Understanding the nature of life has always been a fundamental objective of human knowledge. It is no wonder that biology, as the science of life, together with physics, has traditionally been the discipline that has generated the deepest philosophical and social repercussions. In our time, the major achievements in bioinformatics, systems biology, and "omic" fields (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc.) have not only spurred a new biotechnological and biomedical 'postindustrial revolution', but they have also disclosed an intriguing molecular panorama of biological organization that invites us to reinterpret central themes of philosophy in the light of the new knowledge. Essential tenets of phenomenology may take an intriguing new turn when contemplated from these new biological perspectives: Does the living cell instantiate a unique biomolecular way of being in the world? How is life self-produced in continuous communication with the surrounding world? How can the incessant flows of mass, energy and information inherent of embodiment be coherently harnessed across billions of cellular individuals? In this paper, based on the latest developments in cellular signaling, we will discuss the dynamic intertwining between self-production and communication that characterizes life at the prokaryotic, eukaryotic, organismic, and social levels of organization. An in-depth analysis of the particular transcriptional responses of a bacterium (Escherichia coli K-12 strain), taking as a model system, will follow. It is the creation, transmission and reception of signals which, in all instances, provides guidance and orientation to the inner self-production activities of the living agent and connects it with the world. Transitions to new levels of organization are marked by the emergence of new forms of communication, embedded in the correspondingly augmented life-cycles of the more complex entities. As will be argued here, the ascending complexity of life is always information-based and recapitulates level after level, a successful "informational formula" for being in the world. The phenomenological basis for the naturalization of cognition has moved from the biological to a new scientific arena: informational. The philosophical notion of being-in-the-world (Dasein; Heidegger) is shown to be completely compatible with the latest advances in biology and information science.
Keywords: Communication; Information flow; Informational formula; Life cycle; Phenomenology; Self-production.
Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.