Evolution of Information Processing Systems: An Interdisciplinary Approach for a New Understanding of Nature and Society

An interdisciplinary team of scientists is presenting a new

paradigm: all existing structures on earth are the

consequence of information processing. Since these

structures have been evolved over the last five billion

years, information processing and its systems have an

evolution.This is under consideration in the book. Starting

with a basic paper which summarizes the essential hypotheses

about the evolution of informaion processing systems,

sixteen international scientists have tried to verify or

falsify these hypothesises. This has been done at the

physical, the chemical, the genetic, the neural, the social,

the societal and the socio-technical level. Thus, the reader

gets an insight into the recent status of research on the

evolution of information processing systems. The papers are

the result of an interdisciplinary project in which

scientists of the classical disciplines have been invited to

collaborate. Their inputs have been intensively discussed in

a workshop. The book is the output of the workshop. The

first goal of the bookis to give the reader an insight into

basic principles about the evolution of information

processing systems. This, however, leads directly to a very

old and essential question: who is controlling the world,

"matter" or an "immaterial intelligence"? Several authors of

the papers are arguing that there is a basic concept of

information processing in nature. This is the crucial

process, which, however, needs a material basis. The reader

has a chance to understand this paradigm as an approach

which is valid for all levels of inorganic, organic and

societal structures. This provocative concept is open to

debate.