The Quest for a Universal Theory of Life: Searching for Life as We Don't Know It

ISBN-13: 9780521873246 / Angielski / Twarda / 2019 / 258 str.

Carol Cleland

Opis

Explores the nature, origin, and extent of life in the universe from both scientific and philosophical perspectives, focusing particularly on the challenge of formulating a universal theory of life in relation to the search for extraterrestrial life. It is a valuable resource for those studying astrobiology and the origins of life.

Recenzje

'Cleland … encourages readers to think more broadly about the definition of life, avoiding the 'neo-Aristotelian' narrowness of current investigations. This work is indeed scholarly, with over 20 pages of references, and interdisciplinary … three different approaches are philosophically presented to enable readers to conceptualize searching for 'life as we don't know it'.' T. Barker, Choice

Spis treści

Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. The enduring legacy of Aristotle: the battle over life as self-organization or (genetic-based) reproduction; 2. Why life cannot be defined; 3. What is a scientific theory; 4. How scientific theories develop; 5. Challenges for a universal theory of life; 6. Rethinking the traditional paradigm for life: lessons from the world of microbes; 7. Artificial life: could ALife solve the N=1 problem?; 8. Searching for extraterrestrial life without a definition or universal theory of life; 9. A shadow biosphere: alien microbes on Earth?; Conclusion; References; Index.