The Emergence of Life(?)
| dc.contributor.author | Munroe, Zachary | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2009-10-02T16:01:05Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2009-10-02T16:01:05Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2009-10-02T16:01:05Z | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2009 | |
| dc.description.abstract | While emergentism is a frequently debated and contentious topic in some areas of philosophy, it is not discussed as often in the sciences. Where it does appear in scientific literature, it is usually a weak formulation that admits as emergent many entities and properties that would not be considered emergent under a stronger formulation. Premature admission of this sort sometimes occurs in the context of physics, but it is more likely to occur in higher-level sciences like biology. In this thesis, I examine the claim that life, a fundamental biological feature, is emergent. In order to do this, I begin by examining what counts as life. I settle on three features that are necessary for life as we know it, and I show that the smallest unit of life is the prokaryotic cell. I then examine the received view of emergentism and identify its key tenets. I consider two of these in depth, as they play a crucial role in my argument. Finally, I consider weaker formulations of emergence found in scientific literature in order to contrast them with the robust philosophical notion developed within this thesis. I argue that, based on a strong formulation of emergence, life should not be considered emergent, though some may dispute this position if a weaker version of emergence is adopted. | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10012/4786 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.pending | false | en |
| dc.publisher | University of Waterloo | en |
| dc.subject | emergence | en |
| dc.subject | life | en |
| dc.subject.program | Philosophy | en |
| dc.title | The Emergence of Life(?) | en |
| dc.type | Master Thesis | en |
| uws-etd.degree | Master of Arts | en |
| uws-etd.degree.department | Philosophy | en |
| uws.peerReviewStatus | Unreviewed | en |
| uws.scholarLevel | Graduate | en |
| uws.typeOfResource | Text | en |