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

Explores fundamental philosophical and scientific questions about the nature of life, particularly in relation to the search for extraterrestrial life.

Carol E. Cleland (Author)

9780521873246, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 12 September 2019

258 pages
25.3 x 17.8 x 1.9 cm, 0.61 kg

'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

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.

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.

Subject Areas: Evolution [PSAJ], Astrophysics [PHVB], Solar system: the Sun & planets [PGS], Philosophy of science [PDA]