Difference between revisions of "Origin of life"

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[[thing type::event]]
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[[question::Where did life come from?]]
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[[question type::existential]]
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[[category:teach the controversy]]
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==About==
 
==About==
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The [[creation of life]] is a colloquial phrase referring to the event in which life first emerged from nonliving substances on [[Earth]].
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The [[origin of life]] may refer to either of the following
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* the event in which life first emerged from nonliving substances: [[Terran abiogenesis]]
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* the event in which life first appeared on [[Earth]]: [[Terran genesis]]
  
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The general name for this process, wherever and whenever it may occur (i.e. not just on Earth and not necessarily ''our'' tree of life), is [[abiogenesis]].
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The best evidence so far seems to indicate that both of these were in fact the same event, but there is still some possibility that life arose elsewhere and later spread to Earth; this is known as the [[panspermia]] theory.
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==Mythology==
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==Related==
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Most mythologies include a story explaining the origins of non-supernatural life on Earth; these stories typically involve the existence of some supernatural life-form ("gods" such as Thor, or a monotheistic "[[God]]"), although in some cases the story is more that "[[it just happened]]".
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* The [[origin of species]] is the means by which different [[species]] came to exist; this is also sometimes inaccurately referred to as the "origin of life".
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* The general name for the process by which life can emerge from nonliving substances, wherever and whenever it may occur (i.e. not just on Earth and not necessarily ''our'' tree of life), is [[abiogenesis]].
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[[Norse mythology]], for example, says that the first two organisms were Ymir (a "frost giant") and a snow-white cow, both of whom [[it just happened|happened]] to emerge from Ginungagap, the great swirling of frost at the beginning of the universe. These two organisms then gave rise to further organisms by similar "happenings".
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* The means by which more complex forms can derive from simpler ones is called [[evolution]]; the [[evidence-based explanation]] for the emergence of present-day species from the first organisms on Earth is [[evolution by natural selection]].
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===Creationism===
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* The question of how life was created is one of several key "[[creation]]" questions which form the core of many [[mythologies]] and for which [[science]] has begun to provide likely answers only fairly recently.
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The predominant mythologies of the industrial and information ages, the [[Abrahamic]] [[monotheism]]s ([[Christianity]], [[Islam]], and [[Judaism]]), all hold that a supernatural being called "[[God]]" created everything, including [[creation of the universe|the universe]], [[creation of Earth|the Earth]], [[creation of life|life]], and [[creation of humans|humanity]].
 
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In the face of scientific evidence showing more credible explanations for these events, modern Abrahamists tend to argue that while it is still literally true that God created all of these things, his role remains hidden from scientific observation in that he is the reason why the laws of physics work as they do and the direct cause of key events not yet observed, such as the first organism (or the first self-replicating molecule).
 
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Many Abrahamists, however, insist that [[scripture]] (the [[Bible]], the [[Qur'an]], or the [[Torah]]) must be taken [[Biblical literalism|literally]]. Where such insistence clearly violates the available evidence, these beliefs are called [[creationism]].
 
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Christian creationists hold that the creation of life is accurately described in the Biblical [[Book of Genesis]], with [[God]] literally creating the first animals and humans from raw materials. (Presumably Jewish creationists would agree with this, insofar as the Book of Genesis is also found in the Jewish ''Torah''. Fortunately, there do not seem to be very many Jewish creationists; [[Jewish fundamentalist]]s seem to focus more on other issues.)
 

Latest revision as of 21:56, 1 March 2015

About

The origin of life may refer to either of the following

The best evidence so far seems to indicate that both of these were in fact the same event, but there is still some possibility that life arose elsewhere and later spread to Earth; this is known as the panspermia theory.

Related

  • The origin of species is the means by which different species came to exist; this is also sometimes inaccurately referred to as the "origin of life".
  • The general name for the process by which life can emerge from nonliving substances, wherever and whenever it may occur (i.e. not just on Earth and not necessarily our tree of life), is abiogenesis.
  • The means by which more complex forms can derive from simpler ones is called evolution; the evidence-based explanation for the emergence of present-day species from the first organisms on Earth is evolution by natural selection.
  • The question of how life was created is one of several key "creation" questions which form the core of many mythologies and for which science has begun to provide likely answers only fairly recently.
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