Life as a Categorical Information-Handling System: An Evolutionary Information-Theoretic Model of the Holobiont.

ABSTRACT: Living systems can be understood as organized entities that capture, transform, and reproduce information. Classical gene-centered models explain adaptation through frequency changes driven by differential fitness, yet they often overlook the higher-order organization and causal closure that characterize living systems. Here we revisit several evolutionary frameworks, from the replicator equation to group selection and holobiont dynamics, and show that evolutionary change in population frequencies can be expressed as a Jeffreys divergence. Building on this foundation, we introduce a categorical model of Information Handlers (IHs), entities capable of self-maintenance, mutation, and combination. This abstract architecture illustrates the usefulness of category theory for framing evolutionar

SUBMITTER: Carvajal-Rodriguez A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12837587 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature