The Quest for a Universal Theory of Life: Searching for Life As We Don't Know It Carol E. Cleland is an English-language textbook that explores the complex challenge of a universal theory of life. The book focuses on the search for unknown forms of life and integrates scientific and philosophical perspectives.
Cleland discusses fundamental problems surrounding the nature of life and emphasizes that our current knowledge is still strongly based on an outdated biological framework. She argues that familiar Earth life is not representative and calls for the search for extraterrestrial life, artificial life, and a possible shadow biosphere on Earth.
This textbook provides an in-depth analysis of the development of general scientific theories and a new strategy to detect unknown life without a predefined definition. It is especially valuable for students and researchers working on astrobiology, nature, and the origin of life in the universe.
Topics such as evolutionary biology and life sciences are covered extensively in this title, which is part of the Cambridge Astrobiology series.