Jain Journal 2009 07

Author(s): Satyaranjan Banerjee
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 18

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JAIN JOURNAL VOL-XLIV, NO. 1 JULY. 2009
proportion of these chemical elements in living things are very different from those in the non-living environment. A living organism's chemical composition, structure, and function are all more complex and more highly organized than those of non-living things... Although we intuitively think that we can tell if something is alive or not, it is often difficult to do so. It is important to emphasize that all of these characteristics taken together define life. 13
And Conrad Lorenz, writing "On the Virtue of Scientific Humility", observes: "It is wrong, however, to assert that life processes are essentially chemical and physical processes. This assertion though often made contains unnoticed a false value judgement."
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An adult human typically has more than fifty trillion (i.e. 50000 billion) cells and about 50 million get replaced every second as part of its wear and tear. Each cell, which is considered as the basic unit of life, came from division of a previously existing cell, but where did the first cell come from?,15 the science has no answer to that. Obviously something (i.e. life) cannot come from nothing or non-life. Science has so far not succeeded in creating even a single cell, in producing even a single drop of blood, or producing synthetic hormones like insulin from purely chemical sources which can replace the natural hormone or make good its deficiency in diabetics. Despite having complete knowledge of the molecular structure of insulin or blood, when need arises for either of them, science has to have access to organic sources-human or animal-for the supply. 16
Just as different organs function as parts of a corporate body in co-ordination with their counterparts and yet retain their identity by performing specialized function as independent units, the constituent
13. Ibid., p. 12
14. Lorenz, n.8.
15. Karen Arms, n.9, p. 341.
16. Amrendravijayji, Munishri, Science Discovers Eternal Wisdom, ..... Lodaya (Gandhidham : Jain Sahitya Academy), 1993), p. 14.
by J.D.