What is Life? Philip Ball in Conversation with Iain McGilchrist

Developments in biology are reshaping our understanding of what life is and pushing us to confront questions of value in new ways. Philip Ball-physicist, longtime contributor and former editor at Nature, and the author of over 25 books-draws together the latest research and insights, exploring life as a system of principles that raises conversations about purpose and meaning in How Life Works: A User’s Guide to the New Biology.
As part of our Meanings of Science Project, Marginalia's Editor and Project Director, Samuel Loncar, hosted a conversation with Philip Ball and Iain McGilchrist, psychiatrist, neuroscience researcher, philosopher, and the author of The Matter With Things.
Ball and McGilchrist are two of our distinguished Meanings of Science Project members helping to create a new culture of scientific literacy and debate that deepens the public understanding of science.
Science is our most powerful source of knowledge. But it remains the least accessible domain of learning. New forms of knowledge and scientific breakthroughs happen every day, yet these insights are rarely made available to stakeholders like policy makers, scholars from other fields, or the public.
With support from the Templeton World Charity Foundation, the Marginalia's “Meanings of Science Project” integrates science's deepest insights and brings them to everyone.

[@huguettebourgeois6366]

thank you so much for this conversation!!!!!

[@anned6913]

Wonderful discussion (both parts), thank you all 3. Many ideas come to mind, would be so good to be involved in such a conversation.

[@anned6913]

What is consciousness ? Could there be more than one kind of consciousness ?

[@MikeFuller-ok6ok]

The big questions about consciousness and life and the universe, are only important to the human mind, which has evolved to be interested in them, outside the mind, the universe and life are just physical things that occur through serendipity.

[@richardnunziata3221]

Once AI solves and guarantees human survival other evolutionary mechanisms like replication and intelligence will become less important having offloaded these functions.

[@samparkes2477]

You're in the wrong place for nonsense like that....try Sam Harris or Elon Musk or Bryan Johnson

[@anned6913]

Why would AI have any concern about human survival ? How could it have concern for anything......even for itself !?

[@ALavin-en1kr]

We need agency to become conscious. We could be part of consciousness, not individualized agents of consciousness. Through becoming individually conscious we have a dual choice, to evolve, to being part of, to combine with the whole, while having the option of retaining our individuality. We been given, a dual choice which is the ideal. Some would say that Satan (the light that fell from heaven) fought for individuality and that may be the case. To hear ‘God and Satan reconciled’ sung at Mass, appears impossible and bizarre, but maybe not. Once Satan caused rebellion and separation, and we became individually conscious, then we have a choice. The choice is to be one with the whole: Cosmic Consciousness, or separate ourselves out as individualized consciousness: a perfect balance and the preferred choice. Thank you Satan.