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De las células a las civilizaciones
Si hay historias que nos atraen, que desearíamos conocer en todos sus detalles, una, seguramente la más importante y atractiva, es la de cómo se ha ido transformando la vida en la Tierra, cómo pudieron surgir los primeros organismos unicelulares y luego asociarse formando estructuras pluricelulares complejas que dieron lugar a procesos en los que un huevo termina convirtiéndose en un ser capaz de aprender a andar, hablar e integrarse en una sociedad. De las células a las civilizaciones, un libro profusamente ilustrado, ofrece una explicación unificada, basada en unos pocos principios, de cómo la vida se fue transformando hasta producir civilizaciones complejas. Trata, por consiguiente, no sólo de los procesos biológicos y evolutivos que dieron lugar a la variedad de organismos que existen, sino también de aprendizajes y culturas. Para ello, su autor, Enrico Coen, examina historias tan fascinantes como el desarrollo de la cebra, cómo hacen predicciones los perros, las pinturas rupestres de la cueva de Lascaux o la forma en que distingue nuestro cerebro una pintura de Modigliani de una de Rembrandt.
569 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 21, 2016
Is there a grand unifying theory that encompasses all life? For example, do genes share anything in common with modern human civilisations? Yes they do, if you believe British plant biologist Enrico Coen’s argument that these diverse processes share something fundamental.
In his most recent book, Cells to Civilizations: The Principles of Change that Shape Life [Princeton University Press, 2012], Coen sets out to decipher the interrelationships between genes, development, the mind and evolution. In this book, shortlisted for the Royal Society’s Winton Prize for science books, the author seeks to present a general “unifying theory” that explains the functional and mechanistic interplay between each of these four “biological challenges” with the idea that doing so will deepen our understanding of the biological world.
As Coen writes: genes, development, the mind and evolution “are different manifestations of the same underlying process. This unifying perspective gives us a deeper understanding of what is happening than what we perceive by simply viewing each transition in isolation.” (p. 3.)
Coen, who is a fan of the fine arts and art history, builds upon the example set forth by the sixth century Chinese artist, Xie He, who identified six key elements for painting — vitality, brushwork, natural form, colour, composition and copying. Similarly, Coen identifies seven fundamental principles that he thinks are essential “ingredients” in “life’s creative recipe” — population variation (DNA mutations), persistence (DNA replication), reinforcement (adaptive variations in genes tend to spread throughout a population), competition, cooperation (DNA bases cooperate to generate a protein), combinatorial richness (the infinite DNA and protein combinations available based on four DNA bases and 20 amino acids), and recurrence (the relentless process of natural selection for optimal adaptations).
Having established these seven principles, Coen then outlines his argument for how they lead to transformations within the common mechanistic framework of life’s creative recipe:
Coen then singles out two of his seven identified principles — reinforcement and competition — for special consideration. (Implying that these two are more important or more fundamental than Coen’s other five principles.) Together, these two principles provide the mechanistic basis of the double feedback loop, which combines positive and negative feedback. For example, positive feedback results when a particular gene variant is especially successful at increasing its presence in future generations. But as this adaptive gene variant expands throughout the population, it will eventually encounter environmental or resource limits. This situation creates competition, or negative feedback, between other adaptive variants of the same gene. This then, leads to a precarious balance being established, which shifts in response to changes in the environment. Coen proposes that this double feedback loop is an important process for how life transforms itself, and thus, it is a recurring theme throughout his book.
As he explores the first two biological challenges, Coen breezes through explanations for how his seven principles are woven throughout both genetics (chapters 1–2) and development (chapters 3–5). Although I quickly grew annoyed with his apple trees and bears analogies (a theme that he revisits throughout the entire book), I did enjoy a number of his discussions, such as the developmental mechanisms that give rise to the distinct stripe patterns seen in three zebra species (Pp. 93–97).
For the third biological challenge, the mind (chapters 6–10), Coen settles down to a longer and more detailed discussion of neurobiology, where he explores the senses, learning and memory. His effort shows; this is his longest and most detailed discussion. For those reasons, this is the most thought-provoking part of the book.
But Coen then tries to extend his argument to his incredibly sketchy ideas about the development of human culture (chapters 11–12). Although I am neither an anthropologist nor a historian, I found this to be the most poorly argued and the least convincing part of the entire book. It isn’t as though these premises are never explored by other scientists — all the ideas mentioned in this section are the subject of entire books that are frequently published in the popular literature (just one example that I’ve read recently is Michael Chwe’s wonderful book, Jane Austen, Game Theorist ).
Cells to Civilizations includes 16 pages of chapter notes, 8 pages of references, and an index — all relatively useful for follow-up reading. The illustrations are the book’s most attractive feature; each chapter includes several drawings, diagrams, flow charts or data and computer-generated images. I particularly enjoyed the beautiful black-and-white reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Bombards” (p. 177) and of course, the black-and-white drawing of a horse from George Stubbs’ timeless monograph, Anatomy of the Horse (p. 106). The use of visual art throughout the book is a particularly appealing tool that the author adopted to illustrate his ideas — in addition to black-and-white reproductions embedded in the text, there is a special full-colour insert of reproductions of masterpieces by such great impressionists as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Paul Cézanne.
I am unconvinced that the author’s intention is either to popularise the biological sciences or philosophy, or to make these fields more accessible to most lay readers (nor, even, to many scientists). Instead, it appears that his purpose is to explicate and thus, to test his fuzzy notions about whether there may be a unifying theory underlying how biologically-based changes come about. Even though his ideas are interesting and, at times, stimulating, they are routinely well-camouflaged by convoluted writing that is dry, remote, unnecessarily academic or — often — just plain boring. I particularly disliked the author’s excessive fondness for superficial analogies to make his points. Although there are brief moments of brilliance, I found this book arduous reading and ultimately, unsatisfying. However, that said, if the reader has the dedication to carefully trudge through the difficult prose, she will discover plenty to think about.
NOTE: this book is included on the shortlist for the Royal Society’s 2013 Winton Prize for science books.
NOTE: Originally published at The Guardian on 25 October 25, 2013.
In his most recent book, Cells to Civilizations: The Principles of Change that Shape Life [Princeton University Press, 2012], Coen sets out to decipher the interrelationships between genes, development, the mind and evolution. In this book, shortlisted for the Royal Society’s Winton Prize for science books, the author seeks to present a general “unifying theory” that explains the functional and mechanistic interplay between each of these four “biological challenges” with the idea that doing so will deepen our understanding of the biological world.
As Coen writes: genes, development, the mind and evolution “are different manifestations of the same underlying process. This unifying perspective gives us a deeper understanding of what is happening than what we perceive by simply viewing each transition in isolation.” (p. 3.)
Coen, who is a fan of the fine arts and art history, builds upon the example set forth by the sixth century Chinese artist, Xie He, who identified six key elements for painting — vitality, brushwork, natural form, colour, composition and copying. Similarly, Coen identifies seven fundamental principles that he thinks are essential “ingredients” in “life’s creative recipe” — population variation (DNA mutations), persistence (DNA replication), reinforcement (adaptive variations in genes tend to spread throughout a population), competition, cooperation (DNA bases cooperate to generate a protein), combinatorial richness (the infinite DNA and protein combinations available based on four DNA bases and 20 amino acids), and recurrence (the relentless process of natural selection for optimal adaptations).
Having established these seven principles, Coen then outlines his argument for how they lead to transformations within the common mechanistic framework of life’s creative recipe:
It is this recipe that lies at the root of how life transforms itself. The evolution of diverse organisms, the development of an egg into an adult, an animal learning of new relationships in its environment, and the attainments of human culture are all different manifestations of life’s creative recipe. They all depend on the way a common set of basic ingredients work together. [Coen, 2012, pp. 8–10.]
Coen then singles out two of his seven identified principles — reinforcement and competition — for special consideration. (Implying that these two are more important or more fundamental than Coen’s other five principles.) Together, these two principles provide the mechanistic basis of the double feedback loop, which combines positive and negative feedback. For example, positive feedback results when a particular gene variant is especially successful at increasing its presence in future generations. But as this adaptive gene variant expands throughout the population, it will eventually encounter environmental or resource limits. This situation creates competition, or negative feedback, between other adaptive variants of the same gene. This then, leads to a precarious balance being established, which shifts in response to changes in the environment. Coen proposes that this double feedback loop is an important process for how life transforms itself, and thus, it is a recurring theme throughout his book.
As he explores the first two biological challenges, Coen breezes through explanations for how his seven principles are woven throughout both genetics (chapters 1–2) and development (chapters 3–5). Although I quickly grew annoyed with his apple trees and bears analogies (a theme that he revisits throughout the entire book), I did enjoy a number of his discussions, such as the developmental mechanisms that give rise to the distinct stripe patterns seen in three zebra species (Pp. 93–97).
For the third biological challenge, the mind (chapters 6–10), Coen settles down to a longer and more detailed discussion of neurobiology, where he explores the senses, learning and memory. His effort shows; this is his longest and most detailed discussion. For those reasons, this is the most thought-provoking part of the book.
But Coen then tries to extend his argument to his incredibly sketchy ideas about the development of human culture (chapters 11–12). Although I am neither an anthropologist nor a historian, I found this to be the most poorly argued and the least convincing part of the entire book. It isn’t as though these premises are never explored by other scientists — all the ideas mentioned in this section are the subject of entire books that are frequently published in the popular literature (just one example that I’ve read recently is Michael Chwe’s wonderful book, Jane Austen, Game Theorist ).
Cells to Civilizations includes 16 pages of chapter notes, 8 pages of references, and an index — all relatively useful for follow-up reading. The illustrations are the book’s most attractive feature; each chapter includes several drawings, diagrams, flow charts or data and computer-generated images. I particularly enjoyed the beautiful black-and-white reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Bombards” (p. 177) and of course, the black-and-white drawing of a horse from George Stubbs’ timeless monograph, Anatomy of the Horse (p. 106). The use of visual art throughout the book is a particularly appealing tool that the author adopted to illustrate his ideas — in addition to black-and-white reproductions embedded in the text, there is a special full-colour insert of reproductions of masterpieces by such great impressionists as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Paul Cézanne.
I am unconvinced that the author’s intention is either to popularise the biological sciences or philosophy, or to make these fields more accessible to most lay readers (nor, even, to many scientists). Instead, it appears that his purpose is to explicate and thus, to test his fuzzy notions about whether there may be a unifying theory underlying how biologically-based changes come about. Even though his ideas are interesting and, at times, stimulating, they are routinely well-camouflaged by convoluted writing that is dry, remote, unnecessarily academic or — often — just plain boring. I particularly disliked the author’s excessive fondness for superficial analogies to make his points. Although there are brief moments of brilliance, I found this book arduous reading and ultimately, unsatisfying. However, that said, if the reader has the dedication to carefully trudge through the difficult prose, she will discover plenty to think about.
NOTE: this book is included on the shortlist for the Royal Society’s 2013 Winton Prize for science books.
NOTE: Originally published at The Guardian on 25 October 25, 2013.
April 3, 2013
The novelty behind this book is tempting: Enrico Coen promises to present key debates in the area of evolutionary and biological science by reference to fine art. For example, the sixth century Chinese artist, Xie He identified six ingredients for painting. these are vitality, brushwork, natural form, colour, composition and copying. A picture by Mu Chi called Persimmons (which look a bit like tomatoes) illustrates the idea. Coen's suggestion is that the world around us can similarly be both understood and appreciated by reduction to certain key elements, seven ingredients that define 'life's creative recipe'.
Coen argues that 'evolution, development, learning and culture form a grand cycle, a series of interrelated transformations thought which life's creative recipe comes to look back on itself'. And he notes that one unintended effect of evolutionary science's successful bid to remove the guiding hand of a heavenly creator, is that creativity itself has become disconnected from the language of natural processes. Coen hopes instead to show how creativity is a part of the natural world.
To my mind, appreciating the formal similarities between our creative acts and other living processes gives us a richer perspective on all life and a more appropriate view of our place within it. It does not diminish the wonder of human creativity, but places it in a broader biological context.
The strength and the weakness of this novel approach is that within it there is a delicate collection of original and intriguing comparisons to art and culture, struggling to survive alongside a thick and suffocating mass of technical and fatiguing scientific detail.
Coen argues that 'evolution, development, learning and culture form a grand cycle, a series of interrelated transformations thought which life's creative recipe comes to look back on itself'. And he notes that one unintended effect of evolutionary science's successful bid to remove the guiding hand of a heavenly creator, is that creativity itself has become disconnected from the language of natural processes. Coen hopes instead to show how creativity is a part of the natural world.
To my mind, appreciating the formal similarities between our creative acts and other living processes gives us a richer perspective on all life and a more appropriate view of our place within it. It does not diminish the wonder of human creativity, but places it in a broader biological context.
The strength and the weakness of this novel approach is that within it there is a delicate collection of original and intriguing comparisons to art and culture, struggling to survive alongside a thick and suffocating mass of technical and fatiguing scientific detail.
June 29, 2019
The book is a clear and concise collection of fundamental aspects of life; each being discussed with a rich account of examples (you will also learn a bit about art and paintings!!) and explanation. The language is so clear that I hope it attracts a broad range of reads/enthusiasts. How evolution works and what makes it such an effective process, the process of development, key processes that make evolution work on our planet. Furthermore, Evolution is a simple but an effective process, but how is it married to the other complex biological processes such as development, is a difficult task to pen, but Enrico does a fabulous job at that in the book Each chapter brings forth the message that it clearly set out to explore at the start. Start to finish, this is a gripping read and can be enjoyed equally by everyone- it gives a story like feel- wanting a good read. Interested students will especially enjoy a good book on scientific ideas described in ways that will help them ask questions that delve deeper into the area and forge ahead. A highly recommended piece of work
May 4, 2021
Libro interesante y caótico, aborda mucho más la parte biológica que las capas superiores. Venía buscando lo que falta del seminario "Vida, acción, pensamiento y emoción" pero sigo buscando ese libro "gran historia" (Sapiens. De animales a dioses: Una breve historia de la humanidad, Armas, germenes, acero) que me lleve de las células al comercio.
May 7, 2025
I loved this book. It felt strangely meditative, although it's an academic book, because its main theme was about how the large and small are interconnected. It left me wanting more, wanting to read the next book by the author.
December 17, 2020
Me gustó las diferentes perspectivas...
December 5, 2015
This book is somewhat incoherent. One excerpt: "Our ability to communicate also plays a key role in cultural reinforcement. Through communication particular ideas and achievements can spread in a population. But what is disseminated also depends on what we value." And so on. What does this mean? The entire book is like this.
Even the acknowledgements is written in this style: "A tree trunk does not start bare, but becomes so by shedding many branches. This might seem wasteful - why produce branches only to lose them?" Yes, that's the first two sentences of the acknowledgements. The same prosy, wistful style. But this is a science book! Not literary theory.
Some interesting bits of science, bits of art, but no real argument. This book either needed more editing or more science.
Even the acknowledgements is written in this style: "A tree trunk does not start bare, but becomes so by shedding many branches. This might seem wasteful - why produce branches only to lose them?" Yes, that's the first two sentences of the acknowledgements. The same prosy, wistful style. But this is a science book! Not literary theory.
Some interesting bits of science, bits of art, but no real argument. This book either needed more editing or more science.
May 3, 2016
Coen's ambition is admirable but the result is disappointing. His writing style possesses an unfortunate combination of fuzziness and redundancy. He develops a "new" vocabulary in an effort to unify the liberal arts, but provides little justification for its existence, and in spite of his frequent assurances that this new perspective will provide valuable understanding about the world, I came away with nothing but a few mildly interesting experimental anecdotes.
August 9, 2014
Coen identifies basic principles that are active in complex adaptive systems, from single cell organisms through human cultures. Reading this book helped me to organize and articulate many of my thoughts about systems, plus I learned a lot about development and learning as aspects of systems. I recommend for anyone interest in complexity and systems.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews