Abstract
There is no broadly accepted definition of ‘life.’ Suggested definitions face problems, often in theform of robust counter-examples. Here we use insights fromphilosophical investigations into language to argue thatdefining `life' currently poses a dilemma analogous to thatfaced by those hoping to define `water' before the existenceof molecular theory. In the absence of an analogous theoryof the nature of living systems, interminable controversyover the definition of life is inescapable.
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Cleland, C.E., Chyba, C.F. Defining ‘Life’. Orig Life Evol Biosph 32, 387–393 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020503324273
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020503324273