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A. Karim Ahmed
Cosmological Origin of Life, Systems Biology and Aesthetic Beauty: The Harmony, Grace and Serenity of Nature in a Human Dominated Planet


Abstract

It is increasingly likely that the basic molecular ingredients needed for life to arise on earth could very well have originated in interstellar space. In recent years, astrobiological studies have shown that thermodynamically stable amino acids and nucleic acids were present in the 4.5 billion year old Murchison meteorite, a carbonaceous chrondite rock. What is still unclear is how life itself originated on earth in the so-called “primordial soup”. One approach to addressing this challenging question is to view the origin and evolution of living organisms from the perspective of systems biology. Systems biology starts with the premise that all earth’s animate and inanimate matter are closely interrelated within an open, non-linear, and far-from-equilibrium thermodynamic state. Viewed from this perspective, living systems from their earliest inception were embedded in a primitive, yet increasingly complex biogeochemical nutrient cycle. In other words, life evolved through a series of dynamically optimal ecosystems that led to the present vast proliferation and fecundity of life-forms. What is even more astonishing is the extraordinary charm and beauty of nature that we observe today, especially when seen in comparison to human built structures, manufactured artifacts and dwelling places. The aim of this paper is show that dynamically optimal systems and the presence of aesthetic beauty in nature are essentially synonymous in kind – they reciprocally define one another. However, this still begs the question: whence does the concept of aesthetic beauty arise in the first place in the human mind? In Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Judgment, the definition of the beautiful and the sublime are placed within the framework of “sensus comminus” (consensus of the community), which makes such reflective judgment highly subjective, idiosyncratic and ephemeral. On the other hand, by making a distinction between the beautiful and the sublime, Kant has given us a means to construct a more incisive aesthetic theory. From the point of view of systems biology, beauty may be seen as a reflection of the underlying harmonies of a natural order, which a well-functioning dynamical system intrinsically possesses. Understanding the relationship between nature’s beauty and dynamically optimal systems has an important part to play in the proper selection of “green technologies” for developing a globally sustainable economy. Only in recent years have we become aware of the intricate web of interconnections that underlie much of what we define as natural systems. We have discovered belatedly that life on earth has constantly evolved toward a more sustainable and dynamically optimal order, one that is functionally efficient, structurally beautiful and at times quite sublime. Nature contains a level of harmony, grace and serenity not found in human societies, except in the quiet retreats of certain religious mystical orders. The humblest flower in a garden plot or an obscure insect on a forest floor has more efficiency, less wastefulness and greater harmonious order than almost any edifice built by human hands. What is urgently needed today is to break away from the tyrannies of our “superior” intellect and “advanced” technological skills that were brought to us by the advent of the industrial revolution, whose design outputs and manufacturing processes are for the most part discordant, simple and crude. Rediscovering and relearning what our human ancestors knew instinctively – their humility, respect and intimate understanding of nature – has become an imperative for the survival of our planet. In all these considerations, the beauty and sublimity of nature’s inner workings and harmonious order can and should be our best guide.

Biography

Dr. Ahmed is the Director of International Program at the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) in Washington DC, where he serves on its Board of Directors. In addition, Dr Ahmed is Adjunct Professor in Occupational and Environmental Medicine at University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, and conducts theoretical biology research on origin of life and pre-biotic chemistry with Dr. Donald Engelman at Yale University, New Haven, CT.

Dr. Ahmed obtained a B.Sc. in Physics & Chemistry from the University of Karachi, Pakistan, and a Ph.D. in Physical Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota. He conducted basic research in protein chemistry at the Biological Laboratories at Harvard University, and was a research fellow in the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Dr. Ahmed was Research Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in New York City (1974-1988). He was Principal at ENVIRON Corporation in Princeton, NJ (1988-1990), and Principal at Science and Policy Associates (SPA) in Washington, DC (1992-1997). In the late 1990s, Dr. Ahmed was Deputy Director of the Health, Environment and Development program at the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington, DC.



 

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