The Phenomenon of Life

Unlike others who have written works of philosophical biology, Hans Jonas begins at the beginning – with such vital phenomena as metabolism, emotion, sense perception, goal-directed behavior, image making, and thought. In THE PHENOMENON OF LIFE, he attempts an account of “aliveness” that bridges the gap between a biology that is unaware of mind and a psychology of consciousness that is unmindful of corporality. THE PHENOMENON OF LIFE is a singular book. Several of the essays are little gems, the best philosophical discussions of these phenomena I know. But more impressive is the development of the single argument for freedom that runs through the entire work. Jonas traces the growth of the scope and importance of ‘freedom’, from its first stirrings in the independence of form from its ever-changing material, evident in metabolism, to human freedom ordinarily understood. Though I hve quarrels with Jonas’s position here and there , it is provocatively and powerfully argued throughout, and is informed by a breadth and depth of learning and understanding rarely encountered.