Over twenty-two years of research on spider web building shows that drugs, temperature, and light can alter or prevent web construction. Pentobarbital sodium caused spiders to stop building radii before completion. D-amphetamine produced irregular radius and spiral spacing while probing movements remained regular, with geometric disturbance severity matching drug concentration. Scopolamine caused wide deviation of spiral spacing distinct from amphetamine, while LSD-25 led to unusually regular webs. Cholinergic and anticholinergic drugs, tranquilizers, and other substances changed catching area, thread length, density, thickness, and web weight. Glandular or central nervous system drug targets are identified, and disturbed webs are seen as interference at multiple levels contributing to the integrated pattern. Web building is evaluated as a biological test for identifying pathogenic substances in body fluids.
The classical scientific method, with its deterministic approach, falls short of capturing human complexity. While 20th-century philosophers critiqued this method, their arguments remained philosophical. A critique grounded in empirical science is needed, and the complexity paradigm, emphasizing autopoiesis—manifested through will, moral choices, and intrinsic motivation—offers the most appropriate perspective. Integrating complexity-based experimental studies with phenomenology provides an adequate framework for understanding human beings. Drawing on Varela's neurophenomenology concept of 'third person', the author develops a new epistemological model: 'a third person, studying a double first person'.
The noosphere is an idea that offers hope for positive global integration but remains poorly understood. Its definition is unclear in both Teilhard de Chardin's Western and Vernadsky's Eastern traditions. Using Living Systems Theory, two fundamental meanings are clarified: the noosphere as a planetary superorganism and as a sphere of mind that stores, processes, and spreads information. Two key aspects help grasp the concept: the noosphere as a major evolutionary transition on a planetary scale, and as the emergence of something radically new, possibly including a planetary consciousness or a planet seeking to find or contact other noospheres.