Can Emergence Theory help us understand the Origin of Life?
BY: PURUSHOTTAMA JAGANNATHA & SUSHEN DAS
May 14, INDIA (SUN) — The Satsanga MP3, "Satanga: May 04, 2008 is now uploaded.
Today the evolution theory is facing internal criticism in the scientific world. This has lead to the fact that many scientists are pushing a new concept, which they call 'Emergence Theory' by which they are hoping that they could explain the most difficult problem, 'Origin of Life'.
The basic concept of 'Emergence Theory' is that when a large number of complex reactions occur at a time, it may lead to completely new phenomena such as life. For example, in a glass of water we don't see high waves and tides. However, when water is aggregated in large quantity, as we find in an ocean, then new phenomena appear such as waves and tides. Similarly, scientists who are proponents of emergence theory surmise that, if many complex chemical reactions are carried out simultaneously, life may arise all of a sudden.
In the Satsanga, HH Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaj discussed the fundamental drawbacks of 'Emergence Theory'. Maharaj explained that, waves and tides are physical phenomenon and they can be explained by the ordinary laws of physics. On the other hand, the major symptom of life is consciousness. But consciousness does not follow any of the ordinary physical laws because it is something completely different from matter. Current physical laws are not able to explain how matter becomes aware of itself. To propose that consciousness arises from complex chemical reactions would thus produce something that could not be explained in terms of physical laws. Thus the new concept, 'Emergence Theory' is also not sufficient to provide any tangible clue about the origin of life.
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