strange" peace excites fear and aggression; they attempt from it to run or to destroy it.


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    This article was originally published in forum thread: Information Metabolism - Kempinsky started by Rick View original post
    Comments 2 Comments
    1. tcaudilllg's Avatar
      tcaudilllg -
      Thanks, this is helpful.
    1. tcaudilllg's Avatar
      tcaudilllg -
      Does anybody have links to Kempinsky's original work? (translated from the Polish or babelfish ready?)