Why Biology is Beyond Physical Sciences?
Dear Members Recently our Institute scientists published a paper entitled Why
Biology is Beyond Physical Sciences? in the Journal Advances in Life Sciences.
This paper discusses some of the points that are under discussion in this
group. Details of this paper are given below.
Cite: Bhakti Niskama Shanta and Bhakti Vijnana Muni (2016) Why Biology is
Beyond Physical Sciences?, Advances in Life Sciences, Vol. 6(1), pp. 13-30.
doi: 10.5923/j.als.20160601.03Full-text HTML:
http://dx.doi.org/10.5923/j.als.20160601.03
Full-Text PDF:
http://www.sapub.org/global/showpaperpdf.aspx?doi=10.5923/j.als.20160601.03
AbstractIn the framework of materialism, the major attention is to find general
organizational laws stimulated by physical sciences, ignoring the uniqueness of
Life. The main goal of materialism is to reduce consciousness to natural
processes, which in turn can be translated into the language of math, physics
and chemistry. Following this approach, scientists have made several attempts
to deny the living organism of its veracity as an immortal soul, in favor of
genes, molecules, atoms and so on. However, advancement in various fields of
biology has repeatedly given rise to questions against such a denial and has
supplied more and more evidence against the completely misleading ideological
imposition that living entities are particular states of matter. In the recent
past, however, the realization has arisen that cognitive nature of life at all
levels has begun presenting significant challenges to the views of materialism
in biology and has created a more receptive environment for the soul
hypothesis. Therefore, instead of adjudicating different aprioristic claims,
the development of an authentic theory of biology needs both proper scientific
knowledge and the appropriate tools of philosophical analysis of life. In a
recently published paper the first author of present essay made an attempt to
highlight a few relevant developments supporting a sentient view of life in
scientific research, which has caused a paradigm shift in our understanding of
life and its origin [1]. The present essay highlights the uniqueness of
biological systems that offers a considerable challenge to the mainstream
materialism in biology and proposes the Vedāntic philosophical view as a viable
alternative for development of a biological theory worthy of life.
