Re-evaluating Boundary Conditions of the Concept of Life

Abstract It is argued that a central challenge to the task of developing a foundational model for life lies within the implicit propositions of the Western scientific view. These propositions constrain thinking about the concept of life. Three implicit boundary conditions in particular - life as a property of a system, life as a purely biological phenomenon, and life as a binary concept - are identified, and it is suggested to replace them with three operational principles - synonymity of ’life’ with ’processes of change’; the foundation of change upon interaction; the recursion and integration of change over boundary conditions.