Scientifically speaking, What is the Purpose of Life?

[SkyWriting]

Do you even read the posts you respond to?

You mean, do I understand what people are saying correctly? How would I know
unless I respond to what I think they are saying?

 

[Gregory Thompson]

What is the scientific reason life exists, or what scientific laws have "pushed" life into existence, on this one planet?

That is not a question for physicists. Psychologists, sociologists, philosophers maybe.

on a scientific level, everything is as it is until further data illustrates change, then science goes about to discover what caused the change. on a biological level it would appear the reason life exists is because of procreation, how life began is speculative beyond time travel.

 

[SkyWriting]

That is not a question for physicists. Psychologists, sociologists, philosophers maybe. on a scientific level, everything is as it is until further data illustrates change, then science goes about to discover what caused the change. on a biological level it would appear the reason life exists is because of procreation, how life began is speculative beyond time travel.

Sure. That's what I'm asking. There are Gigga billions of tons of rock out there.

What would cause any of this rock to change into life forms?
What would cause it to happen?
How does life benefit a planet?
If we have process of rock, matter, changing into life....how would the rock benefit?
What is the cause? What influenced rock heated by the sun, to become alive?

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Sure. That's what I'm asking. There are Gigga billions of tons of rock out there.

What would cause any of this rock to change into life forms?
What would cause it to happen?
How does life benefit a planet?
If we have process of rock, matter, changing into life....how would the rock benefit?
What is the cause? What influenced rock heated by the sun, to become alive?

That's the thing, without a way of reproducing what is being theorized through an experiment there is no way of 1) knowing that it is possible today 2) knowing that it was possible when the universe may have behaved differently than today.

without reproducible evidence, it is no longer science, it is philosophy.

 

[SkyWriting]

That's the thing, without a way of reproducing what is being theorized through an experiment there is no way of 1) knowing that it is possible today 2) knowing that it was possible when the universe may have behaved differently than today.
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without reproducible evidence, it is no longer science, it is philosophy.

Your the first person I know of to suggest that when life formed
natural laws were different than today.

But I have to say...that is a good answer.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Your the first person I know of to suggest that when life formed
natural laws were different than today.

But I have to say...that is a good answer.

In literature occasionally things in the sky are mentioned that could be seen with the naked eye that now need high powered telescopes to see, also think that in context of "billions of years" it has been a very short time that the human race has moved from a 360 day calendar to a 365.25 day calendar, how many more changes over billions of years?

.. across the entire universe.

 

[Willtor]

You mean, do I understand what people are saying correctly? How would I know
unless I respond to what I think they are saying?

I mean: Since your post cites mine, but the content of your post has nothing to do with mine, I'm wondering whether you actually read the post you cited.

 

[SkyWriting]

I mean: Since your post cites mine, but the content of your post has nothing to do with mine, I'm wondering whether you actually read the post you cited.

I'm flattered.

 

[SkyWriting]

However, if, by "reason," you mean the mechanism by which it happened that life exists, there is a popular hypothesis about how such a thing could have happened. But if it happened as they think, it's unlikely to have left enough evidence to become a theory, so it will probably always remain an hypothesis.

Not the how.
The cause, the influence, the law of nature, the model, the chemical theory, the thermal theory, the electrical theory, the gas theory, the atomic theory, the molecular theory, the color theory, the ph theory, along those lines.

 

[Willtor]

I'm flattered.

Don't troll.

 

[SkyWriting]

Don't troll.

Learn what that means.

 

[Armoured]

What is the scientific reason life exists, or what scientific laws have "pushed" life into existence, on this one planet?

To point out the many, many flaws of New Zealand, both the land mass and the people who live there.

 

[Isaacsname]

" scientifically speaking " ?

" how " something happens is a science question
" why " something happens is a matter of philosophy

 

[SkyWriting]

To point out the many, many flaws of New Zealand, both the land mass and the people who live there.

That's not a well paying job, is it?

 

[Armoured]

That's not a well paying job, is it?

Financial success is secondary in importance to pointing out the many, many ways New Zealand is evil and bad.

 

[SkyWriting]

" scientifically speaking " ?

" how " something happens is a science question
" why " something happens is a matter of philosophy

Why does water freeze?
Why is the sun hot?
Why do planets orbit?
Why does rock get warm in the sun?
Why did life form from rock?

 

[Armoured]

Why does water freeze?
Why is the sun hot?
Why do planets orbit?
Why does rock get warm in the sun?
Why did life form from rock?

Why does New Zealand not just sink back into the Pacific, taking all those mutant 3 eyed lizards and feral hobbits with it?

 

[gluadys]

Why does water freeze?
Why is the sun hot?
Why do planets orbit?
Why does rock get warm in the sun?
Why did life form from rock?

It is, perhaps, a defect of the English language that we do not have two ways to ask "why?" according to the type of answer we seek. This has been well illustrated by the simple question "Why is the kettle boiling?" If you are seeking an answer to "what is causing the kettle to boil?" a scientist can provide that answer in terms of it being set on a heat source which conveys energy to the molecules of the kettle and on to the water in the kettle bringing the water up to a state of boiling. But (as the title of the thread indicates) you are are seeking an answer to "for what purpose is the kettle boiling" the person who placed it on the stove can answer "to make some tea."

Science deals with cause, not purpose, so your OP asks a question which is impossible to answer. Science can (potentially) give us the chemical background and conditions which caused life to arise on earth. But it can no more tell us for what purpose, if any, it arose than it can tell us that the kettle is boiling to make tea. For that you have to go to philosophy or theology.

 

[SkyWriting]

It is, perhaps, a defect of the English language that we do not have two ways to ask "why?" according to the type of answer we seek. This has been well illustrated by the simple question "Why is the kettle boiling?" If you are seeking an answer to "what is causing the kettle to boil?" a scientist can provide that answer in terms of it being set on a heat source which conveys energy to the molecules of the kettle and on to the water in the kettle bringing the water up to a state of boiling. But (as the title of the thread indicates) you are are seeking an answer to "for what purpose is the kettle boiling" the person who placed it on the stove can answer "to make some tea."

Science deals with cause, not purpose, so your OP asks a question which is impossible to answer. Science can (potentially) give us the chemical background and conditions which caused life to arise on earth. But it can no more tell us for what purpose, if any, it arose than it can tell us that the kettle is boiling to make tea. For that you have to go to philosophy or theology.

Then answer the post you did quote.

Why does water freeze?
Why is the sun hot?
Why do planets orbit?
Why does rock get warm in the sun?
(THESE ARE THE WARM UP QUESTIONS) Pun not intentional.

Why did life form from rock?
What caused life to form?
What properties of matter lead to life forming?
What potential in matter leads to life?
What Chemical properties suggest that life would form?
What Physical properties suggest that life should form?
What Electrical properties suggest that life should form?
What Thermal properties suggest that life should form?
Are there any scientific causes for life to form?

 

[gluadys]

Then answer the post you did quote.

Why does water freeze?
Why is the sun hot?
Why do planets orbit?
Why does rock get warm in the sun?
(THESE ARE THE WARM UP QUESTIONS) Pun not intentional.

My answers will be very simple and incomplete since I have only an interested layperson's knowledge of science. But on that understanding, and on the understanding that we are dealing with physical causes---not purpose--here goes.

The questions above are almost all explained by the possession, gain or loss of energy. An additional factor is gravity.

Water freezes when it loses energy to the point where it cannot remain in a liquid state. The atoms slow down and form bonds to make crystals. (Note that the atoms never stop moving, but they can slow down quite a bit.)

The sun is hot because the pressure of gravity on the sun generates huge amounts of heat. At the core of the sun, the pressure is sufficient to strip atoms of their electrons and initiate atomic fusion; this also increases the store of energy and keeps the sun hot.

Planetary orbits are a consequence of the force of gravity.

Rocks get warm in the sun because they absorb the radiant energy of the sun which is transferred to the atoms in the rock, increasing their energy and therefore their temperature.

Why did life form from rock?
What caused life to form?
What properties of matter lead to life forming?
What potential in matter leads to life?
What Chemical properties suggest that life would form?
What Physical properties suggest that life should form?
What Electrical properties suggest that life should form?
What Thermal properties suggest that life should form?
Are there any scientific causes for life to form?

I don't know that life did form from rock. I have heard that rock (in particular clay substrates) may have helped to incubate early life, but not that life formed from rock.

Complex biochemistry.

It is probably not so much properties of matter per se, but properties under certain conditions. For example, so far as we know life has only formed in conditions which allow for water to remain in a liquid state. That demands a certain temperature range. Available organic matter seems to be a pre-condition as well.

The next four are beyond me. You will need to inquire of the relevant experts in those fields. However, I doubt scientists would speak of anything suggesting that life "should" form. Only in terms of conditions allowing the possibility that life may form.

Sure there are scientific causes for life to form. After all, it exists. And the whole field of abiogenesis is quite exciting. Here is a recent new wrinkle on the interactions which brought about life: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150601172834.htm