Spazio, vita e processualità: cercare la vita per come non la conosciamo

Abstract

This article explores the epistemological and ontological limitations of current definitions of life in the field of astrobiology. Beginning with a critique of ‘Earth-centred’ definitions of life, the study analyses the challenges posed by artificial life (ALife), the hypothesis of a ‘shadow biosphere’, and the notion of a theoretical definition of life, as proposed by Carol Cleland. The argument is that the persistent substantialist metaphysics limits the possibility of arriving at such a definition, as it hinders our ability to recognise anomalous biological phenomena. The article proposes a radical paradigm shift, adopting John Dupré’s process ontology. This transition provides a more coherent framework for identifying ‘weird’ and alien forms of life, and for understanding or resolving certain puzzles concerning life as we know it, by treating living entities not as stable entities, but as dynamic, self-sustaining (though not self-sufficient) and intricately integrated vortices of matter and energy.