This is part of a series: Define Life
I found an interesting view on what life is: Life is a Process, Not a Thing – The Mantle. In it, JoJo Brisendine argues that life is best understood not as a system that copies and spreads a particular strand of DNA, but as a system that neutralizes free energy.
It’s a reductionist view that emphasizes the flow of energy in living things above all, and says that every other part and phenomenon related to life is a natural result of that process. It’s a reaction against 2 other views:
- Ferris Jabr – Life is nothing more than a concept – life does not really exist
- The currently popular view among evolutionary biologists that RNA is the original self-copying molecule that eventually turned into us
Erik Popp 