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Cited by 276Origins and Evolution of LifePhilosophy of Biology and Scientific ExplanationSpace Science and Extraterrestrial Life

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 15 of the 17 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

About Various Definitions of Life

Luisi, Pier Luigi·1998·Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere
DOI 10.1023/a:1006517315105
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Abstract

The old question of a definition of minimal life is taken up again at the aim of providing a forum for an updated discussion. Briefly discussed are the reasons why such an attempt has previously encountered scepticism, and why such an attempt should be renewed at this stage of the inquiry on the origin of life. Then some of the definitions of life presently used are cited and briefly discussed, starting with the definition adopted by NASA as a general working definition. It is shown that this is too limited if one wishes to provide a broad encompassing definition, and some extensions of it are presented and discussed. Finally it is shown how the different definitions of life reflect the main schools of thought that presently dominate the field on the origin of life.

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Crossref · 10.1023/a:1006517315105

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Citations

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Show all 17 references

2 of the 17 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 8

  1. Bernal, J. D.: 1965, in T. Waterman and H. J. Morowitz (eds.), Theoretical and Mathematical Biology, Blaisdell.
  2. Joyce, J.: 1994, in D. W. Deamer and G. R. Fleischaker (eds.), the foreword of ‘Origins of Life: The Central Concepts’, Jones and Bartlett, Boston. The original reference is a 1992 internal NASA document entitled ‘Exobiology: Discipline Science Plan'. I thank G. Joyce for this information.
  3. Lovelock, J. E.: 1979, ‘A New Look on Life on Earth’, Oxford University Press; (b) and 1998, 'The Ages of Gaia', Norton.
  4. Luisi, P. L., 1994, in G. Fleischacker, S. Colonna and P. L. Luisi (eds.), ‘Self-Reproduction of Supramolecular Structures’, Proceedings from the Maratea Symposium, Kluwer.
  5. Morowitz, H.: 1992, The Beginning of Cellular Life, Yale Univ. Press.
  6. Perret, M.: 1952, New Biol. 12, 68.
  7. Piries, N. M.: 1953, Discovery 14, 238. I thank Antonio Lazcano for this information.
  8. Rizzotti (ed.): 1996, ‘Defining Life’, University Padua Press.

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Metadata

Authors
Luisi, P. L.
Affiliations
ETH Zurich (CH)
Corresponding author
Luisi, Pier Luigi
Venue
Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
1998-10
Volume
28
Issue
4-6
Pages
613-622
ISSN
  • 0169-6149 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-0875
DOI
10.1023/a:1006517315105
OpenAlex
W2144406157
Cited by
266
References
17
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 32 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 13
FWCI
2.72
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy of Biology and Scientific Explanation
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
Keywords
concept of life, origin of life, philosophy of biology
MeSH terms
Origin of Life, Biological Evolution, Models, Biological, Philosophy, United States, United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Exobiology, Life, History, 19th Century, History, 20th Century

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