The Quest for a Universal Theory of Life: Searching for Life as We Don't Know It (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780521873246)

Integrating both scientific and philosophical perspectives, this book provides an informed analysis of the challenges of formulating a universal theory of life. Among the issues discussed are crucial differences between definitions and scientific theories and, in the context of examples from the history of science, how successful general theories develop. The central problem discussed is two-fold: first, our understanding of life is still tacitly wedded to an antiquated Aristotelian framework for biology; and second, there are compelling reasons for considering that familiar Earth life, which descends from a last universal common ancestor, is unrepresentative. What is needed are examples of life as we don't know it. Potential sources are evaluated, including artificial life, extraterrestrial life, and a shadow biosphere right here on Earth, and a novel strategy for searching for unfamiliar life in the absence of a definition or general theory is developed. The book is a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers studying the nature, origins, and extent of life in the universe.

Author: Carol E. Cleland
ISBN-10: 052187324X
ISBN-13: 9780521873246
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 09/12/2019
Pages: 258
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 9.81h x 7.14w x 0.71d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 07/01/2020