Origin of Life

I have recently read the book Seven Clues to the Origin of Life by the British author A.G. Cairns-Smith. It is written in the manner of a forensic analysis, as is classically described by Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels of Sherlock Holmes, as Holmes delves into the evidence in the wake of a crime. The book takes this “Holmesian” approach in considering how life might have arisen on Earth. That is, rather than suggest a hypothesis and then explore it to see if it makes sense, Cairns-Smith ponders all the clues and arrives at a conclusion, after ruling out the competing possibilities.

I have read several other books by scientific authors on the origin of life on Earth, and find there is a wide variety of opinions on the subject. There remains considerable disagreement among scholars, since the cause of the origin of life on this planet as yet remains beyond science. Research is closing in on an answer very slowly, and may soon have an answer, but it’s presently an unknown. For now, we are left with guesses.

Western culture is very influenced by the version of life’s beginning that is presented by the Bible—a version that is, of course, mythical and therefore literally incorrect. The book of Genesis’ story is a metaphor, presented in poetry. It’s not science; it’s not intended to be science—it’s a folktale. The real beginning of life was quite beyond the ken of the ancient biblical writers; as is true for other ancient cultures, which also had their own genesis myths.

Life’s origins on Earth could have come about in two significantly different ways: (1) it somehow originated right here on this planet or (2) it originated elsewhere in the universe and then arrived here—both possibilities having occurred about 3 ½ billion years ago. These are two strikingly different scenarios. They offer a very contrasting view of the universe. Is life extraterrestrial or not? In case #2 it obviously is. In case #1 we may be alone in the universe. Again, the answer eludes us as yet.

Human religions are by definition people-centered; they cannot consider extraterrestrial conditions, such as in case #2. Cairns-Smith’s sorting through the clues can fit either case above. In the end, he offers the possibility that whether life began on Earth or elsewhere, it could have started with a seed that would not have been life as we know it, but some sort of nascent, self-organizing precursor. It then required just the right conditions to transform itself into life. In other words, life did not spring suddenly into existence, essentially from out of nowhere, but had a nonorganic beginning, which very gradually evolved into life as we know it today. It’s a neat kind of Holmesian mystery, solved in a unique way! Is it true? Maybe we'll know before long.