Before kindergarten, children often ask where babies come from, reflecting innate curiosity about life's origins. While many religions attribute life's inception to a divine spark with little change over time, philosophers like Anaximander advocated for spontaneous generation. This debate continues today, with discussions around meticulously planned creation versus randomness. In the last few centuries, scientists have developed empirical approaches to uncover the origins of life. This article reviews five influential books that contribute to understanding life's beginnings and potential future, starting with James Hutton's foundational work in modern geology.
The traditional answer held by many religions is that life requires a divine spark to get going. These takes often argue that life was created fully formed.
Debate over where life came from and where it's going, if anywhere, continues to this day. Many thinkers have provided possible solutions, each landing between meticulously planned creation and blind randomness.
Modern geology begins with the work of James Hutton, a Scottish polymath. Scientists needed to understand the planet we live on before understanding the origins of life.
Only in the last few hundred years have scientists built an empirical case for the origins of life on Earth.
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