Información y evolución

Zusammenfassung

The idea that biological processes, at every level of organization, are equivalent to information transactions is one of the common place in modern biology. This paper analyzes the meaning and the causal status of the concept of information in evolutionary theory. It tries to make clear some topics about information in evolutionary literature: information is treated as complexity in the current measures, but considered, conceptually, as functionality [1]; it is sometimes regarded as genetic and sometimes as environmental l2l; it is sometimes thought as an effect and sometimes as a cause [3]. I also consider the dual role of informational concepts in evolutionary biology: analogical and metaphorical [4]. A relational notion of information could contribute to solve some of these puzzles. Taking into account this point of view, some relevant formulations of the notion of information are analyzed[5].