Overview
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Table of contents (20 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Opposing Concepts in Cell Physiology: History and Background
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Front Matter
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The Association—Induction Hypothesis
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Front Matter
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Applications of the Association— Induction Hypothesis to Traditional Problems in Cell Physiology
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Front Matter
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A Reevaluation of Current Concepts in Physiology and Biochemistry
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Front Matter
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Keywords
About this book
It is highly probable that the ability to distinguish between living and nonliving objects was already well developed in early prehuman animals. Cognizance of the difference between these two classes of objects, long a part of human knowledge, led naturally to the division of science into two categories: physics and chemistry on the one hand and biology on the other. So deep was this belief in the separateness of physics and biology that, as late as the early nineteenth century, many biologists still believed in vitalism, according to which living phenomena fall outside the confines of the laws of physics. It was not until the middle of the nineteenth century that Carl Ludwig, Hermann von Helmholz, Emil DuBois-Reymond, and Ernst von Briicke inaugurated a physicochem ical approach to physiology in which it was recognized clearly that one set of laws must govern the properties and behavior of all matter, living and nonliving . . The task of a biologist is like trying to solve a gigantic multidimensional crossword fill in the right physical concepts at the right places. The biologist depends on puzzle: to the maturation of the science of physics much as the crossword solver depends on a large and correct vocabulary. The solver of crossword puzzles needs not just a good vocabulary but a special vocabulary. Words like inee and oke are vitally useful to him but are not part of the vocabulary of an English professor.
Authors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: In Search of the Physical Basis of Life
Authors: Gilbert N. Ling
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2667-0
Publisher: Springer New York, NY
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eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive
Copyright Information: Plenum Press, New York 1984
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4612-9661-4Published: 04 October 2011
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4613-2667-0Published: 06 December 2012
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXX, 792
Topics: Tree Biology