Emergence of Life on Earth: A Historical and Scientific Overview / Edition 1

by Iris Fry

Overview

How did life emerge on Earth? Is there life on other worlds? These questions, until recently confined to the pages of speculative essays and tabloid headlines, are now the subject of legitimate scientific research. This book presents a unique perspective—a combined historical, scientific, and philosophical analysis, which does justice to the complex nature of the subject. The book's first part offers an overview of the main ideas on the origin of life as they developed from antiquity until the twentieth century. The second, more detailed part of the book examines contemporary theories and major debates within the origin-of-life scientific community.
Topics include:

• Aristotle and the Greek atomists' conceptions of the organism
• Alexander Oparin and J.B.S. Haldane's 1920s breakthrough papers
• Possible life on Mars?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813527406
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	02/01/2000
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

IRIS FRY teaches at the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University, and in the department of humanities and arts at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. Her book The Origin of Life: Mystery or Scientific Problem? was published in Israel in 1997. 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. "From the Dust of the Ground"
2. Spontaneous Generation—Ups and Downs
3. The Revival of the Belief in Spontaneous Generation
4. Louis Pasteur—the Deathblow to Spontaneous Generation
5. Between Pasteur and Darwin—A Dead End
6. The Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis
7. An Era of Optimism
8. Evolution in a Test Tube
9. Manfred Eigen's Model
10. Crisis—Real or Fictitious? 
11. The RNA World—A Case for Renewed Optimism? 
12. And Yet, Metabolism
13. The Emergence of Life—Neither By Chance Nor By Design
14. "Life on Mars? So What?"
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Gunter Wachtershauser

A rich source for the specialist and thought-provoking reading for the lay person.

Woodruff Sullivan

Fry has fashioned a masterful account of the history, philosophy, and science of the origin of life and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Her story weaves profound Western ideas of who we are and where we came from, from Aristotle to Gould, from Kant to NASA.

Michael Ruse

From the Author of Mystery of Mysteries: Is Evolution a Social Construction?

Essential reading for people in disciplines ranging from philosophy to biology. It is simple the best general book that I know on the question of the origin of life.

Editorial Reviews

Fry has fashioned a masterful account of the history, philosophy, and science of the origin of life and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Her story weaves profound Western ideas of who we are and where we came from, from Aristotle to Gould, from Kant to NASA.

University of Washington - Woodruff Sullivan

Essential reading for people in disciplines ranging from philosophy to biology. It is simply the best general book that I know on the question of the origin of life.

author of Mystery of Mysteries: Is Evolution a Social Construction? - Michael Ruse

The Emergence of Life on Earth is...methodical, comprehensive....[Fry] allows the intrinsic fascination of the science to speak for itself. This low-key approach turns out to be a real treat in our overhyped, oversold, overly solicitous world. Her book rewards by giving you a generous return on your investment of time and effort; the pleasure comes form learning, not from entertainment.

Cell

The Emergence of Life on Earth...is...a work of history and philosophy of science, raising important questions in a way fully up to date with current discourse in both history and philosophy, and integrating these approaches throughout the book....Regarding the different modern hypotheses on the emergence of life, Fry repeats the argument of her earlier paper that these are not as different as they seem, because they contain deep philosophical elements in common with those areas that historically formed the basis of greatest discord, especially what she calls the continuity thesis.

Journal of the History of Biology

Fry offers a unique tapestry of history, philosophy, and science as applied to the question of life's origins and the related issues attendant to the evolution/creationism debate. Early chapters provide a valuable historical framework for more detailed elaboration in later chapters of recent theories and investigations....Fry's treatment is thorough, objective, and uncompromising. Her views are clearly stated, but in a way that encourages readers to think and formulate personal opinions. After reading this book, many will agree with the author's assertion that appreciation for the complexity of questions attendant to the emergence of life enigma is most complete when the views of scientists, historians, and philosophers are all considered.

Choice

The Emergence of Life on Earth is...methodical, comprehensive....[Fry] allows the intrinsic fascination of the science to speak for itself. This low-key approach turns out to be a real treat in our overhyped, oversold, overly solicitous world. Her book rewards by giving you a generous return on your investment of time and effort; the pleasure comes form learning, not from entertainment.

Cell

An instructor of history and philosophy of biology at Tel-aviv U. and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology takes a broad scientific look at the origins of Earth life with a view to possible life on Mars and beyond. Based partly on a similarly themed 1997 book in Hebrew. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews