Philosophy – The Primordial Scoop

IMPRESS to Deliver Art and Science to Mars

The image depicts a concept art: a five meters tall titanium penetrator imbedded in the Martian soil. The scientific payload and cameras broadcasting statue's selfies reside in the half-buried pedestal. Long after the science mission ends, this statue will serve as a landscape feature and a message to the future generations.

By Jan Spacek September 20, 2024Astrobiology, Life, Life on Mars, MarsNo Comments

Astrobiology Life Microscoop Philosophy

Spacek vs. Cleland: is term ‘life’ useful or useless in astrobiology?

We enjoyed a heated, in-person discussion about the usefulness of life during a debate hosted by the University of Florida. Although we both maintained our divergent positions, we discovered that our advice to astrobiologists is identical: look for anomalies.

By Jan Spacek February 5, 2024Astrobiology, Life, Microscoop, Philosophy3 Comments

Astrobiology Life Philosophy Venus

Are Venusians ‘life’?

Apology for beating the dead horse yet again, …but why should we assume that ‘life’ is useful for astrobiologists now, when it was useless for virologists for over a century?

By Jan Spacek June 3, 2022Astrobiology, Life, Philosophy, Venus3 Comments

Astrobiology Life Philosophy

Why the term ‘life’ is useless in astrobiology

A post to make you laugh and then perhaps think about the meaninglessness of ‘life’ as a scientific term.

By Jan Spacek May 26, 2022Astrobiology, Life, PhilosophyNo Comments

Astrobiology Life Philosophy

Why astrobiologists should NOT get rid of the term ‘life’

Carol Cleland rebuts Spacek's argument about uselessness of the term 'life' to astrobiologists. According to her 'life' is useful despite our inability to define it.

By Carol Cleland May 24, 2022Astrobiology, Life, Philosophy1 Comment

Astrobiology Life

Cleland & Grinspoon response to Benner: Do synthetic microbes provide another example of life?

The NfoLD's White Paper on Standards of Evidence in Life Detection opened a discussion on this blog. In this piece Carol Cleland and David Grinspoon tear down Benner's "second example" of life.

By Carol Cleland May 19, 2022Astrobiology, Life1 Comment

Astrobiology Life

Grave Expectations

The problem with trying to codify an official protocol for recognizing biosignatures: We can try to devise rules for how detecting alien life should unfold, but E.T. might not play along.

By Guest Author April 19, 2022Astrobiology, Life1 Comment

Life

Null hypothesis: the term ‘life’ is not needed in biology

Before we go any deeper in the Universal Theory of Life debate we need to examine the following null hypothesis: ‘Life’ exists only as a concept. We mistakenly assume that 'life' exists independently of our culture as a natural phenomenon, just like we did with ‘luminiferous aether’, ‘preformationist’s homunculi’, and ‘vital force’. A theory of life is as useful as a theory of ‘phlogiston’.

By Jan Spacek September 16, 2021Life1 Comment

Life

Universal Theory of Life, a debate

A useful definition-theory of life drives research into origins and synthetic biology.

By Steven A. Benner September 11, 2021Life1 Comment