In Medias Res: A Resolution of Some False Dichotomies in Origins of Life Research
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24310/Metyper.2017.v0i18.4736Keywords:
False dichotomies, life, origins of Life, mind-body, theories of life.Abstract
In this paper, we address some of the false dichotomies that pervade contemporary scientific and philosophical research about the origin of life. These dichotomies can be divided into two categories, the methodological and the conceptual. In the first case, we focus on providing an alternative to the problems and paradoxes which arise from trying to eliminate a definition of life from scientific research into life’s origins. In the second case, we illustrate how origin of life research is confined by the same conceptual paradigm which continues to plague the mind-body problem. Based on this analysis, we then offer some general criteria that a definition of life should meet.
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