What Is Life? The Chemical Perspective and Its Relation to Other Perspectives

Abstract

AbstractIn this chapter, we begin by considering Schrödinger's significant book What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell, in order to analyze the way in which the chemical and systemic perspective that we propose answers this perennial question. We will attempt to explain why the chemical approach to living beings is so effective with the help of two examples: that of neurotransmitters and that of the immune system. We will also examine the approach of biosemiotics and the processual approach, both of which differ from our own in this book, bearing in mind the philosophical question regarding what entities and processes represent in science. To answer the question “What is life?” we consider the essential distinction in systemics between open and closed systems and discuss Prigogine's analysis in terms of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. After this, we reexamine Morin’s discussion of the relationship of living beings with their environment. Finally, to conclude, we compare two structured emergent systems, the molecule and the cell, from the perspective of the systemic approach that we defend in this book.