
At the outset of his famous 1943 lecture What Is Life?, the physicist Erwin Schrödinger posed the question, “Can that which takes place inside a living organism be accounted for by physics and chemistry?” In this Dialogue, we explore the perennial question concerning the nature of life and its relationship to matter. Schrödinger’s question is asked once again, but within a broader and modern context. We explore his question through those sciences — physics, chemistry, and biology — that have occupied themselves directly with this inquiry. In addition, we examine the foundational assumptions on which the modern theories of life depend, and the implications of these for the very definition of life we employ and the ethics we adopt for the use of the awesome biological technologies under development.
LOCATION: Dharamsala, India
Participants

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Honorary Board Chair

Michel Bitbol, MD, PhD
Archives Husserl, École Normale Supérieure

Steven Chu, PhD
Stanford University

Ursula Goodenough, PhD
Washington University, St. Louis


Eric Lander, PhD
Whitehead Institute

Pier Luigi Luisi, PhD
Institut für Polymere Departement Werkstoffe


Arthur Zajonc, PhD
Mind & Life Institute