Walker and our writer delve into the intricacies of defining life
Life, a fascinating mystery that has intrigued scientists and philosophers for centuries, is the subject of ongoing debate. The fundamental question revolves around whether life can be reduced to physical matter and mechanics, as materialists argue, or if there is an animating force or soul, as vitalists propose.
However, the truth about life might lie somewhere between these two perspectives. A new framework suggests that our understanding of life should focus on how information structures matter across time and space. This approach emphasises the dynamic, structured, and multi-dimensional role of information in living systems.
This perspective highlights the centrality of information to life processes. Life is characterised by the flow, storage, transformation, and multi-scale structuring of information, encompassing genetic, molecular, cellular, and neurological levels, as well as ecological and evolutionary timescales.
One of the key aspects of this framework is the multidirectional and flexible genetic information flow. Recent advances, such as the RNA revolution, demonstrate that biological information flow is not linear, but dynamic, where RNA plays roles in regulation, replication, and phenotypic diversity.
Moreover, the framework suggests that information structure extends across scales. Perceptions and consciousness studies indicate that informational content organises complex spatial and temporal patterns that differ from underlying neurological structures. Quantum panprotopsychism models propose that life and consciousness reflect global informational structures whose properties integrate over time and space.
The systems and process-oriented views are another crucial element of this framework. Life's processes can be understood as stages through which informational systems evolve from origin to maturity and decline, with uniqueness and variability in each path.
Finally, the information processing theories shed light on the informational dynamics in living organisms. Cognitive science models, such as the working memory and multi-store model, illustrate how information is absorbed, transformed, stored, and retrieved over short and long timescales.
In essence, this perspective views life as an informational process spanning multiple scales in time and space, where both the structure and dynamics of information critically determine the emergence, persistence, and evolution of living systems.
This integrated model brings together molecular biology, neuroscience, quantum theories, and systems thinking, emphasising how information organisation and flow across levels define life as an ongoing process rather than a static state.
The debate between materialists and vitalists suggests that our current understanding of life is incomplete. By focusing on life as a process, specifically how information structures matter across time and space, we may be closer to a more comprehensive understanding of this complex and intriguing phenomenon. Furthermore, our conception of matter may need to be expanded to fully understand the nature of life.
Interestingly, life-like properties can exist in other domains, such as language, mathematics, and information systems. This points towards a broader understanding of what constitutes "matter" and life, potentially resolving the age-old debate between materialists and vitalists.
As our understanding of physics has evolved from Aristotle's simple notions of "earthly" and "celestial" matter to Newton's unified laws of motion, so too may our understanding of the material properties that give rise to life evolve. A revolution in how we think about the material properties that give rise to life may be necessary to fully understand life.
In conclusion, the emerging perspective on life as an informational process offers a promising new approach to understanding this complex and intriguing phenomenon. By focusing on the organisation and flow of information across levels, we may be closer to a more comprehensive understanding of life and its origins.
- This new perspective suggests that life, a complex mystery, should be understood as an informational process spanning multiple scales in time and space.
- The organization and flow of information in living systems encompass genetic, molecular, cellular, neurological levels, as well as ecological and evolutionary timescales.
- The multidirectional and flexible genetic information flow is a key aspect of this framework, with recent advances like the RNA revolution demonstrating its dynamic nature.
- Information structure extends across scales, as indicated by perceptions and consciousness studies, where informational content organizes complex spatial and temporal patterns.
- Cognitive science models, such as the working memory and multi-store model, show how information is processed in living organisms over short and long timescales.
- Systems and process-oriented views are crucial elements of this framework, where life's processes can be understood as stages through which informational systems evolve.
- As our understanding of physics has evolved, so too may our understanding of the material properties that give rise to life, suggesting a potential revolution in how we think about life and its origins.
