ABSTRACT
Evolution is a highly intricate process marked by the generation of novelty, which necessitates the historical and collective organization of individuals. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between biological organization and Open-Ended Evolution (OEE), with a particular focus on the causal connection between the two. To provide quantitative evidence for this causal link within a chemical system, we apply assembly theory to assess how the emergence of auto-catalytic sets impacts the complexity dynamics within Kauffman’s model. In the second part of the paper, we strengthen this conjecture by analyzing the effects of the simplest auto-catalytic set on the complexity dynamics in Kauffman’s model, specifically in the absence of parametric correlation. By interpreting auto-catalytic sets as organizational structures in chemical systems, our findings provide the first numerical support for investigating the causal relationship between biological organization and OEE. This work represents a promising area for the initial study of the dynamical relationship between OEE and biological organization, and may advance the understanding of their connection in theoretical biology.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
This version of the manuscript has been revised after spotting some minor corrections in the plots. Also, we improved the quality of the text in all the sections. This version has been submitted to Elsevier