Immunology Viewed as the Study of an Autonomous Decentralized System

Arguments are given for the tenet that although the immune system has no long term goals, it does have short term goals-which are often contradictory. Simple models illustrate how feedbacks can (i) harmonize conflicting goals, (ii) improve the performance of a given type of effector cell, (iii) cause the preferential amplification of more potent effectors. It is shown that spatial organization can allow non-specific chemical signals to select specific immune elements that contribute to system goals. Comparison is made with other autonomous decentralized systems.