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Indlæser... Emergence of Life on Earth: A Historical and Scientific Overviewaf Iris Fry
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Is there life on other planets? How similar is extraterrestrial life to life on Earth? These questions, until recently confined to the pages of science fiction books, are now the legitimate subject matter of extensive scientific research. Recent discoveries of extrasolar planets, life under extreme conditions and possible life on other celestial bodies have heightened public interest on the origin of life. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Indlæser... GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)576.83Natural sciences and mathematics Life Sciences, Biology Genetics and evolution Evolution Life 1.0LC-klassificeringVurderingGennemsnit:
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At the end of the book, Fry summarizes: "As repeatedly pointed out in this book, the basic assumption of scientific research on evolution and its extension to the origin-of-life stage is that no supernatural, purposeful intervention is involved in the natural world. Historically, the scientific study of the origin of life became possible only after the evolutionary worldview was established. The underlying philosophical theme of current origin-of-life theories is that life emerged from a lifeless world through a continuous process governed by physicochemical mechanisms. This theme and the claim of direct or indirect purposeful interference by a supernatural designer present opposite accounts of physical reality and are thus mutually exclusive." Two points are to be made here: first is the mutual exclusiveness of the competing points of view, despite the attempts of some to merge them. Second is that despite this tension, no "scientific" consensus has yet emerged in the origin-of-life debate. As Fry admits, quoting Christian de Duve, "until such time as biologists can demonstrate an entirely material origin for life, the divine will remain a contender" (212).
Fry further acknowledges: "Origin-of-life scientists will probably not consider these suggestions [from the Intelligent Design community] as serious and will continue their research, looking for 'mechanisms other than chance' that could have brought about the self-organization of primitive biological systems under prevailing prebiotic conditions. Making a commitment to either a creationist or a scientific position on the question of the emergence of life is completely legitimate as long as the implications are clear. Commitment to the evolutionary philosophical worldview means that the only way to solve the origin-of-life problem is to continue scientific research. This is the case even though...no theory suggested so far has gained the general support of researchers in the field" (215).
As an overview or as a reference, Emergence of Life on Earth is highly recommended. ( )