http://popups.lib.uliege.be/1373-5411/index.php?id=2635 Index terms fr 0 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/1373-5411/index.php?id=4619 Biologists appeal to "functional explanation" as an ubiquitous explanatory strategy for understanding anticipation to environmental demands. However, functional explanation remains one of the most controversial issues in philosophy of biology : two main philosophical approaches address biological functions from disparate views. In this paper, I sketch out how neither etiological approaches nor systemic approaches pay enough attention to functional explanation as used in biological practice. I suggest that a detailed comparison of mechanisms in both accounts may be fruitful in identifying common problems and suitable solutions. Mon, 14 Oct 2024 15:26:45 +0200 Mon, 14 Oct 2024 15:26:53 +0200 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/1373-5411/index.php?id=4619 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/1373-5411/index.php?id=3455 The computational operation called synchronization, vital for realizing multi-process systems, is described in terms of a Clifford algebra over {-1,0,1}. This provides a two way bridge between the worlds of computation and quantum mechanics, and casts new light on such matters as quantum non-determinism, mechanism and causality, the explicit structure of particles (including dark matter), and the like. We dub this the synchronizational model of quantum mechanics. Oppositely, we show how to represent any computation - sequential or concurrent - in these algebraic terms, thus providing a novel and powerful physically-oriented mathematics for computer science and allied disciplines. Thu, 19 Sep 2024 14:48:27 +0200 Tue, 08 Oct 2024 15:02:18 +0200 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/1373-5411/index.php?id=3455 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/1373-5411/index.php?id=2632 Gödel's theorems have been used for various ends since their establishment in 1931. One of those ends is that of Robert Rosen in his defence of a new paradigm for biology, assimilating closed causal loops as among others a way to understand anticipatory systems. We will argue how this use of Gödel's theorems arise from Gödel's own Platonist interpretation of the theorems. Next, we will argue against that interpretation from the perspective of dialetheism, which is the statement that contradictions can simply be true. In order to do so, we will emphasize the analogy between the G-sentence in the Gödel theorems and the famous liar-paradox. Finally, we will outline the consequences of this reinterpretation for the argument of Rosen. Thu, 29 Aug 2024 15:29:05 +0200 Thu, 29 Aug 2024 15:29:13 +0200 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/1373-5411/index.php?id=2632