Mechanisms of "progress" in biological evolution

The presence of progress in biological evolution is one of the most controversial problems. This is due to the lack of support for the discussion in a larger theory that would allow for a sufficiently precise definition of the various forms of observed progress and for studying their properties and mutual relationships. Phenomena related to progress underlie our understanding of evolution and the process of life, and are strongly related to ideology and the difficult problem of purposefulness. The impasse is deepened by the negative attitude of biologists towards theories of a deductive nature, such as those built by physicists. I have proposed a “Draft of the Deductive Theory of Life”, in which the problem of ‘progress’ is discussed much more broadly and precisely than in the literature to date. The paper discusses, in a very simplified way, the basic mechanisms that have been detected that lead to the observed phenomena considered as progress. A somewhat surprising interpretation of these phenomena is indicated, the nature of which results from statistics and our selective view. After including man and his products in the process of life, purposefulness is not observed anywhere else than in this process, so this aspect is suitable as the basis for the definition of life. The book presents a theory of (unintentional) purposeful information (similar in meaning to biological information). The increase (theoretically measurable) in the three-dimensional size of purposeful information (quantity, effectiveness, length of recording) is a good reflection of the concept of progress.