Why organisms are more than machines

"There are basic technical grounds to be skeptical of that claim, but beyond that, a much deeper issue lies at the boundary between science and philosophy: What makes life different from non-life? Why is a rock inert and insensate, while even the simplest cell manifests open-ended activity in the relentless pursuit of staying alive? Since the only systems that indisputably display intelligence are alive, if we can't understand life, we're probably missing something essential about intelligence."

"Sixty years ago, an influential but little-known philosopher named Hans Jonas gave a potent, creative, and radical answer to this question of what makes life different from non-life. In the decades since, the power and reach of his perspective have gained traction. Today, for a growing group of researchers - in fields ranging from neuroscience to the physics of complex systems - Jonas has become an incisive voice arguing forcefully that organisms are more than just machines, and minds are more than just computers."

Technical skepticism toward imminent superintelligence coexists with a deeper philosophical question about what distinguishes life from non-life. Living systems uniquely display open-ended, purposive activity focused on self-preservation, unlike inert matter. Because only living systems indisputably exhibit intelligence, understanding life is essential to understanding intelligence. Hans Jonas proposed that organisms are more than machines and minds exceed computational models, a view emerging from phenomenology and a moral response to twentieth-century history. Jonas's life included exile from Nazi Germany, military service in a Jewish brigade, and a firm repudiation of his former mentor's political choices. Contemporary researchers in neuroscience and complex-systems physics increasingly engage Jonas's perspective.

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