Network Logic - Index of
Network Logic - Index of
Network Logic - Index of
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<strong>Network</strong> logic<br />
has coined the term ‘network society’ to describe and analyse this new<br />
social structure. 1<br />
In science, the focus on networks began in the 1920s, when<br />
ecologists viewed ecosystems as communities <strong>of</strong> organisms, linked<br />
together in network fashion through feeding relations, and used the<br />
concept <strong>of</strong> food webs to describe these ecological communities. As<br />
the network concept became more and more prominent in ecology,<br />
systemic thinkers began to use network models at all systems levels,<br />
viewing organisms as networks <strong>of</strong> cells, and cells as networks <strong>of</strong><br />
molecules, just as ecosystems are understood as networks <strong>of</strong><br />
individual organisms. Correspondingly, the flows <strong>of</strong> matter and<br />
energy through ecosystems were perceived as the continuation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
metabolic pathways through organisms. 2<br />
The ‘Web <strong>of</strong> Life’ is, <strong>of</strong> course, an ancient idea, which has been used<br />
by poets, philosophers, and mystics throughout the ages to convey<br />
their sense <strong>of</strong> the interwovenness and interdependence <strong>of</strong> all<br />
phenomena. In this essay I shall discuss the fundamental role <strong>of</strong><br />
networks in the organisation <strong>of</strong> all living systems, according to<br />
complexity theory and other recent developments in the natural and<br />
social sciences, and I shall analyse the similarities and differences<br />
between biological and social networks in some detail. 3<br />
The nature <strong>of</strong> life<br />
Let us begin with biology and ask: what is the essential nature <strong>of</strong> life<br />
in the realm <strong>of</strong> plants, animals, and micro-organisms? To understand<br />
the nature <strong>of</strong> life, it is not enough to understand DNA, genes,<br />
proteins, and the other molecular structures that are the building<br />
blocks <strong>of</strong> living organisms, because these structures also exist in dead<br />
organisms, for instance in a dead piece <strong>of</strong> wood or bone.<br />
The difference between a living organism and a dead organism lies<br />
in the basic process <strong>of</strong> life – in what sages and poets throughout the<br />
ages have called the ‘breath <strong>of</strong> life’. In modern scientific language, this<br />
process <strong>of</strong> life is called metabolism. It is the ceaseless flow <strong>of</strong> energy<br />
and matter through a network <strong>of</strong> chemical reactions, which enables a<br />
living organism to continually generate, repair and perpetuate itself.<br />
26 Demos