The Life Puzzle: On Crystals and Organisms and on the Possibility of a Crystal as an Ancestor

By A.G. Cairns-Smith

What is the origin of life? Molecular biology shows us one kind,

but in thinking about it we must consider those generalised aspects of living

organisation that are common to all conceivable forms of life. The author believes

that only a combination of general biological theory and particular chemical

knowledge can solve the problems of the origin and re-creation of life. This book

does not fall into either the classical Haldane or Oparin schools of thought on the

origin of life, but advances a thesis of its own, which, according to Professor C.H.

Waddington, is one of the most important recent intellectual developments in this

field.

Part I considers the role of molecular biology in formulating a view of

life as it exists now. Part II turns to more general aspects of the organisation of

matter. In Part III the author advances his own theories on the origin of

life--theories which are both revolutionary and reactionary. As he remarks,

'If my conclusions are correct it may be difficult to find the right system, but

it would be easy to make a very simple organism once we have.'

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1442638893
• ISBN13: 9781442638891
• Release Date: December 1971
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Length: 182 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher