Vital phenomena: life, information, and consciousness

Abstract

Various phenomena of life are typically explained by the physical sciences. Although the biological structures of a living being are subject to physical laws, we suggest that life, information, and consciousness are biological phenomena that are not. In this paper, we present new concepts and viewpoints about the very nature of biology. Life, information, and consciousness are identified as a unique set of biological phenomena that are common to only and all living beings. These three distinct phenomena always occur together in a whole pattern, and matter is viewed as the carrier of these phenomena. We explore the unique characteristics of life, information, and consciousness, and their relationships to one another. The experiences and behaviors of human beings, our present-day knowledge of biology, and some organisms’ simple behaviors that we can observe are used to understand these biological phenomena. A distinction between genetic information and non-genetic information is also made, and their importance to life is emphasized. The interactions of biological activities between living beings and their environments are explained in the context of improving their chance of survival. Additionally, consciousness is simplified and exemplified via five categories from a hierarchical perspective, and various types of death are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Vital phenomena
• life
• information
• consciousness
• death
• biological phenomena

Acknowledgements

The authors have no external funding source to acknowledge. We are deeply humbled by, and are very appreciative of, the suggestions and information provided by the reviewers to improve the manuscript. We thank Mallory Eckstut, PhD, from Edanz Group (https://en-author-services.edanzgroup.com/) for editing a draft of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contribution statement

Both authors have made significant contribution to this article.

Contribution to the field statement

The new concepts and viewpoints presented in this paper are about the very nature of biology and include, but are not limited to, the following: (a) the identification and divided treatment of physical and biological phenomena; (b) the claim that, although biological phenomena may be observed, they cannot be explained by physical laws; (c) the separate treatment of life and living being, and the consideration of matter as a life carrier; (d) the identification and separation of information into genetic and non-genetic information; (e) the separation of consciousness into five different categories with hierarchical levels of complexity; (f) the identification of life, information, and consciousness as distinct biological phenomena that are common to only and all organisms; (g) a clear definition of death, the disappearance of these three phenomena, and (h) the collective naming of these three phenomena that always occur together as ‘the vital phenomena’.

These original concepts and new, separate treatments should enhance our understanding of various biological subjects and allow a more focused approach to future research. Although these novel concepts and ideas may be considered a hypothesis, they are supported by the experiences and behaviors of human beings, our present-day knowledge of biology, and organisms’ simple behaviors that we can observe in our daily lives.