Miejsce życia i człowieka w przyrodzie. Obrona tezy antropocentrycznej

• Authors: Denton Michael J.

Title variants

EN

The Place of Life and Man in Nature: Defending the Anthropocentric Thesis

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

PL

W artykule analizuję twierdzenie, że uporządkowanie przyrody jest wyjątkowo dostosowane do życia istniejącego na Ziemi (życia ziemskiego), a zwłaszcza do organizmów żywych podobnych do współczesnych ludzi. Dokonuję ponownej oceny tezy Hendersona z książki The Fitness of the Environment [Dostosowanie środowiska], zgodnie z którą zespół podstawowych substancji biochemicznych, które wchodzą w skład życia ziemskiego, cechuje się unikatowym synergicznym dostosowaniem do tworzenia złożonych układów chemicznych charakterystycznych dla życia. Wykazuję, że wyniki analizy Hendersona, po stu latach od ich opublikowania, wciąż są zdumiewająco zgodne z faktami. Wyniki te nadal powszechnie akceptowane są nawet przez astrobiologów. Dokonuję również przeglądu danych empirycznych przemawiających za poglądem, że wiele właściwości tego samego zespołu podstawowych substancji biochemicznych jest szczególnie dostosowanych do fizjologii złożonych istot ziemskich przypominających współczesnych ludzi. Pokazuję, że najnowsze osiągnięcia w zakresie biologii ekstremofilów, alternatywnych biochemii lub ostatnie doniesienia o rzekomym niedostosowaniu przyrody do życia ziemskiego nie podważają w sposób zasadniczy argumentu, zgodnie z którym przyroda jest szczególnie dostosowana do opartego na węglu życia ziemskiego, a zwłaszcza do fizjologii złożonych istot ziemskich podobnych do współczesnych ludzi.

EN

Here I review the claim that the order of nature is uniquely suitable for life as it exists on earth (Terran life), and specifically for living beings similar to modern humans. I reassess Henderson’s claim from The Fitness of the Environment that the ensemble of core biochemicals that make up Terran life possess a unique synergistic fitness for the assembly of the complex chemical systems characteristic of life. I show that Henderson’s analysis is still remarkably consistent with the facts one century after it was written. It is still widely accepted even among researchers in astrobiology. I also review the evidence for believing that many of the properties of the same core set of biochemicals are specifically fit for the physiology of complex terrestrial beings resembling modern humans. I show that none of the recent advances in the field of extremophile biology, alternative biochemistries, or recent allusions to apparent defects in the fitness of nature for Terran life significantly undermine the core argument, that nature is peculiarly fit for carbon-based Terran life, and especially for the physiology of complex terrestrial beings resembling modern humans.

Keywords

PL

Lawrence Henderson; dostosowanie środowiska; witalny zespół; woda; tlen; dwutlenek węgla; bufor wodorowęglanowy; metabolizm; biocentryczność przyrody; antropocentryczne subtelne zestrojenie; wnioskowanie o projekcie

EN

Lawrence Henderson; fitness of the environment; vital ensemble; water; oxygen; carbon dioxide; bicarbonate buffer; metabolism; biocentricity of nature; anthropocentric fine-tuning; design inference

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Zielonogórski. Instytut Filozofii
• Journal: Filozoficzne Aspekty Genezy
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 12
• Pages: 209-254

Contributors

author

Denton Michael J.

• Center for Science and Culture

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