Sapientia Postgraduate

Vol. 2 Núm. 1 (2026)
Artículos originales

De moléculas a sociedades complejas: las restricciones de escala en la evolución a la complejidad

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  • Edwin Francisco Herrera-Paz
Edwin Francisco Herrera-Paz
Universidad Católica de Honduras "Nuestra Señora Reina de la Paz"
Biografía

Publicado 2026-09-11

https://doi.org/10.63975/sp.81

Palabras clave

  • complejidad,
  • evolución,
  • escalamiento alométrico,
  • sistemas complejos,
  • transiciones evolutivas mayores,
  • multicelularidad
    • ...Más
    Menos

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Cómo citar

1.
Herrera-Paz EF. De moléculas a sociedades complejas: las restricciones de escala en la evolución a la complejidad. SP [Internet]. 2026 Sep. 11 [cited 2026 Sep. 29];2(1):19-27. Available from: https://revistas.unicah.edu/index.php/sapientia-postgraduate/article/view/81

Derechos de autor 2026 Edwin Francisco Herrera-Paz (Autor/a)

Creative Commons License

Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 4.0.

Resumen

Los sistemas biológicos y sociotecnológicos evolucionan de configuraciones simples a complejas. Este trabajo plantea que las transiciones evolutivas mayores en individualidad (TEMI) ocurren cuando los sistemas alcanzan restricciones de escala derivadas de relaciones alométricas y físicas, lo que limita la evolución de la complejidad dentro de un nivel organizacional. Mediante ejemplos que van desde moléculas hasta sociedades humanas, se analiza cómo variables relacionadas con el intercambio de materia y energía, el transporte interno y la coordinación funcional escalan de forma no lineal con el crecimiento del sistema, generando ventajas iniciales, pero también límites estructurales. La transición evolutiva de una simple población de elementos a un individuo de orden superior suele darse en tamaños intermedios, donde los sistemas comienzan a experimentar saturación funcional debido a restricciones alométricas. En lugar de detenerse el crecimiento, la complejidad se redistribuye a un nivel superior mediante integración, cooperación y división del trabajo, como ocurre en la transición de moléculas a células, de células a organismos multicelulares, de insectos a colonias eusociales, y de mamíferos a sociedades humanas complejas. Así, las restricciones de escala explican la aparición recurrente de nuevos niveles de organización en sistemas biológicos y sociotecnológicos.

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