4. Hermann Staudinger Lecture mit Nobelpreisträger Brian D. Josephson

A Biological Approach to Fundamental Reality

Reductionism is the dominant paradigm of many fields of modern science. The main assumption is that a complex system can be explained in terms of the sum of its parts. On the basis of this idea we can conclude that all the natural phenomena can be explained in terms of some fundamental law of physics. However, this reductionist approach fails when applied to very complex systems such as biological ones. Thus, new paths to the formulation of a theory of everything could include complexity as the basic element.

On the basis of this concept, Prof. Brian D. Josephson offered in his lecture a different "non-orthodox" biological prospective for understanding the laws of nature. His approach is based on the concept that “life" is a new fundamental aspect of reality. Unitary elements behave in several complex ways such as reforming, reshaping, dissolving etc. All these elements represent the basic bricks of a new — although yet unshaped — approach that could lead our knowledge beyond the "standard model".