A key peculiarity of living organisms is their ability to actively counteract degradation in a changing environment or being injured by using homeostatic protection. In this chapter, we propose a dynamic theory of homeostasis based on a recently proposed generalized Lagrangian approach (S‐Lagrangian). Following the discovery of homeostasis W. Cannon, we assume that homeostasis results from the tendency of the organisms to decrease the stress and avoid death. We show that the universality of homeostasis is a consequence of analytical properties of the S‐Lagrangian, while peculiarities of the biochemical and physiological mechanisms of homeostasis determine phenomenological parameters of the Lagrangian. We show that plausible assumptions about S‐Lagrangian features lead to good agreement between theoretical descriptions and observed homeostatic behavior.
Part of the book: Lagrangian Mechanics