On metabolism and machines : two views of biological teleology
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Hernandez-Blick, Cristian
issued: 2025-10-08T18:30:04Z
issued: 2025
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: This thesis looks at two contemporary understandings of biological teleology: a cybernetic-bioengineering model of goal-directedness and an organicist-biocentric account of intrinsic purpose. The cybernetic perspective originates in early 20th century efforts to interpret the organism through a unified behavioristic framework for teleology in both life and machines. Its mechanism of interest is negative feedback: a process where actions adjust to minimize a discrepancy between a controlled variable and a set point, or goal state. Contemporary advocates in bioengineering adopt this approach to teleological explanation, viewing error-minimization mechanisms as ideal models of goal-directed behaviour in diverse systems, both living and nonliving. By contrast, the organicist-biocentric account grounds biological teleology in the intrinsic purposiveness of living organization and the organismâs existential self-concern. This perspective draws from various philosophical and scientific sources: from historical figures like Aristotle and Kant, to the contemporary work of Hans Jonas, and theoretical frameworks like autopoiesis, biological autonomy, and enactivism. On this account, teleology coincides with the continuous production and maintenance of a metabolically instantiated identityâarising internally from lifeâs autonomous ability to organize, regenerate, and perpetuate itself for its own sakeâand an organismâs environmental coupling, whose interactions are normatively oriented toward promoting its viability. I begin by providing some brief historical context to the relation between teleology and biology, then outline core features of the two aforementioned approaches before discussing notable divergences. Building on key themes of the biocentric view of intrinsic teleology, particularly a treatment of biological purposiveness and autonomy informed by the work of Hans Jonas, I hold that the cybernetic-bioengineering outlook disregards critical distinctions between livin…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/92515
note: ON METABOLISM AND MACHINES: TWO VIEWS OF BIOLOGICAL TELEOLOGY by Cristian Hernandez-Blick B.F.A., Emily Carr University of Art and Design, 2017 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Science and Technology Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) October 2025 © Cristian Hernandez-Blick, 2025 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: On Metabolism and Machines: Two Views of Biological Teleology submitted by Cristian Hernandez-Blick in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Science and Technology Studies Examining Committee: John Beatty, Professor, Philosophy, University of British Columbia Supervisor Derek Woods, Assistant Professor, Communication Studies & Media Arts, McMaster University Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract This thesis looks at two contemporary understandings of biological teleology: a cybernetic-bioengineering model of goal-directedness and an organicist-biocentric account of intrinsic purpose. The cybernetic perspective originates in early 20th century efforts to interpret the organism through a unified behavioristic framework for teleology in both life and machines. Its mechanism of interest is negative feedback: a process where actions adjust to minimize a discrepancy between a controlled variable and a set point, or goal state. Contemporary advocates in bioengineering adopt this approach to teleological explanation, viewing error-minimization mechanisms as ideal models of goal-directed behaviour in diverse systems, both living and nonliving. By contrast, the organicist-biocentric account grounds biological teleology in the intrinsic purposiveness of living organization and the organismâs existential self-concern. This perspective draws from various philosophical an…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2025-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0450338
language: eng
degree discipline: Science and Technology Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Beatty, John
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/92515