Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
What Is Life? Revisited

What Is Life? Revisited

Nicholson, Daniel J.

Paperback

Series: Elements in the Philosophy of Biology

PhilosophyGeneral Science

ISBN10: 1009124188
ISBN13: 9781009124188
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: Nov 13 2025
Pages: 104
Weight: 0.33
Height: 0.22 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Erwin Schrödinger's What Is Life? is one of the most celebrated scientific works of the twentieth century. However, like most classics, it is far more often cited than read. Efforts to seriously engage with Schrödinger's arguments are rare. This Element explores how well his ideas have stood the test of time. It argues that Schrödinger's emphasis on the rigidity and specificity of the hereditary material (which stemmed from his attempt to explain biological order from physical principles) influenced how molecular biologists conceptualized macromolecules, resulting in a deterministic, engineering view of the cell that is still popular today--even if it is increasingly at odds with experimental findings. Drawing on archival sources, this Element also uncovers Schrödinger's motivations in writing What Is Life? and suggests that his biological proposals are best understood in the context of his longstanding dispute with other physicists regarding the interpretation and extension of quantum mechanics.

1 different editions

Also available

Also from

Nicholson, Daniel J.

View All

Also in

Philosophy

View All