| Description |
xi, 191 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Contents |
1. What is Life? The next fifty years. An introduction / Michael P. Murphy and Luke A. J. O'Neill -- 2. What will endure of 20th century biology? / Manfred Eigen -- 3. 'What is life?' as a problem in history / Stephen Jay Gould -- 4. The evolution of human inventiveness / Jared Diamond -- 5. Development: is the egg computable or could we generate an angel or a dinosaur? / Lewis Wolpert -- 6. Language and life / John Maynard Smith and Eors Szathmary -- 7. RNA without protein or protein without RNA? / Christian De Duve -- 8. 'What is life?': was Schrodinger right? / Stuart A. Kauffman -- 9. Why new physics is needed to understand the mind / Roger Penrose -- 10. Do the laws of Nature evolve? / Walter Thirring -- 11. New laws to be expected in the organism: synergetics of brain and behaviour / J. A. Scott Kelso and Hermann Haken -- 12. Order from disorder: the thermodynamics of complexity in biology /Eric D. Schneider and James J. Kay -- 13. Reminiscences / Ruth Braunizer |
| Summary |
"Erwin Schrödinger's book What is Life?, which was originally delivered as a set of lectures at Trinity College, Dublin, is perhaps one of the most important scientific books of the twentieth century. It marked the beginning of molecular biology, and stimulated scientists such as Watson and Crick to explore and discover the structure of DNA. The novelty and appeal of What is Life? is that Schrödinger addressed the central problems of biology--heredity and how organisms use energy to maintain order--from a physicist's perspective. Fifty years later, at Trinity College, a number of outstanding scientists from a range of disciplines gathered to celebrate the anniversary of Schrödinger's lectures. In this book, they present their views on the current main problems in biology. The contributors are eminent scientists (including two Nobel Laureates) and well-known writers of popular science, including Jared Diamond, Christien de Duve, Manfred Eigen, Stephen Jay Gould, Stuart Kauffman, John Maynard Smith, Roger Penrose, and Lewis Wolpert. They tackle questions on our current understanding of the origin of life, evolution, the origin of human inventiveness, developmental biology, and the basis for consciousness. The book ends with a touching biography by Schrödinger's daughter, Ruth Braunizer. This book will set the stage for biological research into the next century and is essential reading for anyone interested in biology and its future." -- Publisher's website |
| Analysis |
Biology Philosophy |
| Notes |
Contains most of the contributions presented at a conference held at Trinity College, Dublin, from Sept. 20-22, 1993 |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Also available via the World Wide Web |
| Subject |
Schrödinger, Erwin, 1887-1961. What is life? -- Congresses
|
|
Schrödinger, Erwin, 1887-1961. What is life? -- Congresses
|
|
Schrödinger, Erwin, 1887-1961. What is life -- Congresses
|
|
Schrödinger, Erwin, 1887-1961. What is life?
|
|
Biology -- Congresses.
|
|
Biology -- Philosophy -- Congresses.
|
|
Biology -- Philosophy.
|
|
Biology.
|
|
Lcfe (Biology) -- Congresses
|
|
Life (Biology)
|
|
Life (Biology) -- Congresses.
|
|
Biology.
|
| Genre/Form |
Congress.
|
|
Conference papers and proceedings.
|
| Author |
Murphy, Michael P. (Michael Patrick), 1963-
|
|
O'Neill, Luke A. J.
|
| LC no. |
94049438 |
| ISBN |
052145509X (hardback) |
|
0521599393 (paperback) |
|
