Week 6

Origins of Life: What is Life?

When and where did life originate? What is life? Can evolutionary convergence help us figure out what life beyond Earth is like? 20 experts shine some light onto these dark mysteries.

What is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell
by Erwin Schrodinger, 1944, Cambridge University Pres

The Origin and Nature of Life on Earth
by Eric Smith and Harold Morowitz, 2018, Cambridge University Press

Processes of Life: essays in the philosophy of biology
by John Dupre, 2012, Oxford University Press

When do we think that life emerged on Earth?