Abstract: It is widely assumed that control in biological organisms is and needs to be organized hierarchically with a central executive in charge. Otherwise, behavior would be far too disordered for organisms to cope with their environment. In humans the executive is assumed to be located in the prefrontal cortex. I argue for a radical alternative captured by Warren McCulloch’s term “heterarchy.” Instead of a pyramid with a single controller at the top, the pyramid is inverted, spreading out from the controlled system to a multitude of controllers, each capturing and processing information from different sources and providing inputs to the systems it controls. It is the controlled entity that must resolve any conflicts. Beyond offering evidence that heterarchy is a feature of control in all living organisms, including those with nervous systems, I argue that it is a mode of organization that would be expected from a process of evolutionary variation and selective retention and that organisms organized heterarchically can function sufficiently well (albeit not optimally) for many to survive and adapt to varying conditions. 

Bio:

William Bechtel is a philosopher of science who works on epistemic issues related to cell and molecular biology, circadian biology, neuroscience, and cognitive science. He addresses the challenges researchers confront in understanding the functioning of biological mechanisms, including those that control other mechanisms. A major focus of his recent work has been information processing in prokaryotes and invertebrates and in neural systems in mammals outside of the neocortex. His major publications include Discovering Complexity (1993/2011 with Robert Richardson), Mental Mechanisms (2008) and Discovering Cell Mechanisms (2006). 

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By: Simon Bowes
Last updated: Wednesday, 8 July 2026