NDLI: Pluralism or unity in biology: could microbes hold the secret to life?

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Cleland, Carol E.
Copyright Year	2013
Abstract	Pluralism is popular among philosophers of biology. This essay argues that negative judgments about universal biology, while understandable, are very premature. Familiar life on Earth represents a single example of life and, most importantly, there are empirical as well as theoretical reasons for suspecting that it may be unrepresentative. Scientifically compelling generalizations about the unity of life (or lack thereof) must await the discovery of forms of life descended from an alternative origin, the most promising candidate being the discovery of extraterrestrial life. Nonetheless, in the absence of additional examples of life, we are best off exploring the microbial world for promising explanatory concepts, principles, and mechanisms rather than prematurely giving up on universal biology. Unicellular microbes (especially prokaryotes) are by far the oldest, metabolically most diverse, and environmentally tolerant form of life on our planet. Yet somewhat ironically, much of our theorizing about life still implicitly privileges complex multicellular eukaryotes, which are now understood to be highly specialized, fragile latecomers to Earth. The problem with pursuing a pluralist approach to understanding life is that it is likely to blind us to the significance of just those entities and causal processes most likely to shed light on the underlying nature of life.
Starting Page	189
Ending Page	204
Page Count	16
File Format	PDF
ISSN	01693867
Journal	Biology & Philosophy
Volume Number	28
Issue Number	2
e-ISSN	15728404
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2013-02-12
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Archaea Bacteria Eukarya Explanation Prokaryote Eukaryote Pluralism Reduction Universal theory of life Philosophy of Biology Evolutionary Biology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Philosophy Agricultural and Biological Sciences History and Philosophy of Science

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Is a General Theory of Life Possible? Seeking the Nature of Life in the Context of a Single Example

What could arsenic bacteria teach us about life?

The universal tree of life: an update

The tree of life: introduction to an evolutionary debate

Common evolutionary origins of mechanosensitive ion channels in Archaea, Bacteria and cell-walled Eukarya (2002)

Integrative Pluralism

On the Explanatory Roles of Natural Selection

Discussion: Phylogenetic Species Concept: Pluralism, Monism, and History

Major and minor groups in evolution

Pluralism or unity in biology: could microbes hold the secret to life?

Similar Documents

Is a General Theory of Life Possible? Seeking the Nature of Life in the Context of a Single Example

What could arsenic bacteria teach us about life?

The universal tree of life: an update

The tree of life: introduction to an evolutionary debate

Common evolutionary origins of mechanosensitive ion channels in Archaea, Bacteria and cell-walled Eukarya (2002)

Integrative Pluralism

On the Explanatory Roles of Natural Selection

Discussion: Phylogenetic Species Concept: Pluralism, Monism, and History

Major and minor groups in evolution

Pluralism or unity in biology: could microbes hold the secret to life?