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Informationen zum Autor Carol E. Cleland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she is also Director of the Center for the Study of Origins and a Co-Investigator at the Center for Astrobiology. She teaches advanced interdisciplinary courses in the philosophy of science, including graduate seminars on central issues in astrobiology. She publishes papers in major science and philosophy journals, and is co-editor of the anthology The Nature of Life (Cambridge, 2010). Klappentext Explores fundamental philosophical and scientific questions about the nature of life, particularly in relation to the search for extraterrestrial life. Zusammenfassung Explores the nature! origin! and extent of life in the universe from both scientific and philosophical perspectives! focusing particularly on the challenge of formulating a universal theory of life in relation to the search for extraterrestrial life. It is a valuable resource for those studying astrobiology and the origins of life. Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. The enduring legacy of Aristotle: the battle over life as self-organization or (genetic-based) reproduction; 2. Why life cannot be defined; 3. What is a scientific theory; 4. How scientific theories develop; 5. Challenges for a universal theory of life; 6. Rethinking the traditional paradigm for life: lessons from the world of microbes; 7. Artificial life: could ALife solve the N=1 problem?; 8. Searching for extraterrestrial life without a definition or universal theory of life; 9. A shadow biosphere: alien microbes on Earth?; Conclusion; References; Index.
