

27. Natural Reality / F. Biology / 2. Life

[what distinguishes life, and its value]

18 ideas
As all life is one, what need is there for words? [Chuang Tzu]
To regard animals as mere machines may be possible, but seems improbable [Leibniz]
Maybe plants are very slow (and sentient) animals, overlooked because we are faster? [Dennett]
A tumour may spread a sort of life, but it is not a life, or an organism [Inwagen]
Unlike waves, lives are 'jealous'; it is almost impossible for them to overlap [Inwagen]
The chemical reactions in a human life involve about sixteen elements [Inwagen]
A flame is like a life, but not nearly so well individuated [Inwagen]
If God were to 'reassemble' my atoms of ten years ago, the result would certainly not be me [Inwagen]
One's mental and other life is centred on the brain, unlike any other part of the body [Inwagen]
Being part of an organism's life is a matter of degree, and vague [Inwagen]
Some events are only borderline cases of lives [Inwagen]
Life is vague at both ends, but could it be totally vague? [Inwagen]
At the lower level, life trails off into mere molecular interaction [Inwagen]
From the teleopragmatic perspective, life is largely an informational process [Gulick]
In 1828, the stuff of life was shown to be ordinary chemistry, not a magic gel [Pinker]
In 1828 the animal substance urea was manufactured from inorganic ingredients [Watson]
Information is physical, and living can be seen as replicating and preserving information [Watson]
Life is Movement, Respiration, Sensation, Nutrition, Excretion, Reproduction, Growth (MRS NERG) [PG]