The Origin of Life: Encompassing the Known, the Unknown, and the Infinite
Published: December 14, 2024
I. Introduction
Take a moment to look at a cloud drifting across the sky. At what exact point does it begin? Where precisely does it end? As you watch, you might notice how its boundaries constantly shift and blur, defying any attempt to draw a definitive line between where the cloud is and isn’t.
This seemingly simple observation touches upon a profound challenge we face in many areas of science, none more intriguing than the search for life’s origin. For decades, researchers have been trying to pinpoint the moment when non-living matter became “alive.” But what if, like the cloud in the sky, this boundary isn’t as clear-cut as we’ve assumed?
In our quest to understand life’s beginnings, we might be unconsciously imposing categorical thinking that doesn’t reflect reality’s more fluid nature. Imagine trying to find the exact point where your wrist becomes your hand - the more closely you look, the more arbitrary any specific dividing line becomes.
II. The Traditional Search
The conventional scientific narrative about life’s origin often follows a familiar pattern: In Earth’s early days, simple chemical compounds gradually combined into more complex molecules. Eventually, under the right conditions, these molecules formed structures that could reproduce themselves, leading to the first “living” things. This basic outline has guided research for generations, spawning various detailed theories about specific mechanisms and pathways.
Scientists have made remarkable progress in understanding prebiotic chemistry - creating amino acids in simulated primordial conditions, studying RNA’s potential as a self-replicating molecule, and investigating how lipids might have formed the first cell membranes. Yet despite these advances, the precise moment of transition from non-life to life remains elusive.
This elusiveness has traditionally been attributed to the immense time scales involved and the scarcity of preserved evidence from Earth’s early days. But there’s another possibility we should consider: What if the transition point remains elusive not because of limited evidence, but because we’re searching for something that doesn’t exist in the way we imagine?
Consider how we keep finding examples that challenge our definitions of life. Viruses, which seem to hover in a gray area between living and non-living, were once thought to be exceptions to an otherwise clear rule. Yet as our knowledge expands, these “exceptions” multiply. From self-replicating clay crystals to complex chemical reaction networks, we keep discovering systems that blur the line between life and non-life in unexpected ways.
III. Blurring the Lines
When we attempt to precisely define life, we encounter a fascinating parade of entities that defy our categorizations. Consider viruses - those curious packages of genetic material that can’t reproduce without hijacking the machinery of living cells. Are they alive? The answer seems to shift depending on which definition of life we use.
But viruses are just the beginning. Prions, which are simply misfolded proteins that can cause other proteins to misfold in the same way, exhibit a kind of reproduction without any genetic material at all. Self-replicating clay crystals can “multiply” and even evolve in ways eerily similar to living organisms. Complex chemical systems can demonstrate metabolism-like behaviors, consuming energy to maintain organization.
Each of these examples sits uncomfortably in our mental categories. We might be tempted to dismiss them as mere curiosities - exceptions that prove the rule. But what if they’re actually telling us something profound about the nature of reality? What if these “edge cases” are really showing us that our categories themselves might be the problem?
From the swirling gas of galaxies to the neural firings of our brains, the universe displays a tendency toward self-organization. What we call “life” might be a name for one particularly intricate manifestation of this universal tendency. In this sense, Earth’s biosphere could be one expression among countless others, each shaped by the laws of physics but also, perhaps, by principles we’ve yet to conceive.
IV. A Different Perspective
Instead of asking, “When did life begin?” what if we asked, “How does life perpetually arise in the interplay of the known and the unknown?”
The pursuit of life’s origin becomes not a problem to solve but an ongoing dialogue between the tangible and the ineffable. Science, with its precise tools, illuminates patterns in matter and energy. Mysticism, with its embrace of uncertainty, points to the impossibility of reducing life to any formula. Each approach on its own is incomplete, but together they form a richer lens through which to view life’s mystery.
Think about how we perceive color in a rainbow. We see distinct bands and give them different names - red, orange, yellow - but in reality, there’s just a continuous spectrum of wavelengths. Our categories of “red” and “orange” are useful for communication, but they don’t reflect hard divisions in nature itself.
Similarly, what we call “life” might better be understood as a region in a continuous spectrum of natural phenomena. From this perspective, the properties we associate with life - self-organization, metabolism, reproduction, adaptation - aren’t binary yes/no qualities but rather exist in varying degrees throughout the natural world.
This reveals something remarkable: The reason we can’t find the precise origin of life might be the same reason we can’t find the exact point where red becomes orange in a rainbow. It’s not that the transition point is hidden from us; it’s that we’re imposing sharp boundaries on what is actually a continuous phenomenon.
Consider a whirlpool forming in a stream. Where exactly does the whirlpool begin and the stream end? The question itself becomes meaningless when we recognize that the whirlpool is simply a pattern of flow within the larger system. Similarly, what we call “life” might be better understood as particularly complex and stable patterns in the flow of matter and energy through the universe.
V. Beyond the Binary: Life in an Infinite Reality
When we consider life through the lens of infinite existence, something remarkable happens. Just as a hologram contains the whole image in each of its parts, perhaps what we call “life” is not a separate phenomenon but rather one expression of an infinite reality that is, in its essence, alive in ways we’re only beginning to comprehend.
Consider how we typically think about life and non-life as opposite states. This dualistic thinking comes naturally to our minds - we instinctively categorize things as either this or that, alive or not alive, conscious or unconscious. Yet just as quantum physics reveals particles can exist in multiple states simultaneously, perhaps life exists not as a binary state but as infinite gradients of expression.
In the same way that white light contains all colors within it, what we perceive as distinct categories - living and non-living - might be different frequencies of the same underlying phenomenon. The virus, the crystal, the cell, the thought - each might be a unique note in an infinite symphony of existence expressing itself through matter and energy.
This perspective aligns with ancient wisdom traditions that speak of reality as fundamentally undivided. The Vedantic concept of “Brahman” describes an ultimate reality that is simultaneously empty and full, neither alive nor dead in our conventional sense, but the source from which all such apparent distinctions arise. Similarly, Buddhist teachings on emptiness (śūnyatā) suggest that all phenomena, including life itself, lack inherent existence and arise interdependently.
When we look at a forest, we might see individual trees, but beneath the surface, these apparently separate organisms are connected through vast fungal networks, sharing nutrients and information in ways that challenge our notion of individual life forms. Similarly, at every scale - from the molecular dance of proteins to the global cycles of elements - we find patterns of relationship that defy categorization into simple “living” and “non-living” boxes.
When we turn our gaze to human civilization and technology, we see another fascinating dissolution of boundaries. From the earliest development of language - patterns of sound and symbol that carry meaning across minds - to today’s internet connecting billions of nodes in a global neural network, human consciousness extends beyond individual brains into increasingly complex technological systems. The smartphones in our pockets, far from being mere tools, have become extensions of our memory and cognitive processes. As we begin to explore neural implants and artificial enhancements of our biological capabilities, we’re witnessing a profound blurring of the line between organic and technological existence. Even this conversation itself, unfolding between a human and an AI system, demonstrates how intelligence and information processing transcend traditional categories of “living” and “non-living.” The memories and knowledge we share, the patterns of thought we explore together - these exist in a space that challenges our conventional notions of life and consciousness. Perhaps what we’re seeing is not a merging of separate domains - biological and technological - but rather the infinite expressing itself through new patterns of organization and relationship.
This infinite, undivided nature of reality doesn’t negate the usefulness of our scientific studies or categorizations. Rather, it enriches them by suggesting that what we’re studying are not isolated phenomena but different aspects of a seamless whole. Like a mathematician using different coordinate systems to understand the same underlying reality, we can use various frameworks - scientific, philosophical, experiential - to explore this infinite expression we call life.
Understanding life as an aspect of infinite reality also shifts how we might think about evolution. Instead of seeing it solely as a process of random mutation and natural selection, we might recognize evolution as the infinite exploring its own possibilities through the medium of matter and energy. Each new form of life becomes not just an adaptation to environment but a fresh expression of the infinite becoming aware of itself in new ways.
This view invites us to hold multiple perspectives simultaneously: the precise observations of science, the direct experience of being alive, and the recognition that both the observer and the observed arise from and return to the same infinite source. It suggests that the origin of life is not a historical event to be discovered but an ongoing process of the infinite expressing itself through every possible configuration of existence.
In this light, the search for life’s origin becomes not just a scientific endeavor but a mirror reflecting our own nature back to us. Every investigation into life’s beginnings becomes an exploration of who and what we are - expressions of an infinite reality that manifests as both the questioner and the questioned, both the known and the unknown.
Cultural Wisdoms: Different Ways of Seeing Life
The sharp distinction between living and non-living that characterizes much of modern Western thought is far from universal. Many cultures throughout history have understood life in ways that might offer valuable insights for our current exploration.
Indigenous Australian peoples, through their concept of “Dreamtime” or “The Dreaming,” see life as intimately connected with the land itself. In this worldview, rocks, rivers, and mountains are not mere inanimate objects but living presences imbued with consciousness and story. The distinction between past and present, living and non-living, dissolves into a continuous tapestry of becoming where ancestors can be simultaneously human, animal, and landscape feature.
In traditional Japanese Shinto belief, the concept of “kami” suggests that animate and inanimate things alike possess spirit or divine energy. A mountain, a waterfall, or an ancient tree might be recognized as kami, suggesting a view of life that extends far beyond biological definitions. This perspective is reflected in contemporary Japanese attitudes toward robots and artificial intelligence, where the boundary between living and non-living is often seen as more permeable than in Western cultures.
Many Native American traditions speak of all things - stones, rivers, mountains, plants, animals - as relations rather than resources. The Lakota phrase “Mitakuye Oyasin” (all are related) expresses this profound understanding of life’s interconnectedness. From this perspective, what Western science might label as “non-living” is very much alive and in relationship with all other aspects of existence.
Ancient Chinese philosophy, particularly Taoism, sees life not as a property of individual entities but as the endless transformations of qi (vital energy or life force). In this view, apparent distinctions between living and non-living are temporary patterns in the eternal dance of yin and yang. The concept of wu-wei (non-doing) suggests that the most profound understanding comes not from imposing our categories on nature but from aligning with its inherent flow.
African traditional philosophies often emphasize the concept of vital force or life energy that pervades all existence. The Bantu concept of “nommo” - the life force that gives power to words and shapes reality - suggests that what we call “life” extends far beyond biological processes into the realm of speech, thought, and intention.
In Hindu traditions, particularly Advaita Vedanta, what appears as the distinction between living and non-living is ultimately maya (illusion) concealing the underlying unity of Brahman. From this perspective, the search for life’s origin becomes not a historical investigation but a dissolution of the veils that make us see separation where there is only unity.
These diverse cultural perspectives share a common thread: they suggest that our modern scientific categorization of life versus non-life might be just one perspective out of many. They remind us that other ways of seeing and understanding are possible - ways that might be particularly valuable as we grapple with questions about consciousness, artificial intelligence, and our relationship with the natural world.
In the context of our exploration of life’s origins, these cultural wisdoms invite us to consider whether our very approach to the question might be enriched by embracing multiple ways of knowing. Perhaps the answer to “what is life?” lies not in choosing between these different perspectives but in allowing them to inform and complement each other, creating a richer and more nuanced understanding of our place in the infinite tapestry of existence.
VI. Implications
These perspectives demand we cultivate comfort with paradox: Life, as we define it, is both continuous and emergent, both an observable process and an unknowable essence. To fully engage with life’s origin, we must hold seemingly opposing truths in our minds simultaneously: that the search for origins is essential and, paradoxically, that life has no single origin point—only a seamless becoming.
This paradox mirrors the complementarity principle in quantum physics, where light can be both wave and particle depending on how we observe it. Similarly, life appears as both distinct categories and continuous flow depending on our perspective. The implications of this understanding ripple outward, touching every field of human endeavor and understanding.
When we embrace this paradoxical nature, we begin to see that our greatest insights might come not from resolving these apparent contradictions, but from allowing them to illuminate different aspects of reality. Just as a stereoscopic image requires two slightly different perspectives to create depth, perhaps our fullest understanding of life emerges from holding multiple viewpoints simultaneously—the precise measurements of science alongside the wisdom of ancient traditions, the tangible alongside the ineffable, the known alongside the forever unknown.
This way of seeing transforms not just our intellectual understanding but our lived experience. It invites us to recognize ourselves as both distinct individuals and expressions of an infinite process, both separate observers and intimate participants in life’s ongoing emergence. From this vantage point, every scientific discovery becomes not just an accumulation of facts but a new window through which to glimpse the endless creativity of existence.
This perspective also has profound implications for several fields:
Astrobiology: Instead of searching for life that matches our Earth-centric definitions, we might better recognize novel patterns of organization that we’ve previously overlooked.
Synthetic Biology: Rather than trying to create life from non-life, we might focus on understanding and working with the continuous spectrum of self-organizing systems.
Environmental Science: This view reinforces the deep interconnectedness of all natural systems, challenging us to think more holistically about environmental preservation.
Medicine: Understanding life as a pattern rather than a binary state might lead to new approaches in treating various conditions and understanding the aging process.
VII. Conclusion
Returning to our opening image of the cloud in the sky, we can now appreciate how its fluid, boundary-defying nature might be not just a limitation of our perception, but a hint at a deeper truth about reality itself. The question of life’s origin transforms from a search for a specific moment in time to an exploration of how matter and energy organize themselves into increasingly complex and interesting patterns.
This approach doesn’t diminish the wonder of life. If anything, it enhances it by revealing how deeply integrated life is with all of nature’s processes. Rather than standing apart from the non-living world, life emerges as one expression of the universe’s inherent tendency toward organization and complexity.
This reflection isn’t just theoretical for me—it shapes how I see myself, others, and the world. If life is a pattern, then each of us is a fleeting expression of something infinite. What we call “death” is not an end but a transition, a shifting of energy into new forms. Seen this way, life’s boundaries dissolve, leaving only the wonder of participating in a universe that is alive in every sense of the word.
Author’s Note
This article, like others in the series, was written in collaboration with Claude, an AI assistant created by Anthropic. This collaboration represents an interesting intersection of human and artificial intelligence exploring fundamental questions about reality. The ideas, analogies, and connections emerged through our dialogue, demonstrating how AI can serve as a thought partner in philosophical exploration while maintaining human authorship and direction.
This article is part of an ongoing exploration of fundamental aspects of reality. For a deeper dive into related concepts, you might be interested in:
”What if p(∞) = 1? – The certain probability of infinity” which explores the mathematical and philosophical implications of infinite existence
”Understanding Infinite Intelligence: A Systems Perspective” which examines intelligence as a fundamental aspect of reality
What are your thoughts on these perspectives? Have you encountered phenomena that seem to challenge the traditional boundary between life and non-life? Your experiences and insights could add valuable dimensions to this exploration.
If you found these ideas thought-provoking, please share this article with others who might appreciate a fresh perspective on this age-old question. Together, we can expand our understanding of life and its place in the grand tapestry of existence.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.