Preface ....................................................... vii
Acknowledgments .............................................. viii
Sources ........................................................ ix
About the authors ............................................. xii
Introduction .................................................. xix
SECTION I. CLASSICAL DISCUSSIONS OF LIFE ....................... 1
1 De Anima (selections) ........................................ 9
Aristotle
2 Treatise on Man ............................................. 15
RENÉ DESCARTES
3 Critique of the teleological power of judgment
(selections) ................................................ 21
IMMANUEL KANT
4 What is Life? (selections) .................................. 50
ERWIN SCHRODINGER
5 The nature of life .......................................... 70
ALEXANDER OPARIN
6 What is the meaning of "life"? .............................. 88
ERNST MAYR
7 The principles of life (selections) ........................ 102
TIBOR GÁNTI
SECTION II. THE ORIGIN AND EXTENT OF NATURAL LIFE ............. 113
8 The origin of life: a review of facts and speculation ...... 121
LESLIE E. ORGEL
9 Small molecule interactions were central to the origin of
life ....................................................... 129
ROBERT SHAPIRO
10 Are the different hypotheses on the emergence of life as
different as they seem? .................................... 137
IRIS FRY
11 The universal nature of biochemistry ....................... 157
NORMAN R. PACE
12 Is there a common chemical model for life in the
universe? .................................................. 164
STEVEN A. BENNER, ALONSO RICARDO, AND MATTHEW
A. CARRIGAN
13 Searching for life in the universe: lessons from Earth ..... 186
KENNETH H. NEALSON
14 The possibility of alternative microbial life on Earth ..... 198
CAROL E. CLELAND AND SHELLEY D. COPLEY
15 Introduction to the limits of organic life in planetary
systems .................................................... 210
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
SECTION III. ARTIFICIAL LIFE AND SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY ........... 217
16 Learning from functionalism: prospects for strong
artificial life ............................................ 225
ELLIOTT SOBER
17 Life, "artificial life," and scientific explanation ........ 236
MARC LANGE
18 Alien life: how would we know? ............................. 249
MARGARET A. BODEN
19 Automatic design and manufacture of robotic life forms ..... 260
HOD LIPSON AND JORDAN P. POLLACK
20 A giant step towards artificial life? ...................... 268
DAVID DEAMER
21 Approaches to semi-synthetic minimal cells: a review ....... 272
PIER LUIGI LUISI, FRANCESCA FERRI, AND PASQUALE STANO
22 Creating "real life" ....................................... 289
EVELYN FOX KELLER
SECTION IV. DEFINING AND EXPLAINING LIFE ...................... 295
23 Definitions of life ........................................ 303
CARL SAGAN
24 The seven pillars of life .................................. 307
DANIEL E. KOSHLAND
25 A universal definition of life: autonomy and open-ended
evolution .................................................. 310
KEPA RUIZ-MIRAZO, JULI PERETÓ, AND ALVARO MORENO
26 Does 'life' have a definition? ............................. 326
CAROL CLELAND AND CHRISTOPHER CHYBA
27 Sentient symphony .......................................... 340
LYNN MARGULIS AND DORION SAGAN
28 What is life? .............................................. 355
KIM STERELNY AND PAUL GRIFFITHS
29 Universal Darwinism ........................................ 360
RICHARD DAWKINS
30 What is life? Was Schrodinger right? ....................... 374
STUART A. KAUFFMAN
31 Four puzzles about life .................................... 392
MARK A. BEDAU
Supplementary bibliography on life ............................ 405
Index ......................................................... 413
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