title: Towards a theory of the organism.
abstract: A tentative theory of the organism is derived from McClare's (1971) notion of stored energy and Denbigh's (1951) thermodynamics of the steady state, as a dynamically closed, energetically self-sufficient domain of cyclic non-dissipative processes coupled to irreversible dissipative processes. This effectively frees the organism from thermodynamic constraints so that it is poised for rapid, specific intercommunication, enabling it to function as a coherent whole. In the ideal, the organism is a quantum superposition of coherent activities over all space-time domains, with instantaneous (nonlocal) noiseless intercommunication throughout the system. Evidence for quantum coherence is considered and reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Bioelectrodynamics Laboratory, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Ho
mesh_terms: D001695:Biology; D008954:Models, Biological; D013816:Thermodynamics