Levels in Biological Organisms: Hierarchy of Production Mechanisms, Heterarchy of Control Mechanisms

Among the notions of levels invoked in accounts of biological phenomena, I focus on two: levels of production mechanisms and levels of control mechanisms. I argue that these two notions of level exhibit different characteristics: production mechanisms are organized hierarchically while control mechanisms are often organized heterarchically. I illustrate the differences in these modes of organization by examining production and control mechanisms involved in cell division in Escherichia coli and in circulation of blood in mammals. I conclude by exploring how these two notions of levels can be integrated by adopting a perspective in which organisms are autonomous systems maintaining themselves far from equilibrium.