Abbott, Jessica K. and Persson, Erik (2026) The problem of defining life: a case study using family resemblance. npj Complexity, 3. p. 17.
This is the latest version of this item.
|
Text
The problem of defining life.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives. Download (1MB) | Preview |
|
![[img]](https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/style/images/fileicons/text.png) |
Text
s44260-026-00080-4.pdf Download (664kB) |
Abstract
How to define ‘life’ is an unresolved question in the philosophy of biology, but has become more urgent as researchers around the world attempt to create synthetic cells in the laboratory, develop intelligent and autonomous robots, and search for signatures of life elsewhere in the galaxy. Here, we discuss the pros and cons of some of the current approaches to defining ‘life’, then propose an alternative approach based on family resemblance. Using a statistical modelling framework, we find that although living and non-living entities can be grouped according to overall similarity, it is difficult to find a single set of criteria that can both define known forms of life and be useful in identifying or characterizing novel forms of life. We hope that the family resemblance approach will prove to be a fruitful alternative to traditional approaches to defining ‘life’.
| Export/Citation: | EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL |
| Social Networking: |
| Item Type: | Published Article or Volume | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creators: |
|
|||||||||
| Keywords: | definition of life, Wittgenstein, de re definition, family resemblance, cluster analysis | |||||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Models and Idealization General Issues > Natural Kinds |
|||||||||
| Depositing User: | Dr. Jessica Abbott | |||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 15 Jun 2026 18:23 | |||||||||
| Last Modified: | 15 Jun 2026 18:23 | |||||||||
| Item ID: | 30181 | |||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | npj Complexity | |||||||||
| Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group | |||||||||
| Official URL: | https://www.nature.com/articles/s44260-026-00080-4 | |||||||||
| DOI or Unique Handle: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44260-026-00080-4 | |||||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Models and Idealization General Issues > Natural Kinds |
|||||||||
| Date: | 1 April 2026 | |||||||||
| Page Range: | p. 17 | |||||||||
| Volume: | 3 | |||||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/30181 |
Available Versions of this Item
-
The problem of defining life: a case study using family resemblance. (deposited 17 Jul 2021 03:41)
- The problem of defining life: a case study using family resemblance. (deposited 15 Jun 2026 18:23) [Currently Displayed]
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years
Plum Analytics
Altmetric.com
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[feed]](http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/style/images/feed-icon-32x32.png){kind=icon}