Self-perpetuation, the capability of something to cause itself to continue to

exist eXist-db (or eXist for short) is an open source software project for NoSQL databases built on XML technology. It is classified as both a NoSQL document-oriented database system and a native XML database (and it provides support for XML, JSON, ...

, is one of the main characteristics of

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

Organism In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and ...

s' capability of reproduction leads to self-perpetuation of the species, if not to the individual.

Population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

s self-perpetuate and grow. Entire

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s show

homeostasis In biology, homeostasis (British also homoeostasis) (/hɒmɪə(ʊ)ˈsteɪsɪs/) is the state of steady internal, physical, and chemical conditions maintained by living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning for the organism and ...

, and thus perpetuate themselves. The slow modifying effect of succession and similar shifts in the composition of the system can, however, not be neglected in the long run. Overall, life's object's capabilities of self-perpetuation are always accompanied by

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

, a perfect

steady state In systems theory, a system or a process is in a steady state if the variables (called state variables) which define the behavior of the system or the process are unchanging in time. In continuous time, this means that for those properties ''p' ...

of the biological system is never reached.

Sexual reproduction Sexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that involves a complex life cycle in which a gamete ( haploid reproductive cells, such as a sperm or egg cell) with a single set of chromosomes combines with another gamete to produce a zygote th ...

is also a form of imperfect

self-replication Self-replication is any behavior of a dynamical system that yields construction of an identical or similar copy of itself. Biological cells, given suitable environments, reproduce by cell division. During cell division, DNA is replicated and c ...

and thus imperfect self-perpetuation because of recombination and

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA replication, DNA or viral repl ...

. Organisms are not like

self-replicating machine A self-replicating machine is a type of autonomous robot that is capable of reproducing itself autonomously using raw materials found in the environment, thus exhibiting self-replication in a way analogous to that found in nature. The concept of ...

but amass random modifications from generation to generation. The property of self-perpetuation in the strict sense thus only applies to life itself. In a social context, self-perpetuation is tied to reflexivity and (usually)

positive feedback Positive feedback (exacerbating feedback, self-reinforcing feedback) is a process that occurs in a feedback loop which exacerbates the effects of a small disturbance. That is, the effects of a perturbation on a system include an increase in th ...

loops: Depending on the time scope or the context, self-perpetuation either depends on

self-sustainability Self-sustainability and self-sufficiency are overlapping states of being in which a person or organization needs little or no help from, or interaction with, others. Self-sufficiency entails the self being enough (to fulfill needs), and a self-s ...

, or is equivalent to it. While we may talk about the self-sustainability of an ecosystem, this depends amongst other factor on the self-perpetuation of its constituting species. In computer science, self-reproducing programs constitute an incomplete metaphor for self-perpetuation. A better analogue can be seen in computer viruses which are actually able to self-reproduce - given a suitable computing environment.

References

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See also