Introduction: Why Self 3“9x6” b2726 Self and the Phenomenon of Life: A Biologist Examines Life from Molecules to Humanitysimple concept of “self.”^2 As will be seen in subsequent chapters of this
volume, almost anything we do or experience, from feeding a baby, going
to school, reading a newspaper, playing a violin concerto, shaking hands in
the White House, to exploding roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan,
and even to launching the space station, can be traced back to that very
first feature of the first life that appeared on Earth some 3.8 billion years
ago — the self and its ceaseless workings to exist ad infinitum. Figure 1.
outlines the relationship between self and life, and shows that self strad-
dles the two sides of life, the physico-biological and the socio-humanistic.
Self provides a unified view of life.
Fig. 1.1. Diagram showing the intersection of self and life. The left column depicts
the formation of self from matter and covers the time span from life’s origin to eons of
biological evolution, including the renewal of individuals in every generation.
Collectively, this is life in the physical and biological sense. The right column depicts
what transpires from living things as the expression of self, and constitutes life in the
behavioral and socio-humanistic sphere. “Self” overlaps both sides of life and serves as a
standpoint from which life can be seen as a whole.