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question:how-can-selection-explain-adaptations-at-system-level-before-the-higher-level-unit-exists-as-an-evolutionary-unit

How can selection explain adaptations at system level before the higher-level unit exists as an evolutionary unit?

Fundamental challenge: conventional evolutionary theory cannot explain system-level features required for ETI without presupposing the higher-level unit.

Source paper

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Design for an Individual: Connectionist Approaches to the Evolutionary Transitions in Individuality

(2022) · Watson, Richard A. · Levin, Michael · Buckley, Christopher L.

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Hypotheses (1)

hypothesis

ETIs are the evolutionary equivalent of deep learning: (i) required functional relationships encode non-decomposable functions, (ii) these are enacted by basal cognition mechanisms, and (iii) conditions for deep model induction predict ETI occurrence.
gates
Overarching three-part hypothesis stated in introduction

Frameworks (1)

framework

Evolutionary Connectionism
answered_by
Proposed framework translating connectionist learning principles into natural selection domain to explain ETIs.

Related by similarity (8)

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Entities in the same semantic neighborhood but without a typed relation to this one — candidates for new edges or unrecognized duplicates.

Before a transition, the higher-level unit of selection does not exist, yet complex adaptations creating that unit must evolve through bottom-up selection on lower-level units.claim0.883
Central theoretical puzzle in ETI research: explains why existing frameworks struggle with ETI explanation.
Evolutionary transitions must be explained by bottom-up selection on existing lower-level units without presupposing higher-level unitclaim0.876
Conventional evolutionary framework cannot explain adaptations in systems that are not already evolutionary units, creating a chicken-and-egg problem for ETIsclaim0.822
Central critique of existing theory, motivating the connectionist alternative
Evolutionary units change over evolutionary time and new units arise at new levels of organisation.claim0.821
Emphasizes the dynamic nature of evolutionary individuality.
Which Came First The Higherlevel Unit Of Selectionquestion0.812
For a new level of individuality to have causal role as evolutionary unit, heritable fitness differences must be non-aggregative (not decomposable into lower-level differences).claim0.787
Core claim: monotonic non-linearities are insufficient; evolutionary outcomes must change depending on context.
The complex nature of functional relationships between component parts begins to look less like the product of selection at the system level, and more like the source of evolutionary individuality.claim0.786
Inverts the causal arrow: relationships produce individuality, not vice versa.
How to explain the origins of Darwinian properties without already invoking their presence at the level they emerge?concept0.785
Veit's formulation of the circular reasoning problem in ETI theory; encapsulates the core theoretical puzzle.

Cross-corpus bridges (12)

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External markdown files that talk about the same concept as this entity.

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How can bottom-up selection on lower-level units produce higher-level collective adaptation?questions/how-can-bottomup-selection-on-lowerlevel-units-produce.md0.884
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Which came first, the higher-level unit of selection required for complex adaptations, or the complex adaptations required to create the higher-level unit of selection?questions/which-came-first-the-higherlevel-unit-of-selection.md0.847
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Can relationships among lower-level evolutionary individuals become adaptively organized by selection on those lower-level units without presupposing a higher-level evolutionary unit?questions/can-relationships-among-lowerlevel-evolutionary-individuals-become-adaptively.md0.832
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Under what conditions can deep interaction structures evolve without presupposing the higher-level evolutionary unit?questions/under-what-conditions-can-deep-interaction-structures-evolve.md0.830
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Can natural selection acting on individual-level traits create system-level optimization without system-level feedback?questions/can-natural-selection-acting-on-individuallevel-traits-create.md0.829
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How do systems modify the parameters of their own evolutionary operation when those parameters exhibit heritable variation?questions/how-do-systems-modify-the-parameters-of-their.md0.828
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Levels-Of-Selection Approachframeworks/levels-of-selection-approach.md0.827
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How do evolutionary transitions in individuality occur at the level of organization?questions/how-do-evolutionary-transitions-in-individuality-occur-at.md0.826
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How can evolution learn and adapt across multiple levels of organization?questions/how-can-evolution-learn-and-adapt-across-multiple.md0.825
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How does evolution modify the parameters of its own operation when these parameters exhibit heritable variation?questions/how-does-evolution-modify-the-parameters-of-its.md0.813
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What makes an entity a unit of selection beyond merely exhibiting heritable variation in fitness?questions/what-makes-an-entity-a-unit-of-selection.md0.812
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Levels-Of-Selection Approachconcepts/biological/levels-of-selection-approach.md0.811