Editing Openai/686aedb2-60b0-8003-98a8-e1766cf496a6 (section)

===== This is the newer and more controversial topic. Let’s unpack how someone might plausibly argue that a reflexive system (e.g., molecules that catalyze the production of others like themselves) could lead to biological information. =====

====== In prebiotic chemistry, “bootstrapping” or reflexivity refers to networks of molecules that catalyze their own synthesis or that of their partners, forming self-sustaining autocatalytic systems. These networks might eventually become selective and evolve. ======

Proponents argue that:
# Catalytic closure (as in Stuart Kauffman’s models) leads to a system where every molecule is produced by the system itself.
# Some reactions become selectively favored due to stability, reaction rates, or mutual reinforcement.
# These chemical networks can bias the formation of certain sequences, gradually encoding something like “functional preferences.”
# Eventually, the system becomes reflexive—certain molecules catalyze the production of catalysts for themselves.
# Over time, selection-like dynamics emerge, without explicit genetic codes.

====== You’re right to raise this concern. Shannon-style communication or Crick’s “Central Dogma” architecture involves: ======
* An encoder: e.g., RNA polymerase that builds mRNA from DNA
* A code: e.g., the codon system mapping nucleotides to amino acids
* A decoder: e.g., the ribosome reading mRNA and synthesizing protein

This semiotic triad is not obviously present in reflexive chemistry. Bootstrapping models usually stop short of explaining how symbolic representation arises. The molecules are acting directly on one another chemically—not symbolically.

However, advocates (like Kauffman or Dorn, or even Wills & Carter) argue:
* That function can precede meaning. For instance, a molecule might catalyze a reaction just because of its structure, not because it “encodes” anything.
* That reflexive mapping emerges gradually: once you have molecules that both store information and perform catalysis, you get a bridge to coded systems.
* That the code might have emerged from a bias in chemical affinities, then hardened into a symbolic system via evolution.

In short, they argue representation is emergent, not intrinsic.