Evolution and Transitions in Complexity ― The Science of Hierarchical Organization in Nature

This book discusses several recent theoretic advancements in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration in the field of evolution. While exploring novel views, the text maintains a close link with one of the most broadly held views on evolution, namely that of “Darwinian evolution”. 

This work puts forth a new point of view which allows researchers to define in detail the concept of evolution. To create this conceptual definition, the text applies a stringent object-based focus. Because of this object-based focus the editors have been able to develop an object-based pattern of evolution at the smallest scale. Subsequently, this smallest scale pattern is used as an innovative basis for generalizations. These generalizations create links between biological Darwinism, and generalized Darwinism. The object based approach that was used to suggest innovations in the field of Darwinian evolution also allowed for contributions to other topics, such as major evolutionary transitions theory, the definition of life and the relationships between evolution, self-organization and thermodynamics.

Together, the chapters of this book, and the multidisciplinary reflections and comments of various specialists on these chapters, offers an exciting palette of innovative ideas, which can be viewed as a mapping of a scientific territory which hitherto has hardly been explored.

Driven by a passion for evolution and complexity, Gerard studies the past, present and the future of the universe. Fundamental for his approach is a modern, scientific version of the classical Scala Naturae named the Operator Hierarchy. This hierarchy offers a mechanistic basis for the classification of objects in the world, connects biotic and abiotic evolution, and by extrapolation suggests future system kinds in evolution. Since 2013 Gerard has been involved in the artificial intelligence company ‘Mind|Construct’.

Gerard obtained his Masters in Wageningen (1986, cum laude), received his first PhD in Ecotoxicology (Wageningen, 1993) and, seventeen years later, his second PhD in philosophy (Nijmegen, 2010). Gerard has (co-)authored over a hundred publications and has published two books: ‘The operator hierarchy’ and ‘The pursuit of complexity’. He has been interviewed by a national newspaper in the series about “Controversial thinkers whose ideas can change our view of the world”.