WHAT IS LIFE?
An inconclusive topic which spans religion and science
The most fundamental questions still baffle our greatest thinkers.
Here we learn from three seekers and come away realising that, in terms of knowledge, humanity has not even scratched the surface!
I found this discussion riveting and I hope you will too!
Stephen Mayer
Stephen C. Meyer (1958-present): American historian, author, and former educator, advocate of intelligent design, and director of the Centre for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute.
Education
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in physics and earth science from Whitworth College (1981)
Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in history and the philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge (1987 and 1991)
Career
Professor at Whitworth College
Director of the Centre for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute
Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute
Publications
Author of several books, including “Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design” (2009), “Darwin’s Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design” (2013), and “Return of the God Hypothesis” (2021)
Research and Interests
Intelligent design and its implications for science and philosophy
Origin of life and the evidence for intelligent design
Theistic evolution and its critiques
Cosmology and the search for a designing intelligence
Media Appearances
Featured guest on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast
Interviewed on various other podcasts and radio shows
Awards and Recognition
New York Times bestseller for “Darwin’s Doubt”
Book of the Year by the Times (of London) Literary Supplement for “Signature in the Cell”
Other
Has been involved in controversies surrounding intelligent design and its acceptance in academic and scientific circles.
James Tour
James Mitchell Tour is an American chemist and nanotechnologist, currently a Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Materials Science and Nanoengineering at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Syracuse University (1981) and his Ph.D. in synthetic organic and organometallic chemistry from Purdue University (1986) under the supervision of Ei-ichi Negishi. Tour has completed postdoctoral training in synthetic organic chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1986–1987) and Stanford University (1987–1988).
Research Focus
Tour’s work is primarily focused on carbon materials chemistry and nanotechnology. His research encompasses:
Carbon materials synthesis, including fullerene purification, composites, conductive inks for radio frequencies identification tags, and carbon nanoreporters for identifying oil downhole.
Graphene synthesis from cookies and insects, as well as graphitic electronic devices and carbon particle drug delivery for treating traumatic brain injury.
The merging of 2D graphene with 1D nanotubes to create novel materials.
Awards and Recognition
Tour has received several prestigious awards, including:
Oesper Award (2021)
Centenary Prize (2020)
Trotter Prize (2014)
Feynman Prize (2008)
He was also inducted into the National Academy of Inventors in 2015.
Publications and Patents
Tour has published over 650 research papers and holds more than 200 patents, with an H-index of 129 and i10 index of 538, and total citations exceeding 77,000 (according to Google Scholar).
YouTube Channel
Tour has a YouTube channel where he discusses science and faith, publishing in top scientific journals while exploring deep issues of faith, the Bible, and Jesus Christ. https://www.youtube.com/c/DrJamesTour
James Tour is highly controversial and argumentative when presenting his opinions. This video illustrates:
I must admit that James Tour is dynamic but so are some of his detractors!
Undoubtedly the arguments will wrangle on and on, exploring our reality until we understand this miracle, this LIFE.
ONWARDS!
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The important thing is sharing this educational information on social media, especially on X and Facebook and Discord where I am permanently excluded because my work upsets the totalitarians.
There was a place in the video that I could hardly stop laughing at our cute human attempt to understand and control things. We're hilarious! Life gets so complicated that it's like a long rambling shaggy dog story told to us by the universe. When I watch my 4-year-old granddaughter try to organize how the world works in her mind, I see how similar we educated adults are, trying to explain the inexplicable.
I like McGilchrist better.
But much was known before materialist fallacies took over and covered it up. Check out Brian P Copenhaver's Hermetica. From the very first few paragraphs it clearly explains how reality works, man's place in it and more. As did much of Plato and Buddha though each's vocab takes a while to grok.
If you can get beyond materialism, things start to make sense pretty fast. But most of us can't because it's the dominant mindset of our time, shared East and West.
Another interesting book on this by a scientist (who invented the microprocessor) is Irreducible by Frederico Faggin, what being irreducible is the consciousness-awareness-presence principle which exists throughout our continuum, i.e. is not an ephiphenomenon of brains or bodies, but pervades all and everything. The Hermetic explains this in many different ways. (Also called Hermes Trismegistus).
Oh, and to answer the question What is Life?
Life is Spirit.
Human life is a journey towards meaningfulness and awareness of Spirit and away from ignorance and materialism which involves an appreciation for and cultivation of virtue, which ultimately boils down to tuning into primordial goodness.
Keep it simple.