68 Self and the Phenomenon of Life
b2726 Self and the Phenomenon of Life: A Biologist Examines Life from Molecules to Humanity “9x6”process is understood, we have to consider life as an emergent, one that
cannot be foreseen by principles observed on a lower level.93,94
The principle of biological organization (presumably a natural law),
though innate to matter, does not manifest itself until the molecules are
assembled in a certain manner under the most propitious conditions.
Facing the enormous complexities of life, Martin Rees, the astrophys-
icist, cosmologist and President of the Royal Society of Britain, tran-
spired a sense of humility: “Living things embody intricate structures
that render them far more mysterious than atoms or stars. Will scientists
ever fathom all of nature’s complexities? Perhaps they will. However, we
should be open to the possibility that we might encounter limits because
our brains just don’t have enough conceptual grasp. There seems no rea-
son why human mental capacity should be matched to all deep aspects
of reality.”^95 The admonition from Rees is that there might be voids in
reality that human knowledge can never fill. As to whether physics can
explain all the phenomena of life, I like to borrow the chess playing anal-
ogy offered by Rees (alluded to Richard Feynman): To a person who has
never seen chess being played, he can quickly grasp the rules by watch-
ing the game a few times. But knowing how the pieces move is just the
first step on the long road from being a novice to a grand master, for the
beauty of the game lies in the rich variety that the rules allow. Likewise,
the richness and complexity of life might not all be inferable from the
simple laws of physics as we know them today.95,96
Notes and References
- Pauli W. Exclusion Principle and Quantum Mechanics, 1945 Nobel
Lecture, Neuchatel, 1947. - The four quantum numbers are n, l, m and s, where n and l are related to
the energy level of the orbital, m and s are related to the magnetic proper-
ties arising from the motion of the electrons; m from revolution around the
nucleus, and s from self-rotation or spin of the electron. - This picture of bonding does not apply to metals, in which case all electrons
are loosely connected with the atomic nuclei and behave in a collective
manner.