32 Self and the Phenomenon of Life
b2726 Self and the Phenomenon of Life: A Biologist Examines Life from Molecules to Humanity “9x6”bridges, subways, sanitary systems, post office, police force, electric power
supply, and a conglomeration of numerous other things.
3.3 Kant’s Insight Applied on the Chemistry of Life
The above description is a very sketchy outline of the goings-on in a cell.
Current knowledge on the chemistry of life can fill up many volumes,
and more is still coming, but the details are unnecessary for the pur-
pose of this book. Suffice it to say that the complexity of life is far more
than anything else found in the universe, and this complexity is dynamic,
with numerous intersecting cycles and networks (Fig. 3.8), the sum of
which results in the preservation of the whole — the cell, or the entire
organism in the case of multi-cellular life. Over two hundred years ago,
Immanuel Kant had the insight that an organism is “that in which every-
thing is both a means and an end.”^9 Certainly, Kant made the statement
without the benefit of today’s chemical knowledge. But no matter, the
conclusion remains the same: in life, all processes (the means) lead to
the maintenance of the whole (the end), which itself is but a collection
of the same processes (the means) that leads to the next phase of the
whole. In other words, the life process is circular and recursive, which in
the context of Darwinian evolution becomes spiral.
The recursive nature of the living process is the outcome of three
interdependent components (Fig. 3.9): (1) A physical enclosure that
provides a privileged environment, protecting the cell from the ravages
of the outside world, yet permitting the selective exchange of nutrients
(inward) and waste products (outward). This internal environment sets
an optimal condition for metabolism and information transfer. (2) An
enzyme-based metabolism for harnessing energy and for making all parts
of the cell, including the membrane enclosures, the enzymes themselves,
and the information-carrying molecules. (3) A genetic mechanism for
information transfer from genes to proteins (protein synthesis) and from
genes to genes (replication). Note that all the three components must be
simultaneously functioning for the living process to continue.