Some Remarks on the Notion of Order

摘要

This conference is concerned with the question of whether the development of biology has now reached the point where a coherent over-all theory of the subject can begin to be formulated. In my view, such a theory would very probably have to involve the notion of order, in a way that is more fundamental than that in which order now enters into the theories of physics. Indeed, as I shall try to explain, our physical theories are at present in a state of flux, that may lead to radical changes in them, such that current fundamental ideas, based on measure and metric, may also have to be replaced by new ideas, based on order. So order may well be a fundamental notion that underlies both physics and biology, and permits them to be related in a deep and essential way, by making available a common language and concepted structure for the formulation of both.