A research stay in the U.S. to understand the origin of life
The researcher predoctoral Pau Monzón has made a stay at the University of Berkeley to work on the 'model of the Autogen' and 'teleodynamics'.
12 | 08 | 2024
Pau Monzón, PhD student of the group 'Mind-brain' of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra, has made a research stay at the University of California at Berkeley (USA) between March and May 2024. During this period, he has accompanied Terrence Deacon, neurobiologist and professor of neuroanatomical evolution at the School of Anthropology.
Together with the expert, he has been able to delve into the 'model of Autogen', the theory developed by Deacon himself to explain the origin of teleological behavior. This behavior consists of the ability to achieve one's own ends - not imposed externally - from physicochemical conditions. It is considered the origin of life, which differentiates a living being from a machine.
According to the predoctoral researcher , this theory has been the fundamental pillar for his thesis 'The emergence of life in the Universe. An approach to the emergence of complexity from an interdisciplinary point of view'. "The interest in the origin of teleology has been a constant in the history of the Philosophy but, with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence, questions about the origin and the differences, if any, between 'nature' and 'artificial' have regained much interest," explained Monzón.
In addition to deepening this model with its author, Monzón has compared it with other models about the origin of life such as the RNA world hypothesis, the theories of Álvaro Moreno, the 'autopoiesis' of Maturana and Varela or the hypercycles of Eigen and the 'chemoton' of Tíbor Gánti, subjects that he already dealt with in his thesis . "It was very interesting to work with Deacon himself, who knows these authors very well, some of them personally", he pointed out. The PhD student was surprised by Deacon's ability to sew the semiotic Philosophy of Peirce and other more contemporary philosophers with very specific biological theories: "For example, with his model theoretical 'Autogene' he is able to explain the first functions of tRNA, he has a theory about the genetic code...".
Future collaborations
Likewise, the predoctoral researcher was also able to meet the group of research of department of Anthropology at Berkeley. On Fridays he participated in Deacon's group seminars at research where he gave a session on the origin of normativity in Alvaro Moreno, Maturana, Varela, Eigen and Ganti.
In the United States, Miguel García-Valdecasas, who was also staying at the center, also worked on these topics at researcher of group 'Mind-brain'. As a result of this partnership with Deacon and García-Valdecasas, his host proposed a series of articles between the three researchers. "Deacon is very close and is always willing to talk, even by videoconference, to continue collaborating," he adds once back in Spain. At the moment, they are preparing a article comparing the assumptions of Deacon's theory on the origin of teleology and those of the 'RNA world' hypothesis.
From the stay, Monzón takes with him the opportunity to collaborate and learn with a reference in the field, his ability to work and his depth to relate different theories and disciplines. On the other hand, seeing firsthand the social inequality in cities like San Francisco, has led him to consider the social role that both research and each citizen can have.
