Life Itself: A Comprehensive Inquiry Into the Nature, Origin, and Fabrication of Life
- ISBN-10
- 0231075642
- ISBN-13
- 9780231075640
- Category
- Philosophy
- Pages
- 285
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1991
- Publisher
- Columbia University Press
- Author
- Robert Rosen
Description
What is life? For four centuries, it has been believed that the only possible scientific approach to this question proceeds from the Cartesian metaphor -- organism as machine. Therefore, organisms are to be studied and characterized the same way "machines" are; the same way any inorganic system is. Robert Rosen argues that such a view is neither necessary nor sufficient to answer the question. He asserts that life is not a specialization of mechanism, but rather a sweeping generalization of it. Above all, Rosen argues that renouncing mechanism does not mean abandoning science. A radical alternative is proposed, drawn equally from experience in biology, physics, and mathematics; an alternative which draws attention to a new class of complex systems, which are radically different from mechanism.
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Other editions
-
- 2008
- 137 pages
- Paperback
- Dalkey Archive Press
-
- 1998
- 290 pages
- Paperback
- Oxford University Press, USA
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