Between Necessity and Probability: Searching for the Definition and Origin of Life (2004)Hardcover - 2004, 20 February 2004

This intriguing book investigates the major theories of the origins of life in light of modern research with the aim of distinguishing between the necessary and the optional and between deterministic and random influences in the emergence of what we call "life." Life is treated as a cosmic phenomena whose emergence and driving force should be viewed independently from its Earth-bound natural history. The author synthesizes life-related developments in a comprehensive scenario, and makes the argument that understanding life in its boradest context requires a material-independent perspective that identifies its essential fingerprints.