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Life is best defined as a "Process" centered on organic codes, not matter. This new definition, based on biosemiotics and code biology, reframes our understanding of living systems.

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Area of Science:

  • Theoretical Biology
  • Philosophy of Science
  • Biosemiotics

Background:

  • The definition of life remains a significant theoretical challenge despite advances in biological knowledge.
  • Existing concepts of life often lack necessary or sufficient features for a comprehensive definition.
  • Common approaches (physical, cellular, molecular) face conceptual limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze existing conceptual frameworks for defining life.
  • To propose a novel ontological and epistemological definition of life.
  • To explore the role of organic codes in defining life.

Main Methods:

  • Ontological analysis of life's fundamental nature.
  • Epistemological examination of life's essential characteristics.
  • Integration of theories from biosemiotics and code biology.

Main Results:

  • Life should be classified as a
  • Process
  • rather than
  • Matter
  • .
  • The presence of organic codes is identified as the essential characteristic of all living beings.
  • Life is conceptualized as a macrocode comprising interconnected coding layers.

Conclusions:

  • Life is a metaphysical encoding process, with living organisms as its material manifestation.
  • Evolution is crucial for life's maintenance but not for its definition.
  • This new concept has implications for astrobiology, epistemology, biosemiotics, code biology, and robotics.