Guy Hoelzer  wrote in message
news:...
> Hi Paul,
> 
> in article chpsl7$n80$1{at}darwin.ediacara.org, Paul at paulw{at}mmail.ath.cx
> wrote on 9/9/04 8:25 AM:
> 
> > How far are we from being able to answer the why question? We
know inanimate
> > salts tends to form crystals in order to minimize energy from our physics
> > course. But this is very far from being ble to explain why
viruses, bacteria,
> > trees, animals tend to reproduing themselves-- and not to mention why the
> > necessity of evolving themselves? What is the physical compelling
reason to do
> > that for? Where to start looking for the why?
> 
> In my opinion, the deepest scientific paradigm we have for answering the
> "why" questions is thermodynamics.  The only hope of
reaching deeper would
> be to hypothesize about the reasons that thermodynamic laws exist in the
> universe.  Many evolutionary biologists are comfortable arguing that natural
> selection (or possibly genetic drift, or mutation) is the
"ultimate" answer
> to any biological "why" question;; but that begs the
question of why natural
> selection exists.  I see natural selection, like all other dynamical
> processes in the universe, as a fundamental part of an emergent phenomenon
> serving thermodynamic imperatives.  Stan Salthe, a philosopher of biology,
> has recently published a paper expanding on this view, but I am afraid I
> don't have the reference for you.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Guy

Anyone on the planet Earth can honestly say that he/she can understand
the  physical necessity of cell, virus, bacteria reproduction and
evolution from thermodynamics? Honestly now.
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