Origin of Life and Definition of Life, from Buffon to Oparin

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane Tirard
Keyword(s):  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Definition Of Life ◽  
Definition Of

What is life?

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Maynard Smith ◽  
Eors Szathmary
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Definition Of Life ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Living Things ◽  
Survival And Reproduction ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Life On Earth

Imagine that, when the first spacemen step out of their craft onto the surface of one of the moons of Jupiter, they are confronted by an object the size of a horse, rolling towards them on wheels, and bearing on its back a concave disc pointing towards the Sun. They will at once conclude that the object is alive, or has been made by something alive. If all they find is a purple smear on the surface of the rocks, they will have to work harder to decide. This is the phenotypic approach to the definition of life: a thing is alive if it has parts, or ‘organs’, which perform functions. William Paley explained the machine-like nature of life by the existence of a creator: today, we would invoke natural selection. There are, however, dangers in assuming that any entity with the properties of a self-regulating machine is alive, or an artefact. In section 2.2, we tell the story of a self-regulating atomic reactor, the Oklo reactor, which is neither. This story can be taken in one of three ways. First, it shows the dangers of the phenotypic definition of life: not all complex entities are alive. Second, it illustrates how the accidents of history can give rise spontaneously to surprisingly complex machine-like entities. The relevance of this to the origin of life is obvious. In essence, the problem is the following. How could chemical and physical processes give rise, without natural selection, to entities capable of hereditary replication, which would therefore, from then on, evolve by natural selection? The Oklo reactor is an example of what can happen. Finally, section 2.2 can simply be skipped: the events were interesting, but do not resemble in detail those that led to the origin of life on Earth. There is an alternative to the phenotypic definition of life. It is to define as alive any entities that have the properties of multiplication, variation and heredity. The logic behind this definition, first proposed by Muller (1966), is that a population of entities with these properties will evolve by natural selection, and hence can be expected to acquire the complex adaptations for survival and reproduction that are characteristic of living things.

Explaining the Origin of Life is not Enough for a Definition of Life

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard Jagers op Akkerhuis
Keyword(s):  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Definition Of Life ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
Definition Of

scholarly journals Beauty of Life in Dynamical Systems: An Aesthetic Viewpoint of Life

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
soumya banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Dynamical Systems ◽  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Definition Of Life ◽  
Computational Framework ◽  
Aesthetic Sense ◽  
Forms Of Life ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Answering Questions

This submission emphasizes the beauty of mathematics and dynamical systems especially in questions around origin of life. Our conception of life is shaped by what we see around us on Earth. What life forms might we expect to see on alien planets? Would they be carbon-based like us or can they be even more exotic? Answering questions like these mean we must come up with an objective definition of life. We have previously hypothesized that an objective definition of life is that it should be capable of information processing.Our work also suggests that we may need an “aesthetic sense” to recognize life we have never seen before. Such aesthetic versions of life-like systems can be generated using the computational framework presented here. Our computational framework combines dynamical systems with deep learning to generate aesthetically appealing forms of life-like systems.

scholarly journals The Generalized Definition of Life

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
vivek kumar
Keyword(s):  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Living Systems ◽  
Definition Of Life ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Life On Earth

In this article, I propose and discuss a new definition of life. This new definition considers reproduction and evolution as major aspects of life. It brings into consideration a variety of other life forms like inorganic life, etc. In this study, I aim to present the possibility of various life forms and some of their properties, which might help understand the origin of life on earth and the existence of life in other parts of the cosmos. This new proposed definition of life is independent of the mode of evolution and general enough to consider all potential life forms. This article uses NASA’s definition of life as a structure to derive this generalized definition of life. Finding and exploring new living systems will definitely be very helpful in understanding the aspects of life. In order to explain some complex life forms, a new concept of addition of living systems is introduced in this article. This study underscores the need for further work to understand the origin and properties of living systems.

scholarly journals In Medias Res: A Resolution of Some False Dichotomies in Origins of Life Research

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Frohlich ◽  
Richard Austin Choate
Keyword(s):  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Body Problem ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Origins Of Life ◽  
Definition Of Life ◽  
First Case ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
Mind Body Problem ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Mind

In this paper, we address some of the false dichotomies that pervade contemporary scientific and philosophical research about the origin of life. These dichotomies can be divided into two categories, the methodological and the conceptual. In the first case, we focus on providing an alternative to the problems and paradoxes which arise from trying to eliminate a definition of life from scientific research into life’s origins. In the second case, we illustrate how origin of life research is confined by the same conceptual paradigm which continues to plague the mind-body problem. Based on this analysis, we then offer some general criteria that a definition of life should meet.

Proximate Definition of Life.

2021 ◽  
pp. 353-365
Author(s):  
Herbert Spencer ◽  
Michael Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Definition Of Life ◽  
Definition Of
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