The Fullness of Life

At school, we learn that being alive is to possess certain
functions, from respiration to reproduction. But what is life and
why can the word “life” be used more widely than referring only
to biological life? In the latest episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon
Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon consider the meaning
of saying that stars have a lifecycle, and that rocks and atoms
can be ascribed a biography, in that they undergo processes of
becoming. They discuss A.N. Whitehead’s argument that so-called
inanimate objects need to be considered as organisms and that
life must also include the experience of being alive, which is to
say consciousness and mentality. The powers of nature and the
connection of all life, not least in terms of the idea of Gaia,
lead them to ask how God can be said to be the origin and
sustainer of life. Asking what life is dramatically expands the
notion of life and the awesome nature of being alive.

00:00 Introduction
00:26 Criteria of Life
01:19 Life Beyond Biology
02:26 Life Cycle of Stars
03:03 Theological Perspectives on Life
04:08 Greek Concepts of Life: Zoe and Bios
06:18 Life in the Universe
08:18 Gaia Hypothesis
10:10 Atoms and Molecules as Life
12:19 Panpsychism
14:30 Life and Consciousness
17:42 God and Life
19:10 Creative Process and Life
20:28 Diversity and Unity of Life
26:42 Modern Mechanistic Materialism vs. Expanded View of
Life
32:57 Conclusion