The Origin of Life: A Philosophical Hypothesis in Dialogue with Modern Biology.
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| Title: | The Origin of Life: A Philosophical Hypothesis in Dialogue with Modern Biology. |
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| Authors: | Carreño, Juan Eduardo (AUTHOR), Badía, Juan Pablo (AUTHOR), Moya, Vicente Ignacio (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science. Mar2026, Vol. 61 Issue 1, p202-222. 21p. |
| Subjects: | Origin of life, Metaphysics, Theism, Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, ca. 1225-1274, Biological evolution, Causality (Physics), Philosophers |
| Abstract: | Currently, abiogenetic theories enjoy wide support when it comes to explaining the origin of life. Although the advances are undeniable, these models face significant difficulties, which, in our view, stem from the challenge of explaining the emergence of a living being from inert agents. To fill this explanatory gap, interventionist models introduce the action of a higher cause—God—to explain the transition from the nonliving to the living. However, this idea does not fully respect the legitimate autonomy of secondary causes and is dangerously close to the "God of the gaps," widely criticized over recent decades. Expanding on our previous work on biological evolution, we now propose a hypothesis that distances itself from both abiogenesis and interventionism. The resulting model, inspired by the philosophical proposals of Thomas Aquinas, harmonizes the action of God as the first and principal cause with the action of secondary and instrumental causes described by natural history in its own epistemological domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science is the property of Open Library of Humanities and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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