Since Aristotle, we have attempted to avoid self-causation, giving rise to ontic dualisms, Gödel's incompleteness theorems, and pancomputationalism. In this article, Francisco Varela develops an alternative axiomatic paradigm whose arithmetic and algebra allow us to address self-reference. The implications and interpretation of employing such an alternative mathematical foundation are remarkable, and that is why I will examine it today.
“We see with the eyes, but we see with the brain as well, and seeing with the brain is often called imagination.” —Oliver Sacks.
Dr. Agata Wawrzkiewicz-Jałowiecka is calling for papers to his special issue on Mathematical Modeling for Ion Channels. Deadline for manuscript submissions is 31 March 2026.
Dr. Alastair Key and Dr. John Rowan are calling for papers to his special issue on Hominin Cultural and Biological Extinctions. Deadline for manuscript submissions is 31 March 2026.
The International Master of Philosophy in Biology and Medicine in Bordeaux offers a unique philosophical approach to the life sciences that combines the development of conceptual tools and direct engagement with scientific theory and practice.
The deadline for paper submissions for the ALife 2026 conference is March 30, 2026, 11:59 p.m. UTC-12:00 (Anywhere on Earth).
The Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics, together with the University of Cologne’s Graduate School in Management, Economics and Social Sciences (CGS), invites candidates to apply for Doctoral Fellowships in Economics.
Collective behaviour is all around us from flocks of birds to schools of fish to human crowds. Collective behaviour happens across multiple spatial and temporal scales making it one of the most ubiquitous, natural phenomena around us. For a long time, organismal collective behaviour has been studied separately across many disciplines from biology to ecology to physics to engineering. The aim of this school is to bring multiple disciplinary approaches to collective behaviour, studying a wide variety of organisms using different methods. The school thus aims to prepare the next generation of scientists that are exposed to a breadth of approaches to study collective behaviour.
Interested in intelligence, mind, and cognition in all its forms? Early-career scholars from any discipline—and storytellers in any medium—are encouraged to apply!
The goal of this course is to help produce a community of leaders that is equally knowledgeable in neuroscience, cognitive science, and computer science and will lead the scientific understanding of intelligence and the development of true biologically inspired AI.