# Foundations of biology

**Authors:** Jean-Louis Sikorav, Alan Braslau, Arach Goldar  
**arXiv:** [1401.3203](https://arxiv.org/abs/1401.3203)  
**Date:** 2014-01-13  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/1401.3203v2/

## Key points

- Lack of laws in biology and descriptive nature of fundamental biological entities
- Need to reconsider logical content and principles of biology
- Inquiry into foundations of biology using elements, logic, and principles from other disciplines
- Introduction of concepts such as symmetry, asymmetry, necessity, and contingency to revise Leibniz's principle of sufficient reason
- Explanation on how theories or laws of nature are developed in biology
- Identification of four fundamental theories: cell theory, Darwin's theory of natural selection, informational theory (including Mendel's theory on inheritance), and physico-chemical theory

## Summary

The existing summary discusses the lack of laws in biology and the descriptive nature of fundamental biological entities. It suggests that the logical content and principles of biology need to be reconsidered. The article describes an inquiry into the foundations of biology, using elements, logic, and principles from other disciplines. It introduces the concepts of symmetry, asymmetry, necessity, and contingency to revise Leibniz's principle of sufficient reason. These concepts are then used to explain how theories or laws of nature are developed. The article identifies four fundamental theories of biology: cell theory, Darwin's theory of natural selection, an informational theory of life (including Mendel's theory on inheritance), and a physico-chemical theory of life. It shows how atomism (the belief that everything is composed of small indivisible particles) and deductive reasoning play a role in developing these theories. The work aims to clarify the philosophical and logical structure of biology and its major theories, leading to a better understanding of the origin of life, system and synthetic biology, and artificial life. In this context, "Foundations of Biology" by Jean-Louis Sikorav, Alan Braslau, and Arach Goldar explores the lack of laws in biology and proposes a reconsideration of the logical content and principles in this field. The authors argue that while fundamental biological entities are often described descriptively rather than through deductive reasoning approaches, it is necessary to use elements from other disciplines to build a foundation for biology. They introduce concepts such as symmetry, asymmetry, necessity, and contingency to revise Leibniz's principle of sufficient reason. These concepts are then applied to explain how theories or laws in biology are developed. The authors identify four fundamental theories: cell theory, Darwin's theory on natural selection; an informational theory including Mendel's theory on inheritance); and a physico-chemical theory.