Abiogenesis is a theory that sought to explain the emergence of life in the land. He sought to unravel the hypotheses about living organisms and defended the idea that the emergence would have happened from raw materials without life.
the philosopher Aristotle (384 a. C.-322 a. C.) was a defender of abiogenesis, as he believed that the beginning of life on Earth occurred naturally, due to the existence of a natural force (vital force) capable of generating life.
abiogenesis theory
The theory, which is also called spontaneous generation, was the first explanation that emerged and accepted to identify how the emergence of life on Earth occurred.
According to her, and as defended by Aristotle, in some types of organic matter, there was a vital force (also called active principle), composed of an energy that would have originated the first living beings on Earth.
What the theory called the vital force is actually a chemical reaction that takes place in organic matter, which results in the production of energy. Thus, this would be the chemical explanation of the origin of living beings, on which abiogenesis was based.
See some examples accepted by abiogenesis as a form of spontaneous generation of life:
- appearance of frogs through an organic reaction in muddy environments,
- birth of flies from the meat decomposition process,
- emergence of worms would be due to natural intestinal reactions.
Later, science proved that these and other animals did not arise spontaneously for these reasons. Its appearance in places was due to natural processes, such as the bad smell and putrefaction (a stage of decomposition) of certain elements, such as meat.
Advocates of abiogenesis
In addition to Aristotle, they were also adepts of abiogenesis: the scientist Isaac Newton (1643-1727), the philosopher Rene Descartes (1596-1650) and the doctor William Harvey (1778-1675).
Is there scientific proof of abiogenesis?
Modernly the theory of spontaneous generation is no longer accepted, due to the lack of scientific proof.
However, until the nineteenth century, abiogenesis was the best-received approach as an explanation for the emergence of living beings.
Was Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) who proved the impossibility of generating spontaneous life. The scientist carried out an experiment in which he used a mixture of different nutrients, boiling it until it reached a temperature at which there would be no living beings in the liquid.
When standing the mixture for a long period, he can verify that the liquid has remained sterile, without generating any form of life.
Also know the main characteristics of living beings.
Difference between abiogenesis and biogenesis
As we have seen, the abiogenesis it is the theory that explained the emergence of living organisms from lifeless organic matter.
already the biogenesis has the opposite reasoning. The theory explains the emergence of living beings from the reproductive process of other existing living organisms.
Therefore, contrary to what abiogenesis claimed, it argued that the generation of life would only be viable from another form of life that previously existed.
Learn more about the biogenesis and see the main differences between abiogenesis and biogenesis.
