CLA2810 Florida State University Definition of Life Essay

Introduction

What is life? Paradoxically, this question has been more difficult for the scientists – and ultimately for us – to answer than the question of what the universe is. It is humbling. When someone asks us, we oftentimes shrug our shoulders and smile knowingly. As soon as we think we have found an answer, the complexity of life and living organisms makes our answer outdated and forces us to look for new explanations. The ancient natural philosophers first attempted to define life as an essential property of the universe. Plato considered life as an essential property of the soul which animates matter into the biodiversity of the natural world. Aristotle, however, is more ambitious than Plato. He does not simply view life as ‘descending’ from what is above to what is below, but defines life as an activity.

Your assignment should contain the following elements and will be graded based on how well your assignment represents them:

• Clear introduction
• Clear thesis statement
  • Do you establish a thesis that is relevant to the given topic?
• Clear use of assigned reading materials (quotes, in-line references, paraphrases, etc.), followed by source attribution in parentheses.
• Critical Thinking
  • Do you explain the reason for every fact you mention?
  • Do you provide a well-supported argument to defend your thesis?
• Clear organization of your supporting material in the main body of text
  • Do you organize the main points of your argument in separate paragraphs?
  • Does each paragraph explain how it relates to the previous paragraph and to your thesis?
  • What is the best way of organizing the main points of your argument in order of importance?
• Originality
  • Does your assignment reflect your own original thoughts and words?
  • Do you avoid over-relying on quotes or paraphrases of others’ words? (You should not, under any circumstances, present others’ ideas or words as your own.)
  • Does your assignment make observations which are obvious?
  • Does your assignment have an “Aha” moment of discovery which you have made while working on it. A suitable place for such an idea is the conclusion.
• Grammar & Style
  • Is your writing grammatically correct and fluent?
  • Have you demonstrated an adequate review (i.e. proofreading) of your writing, as indicated by proper punctuation, proper spelling, etc.?
  • Have you avoided repetitions such as expressing the same thought in a number of different ways?
• Word Count
  • Have you written your assignment succinctly and concisely?
  • Is your assignment between 600–700 words in length? Your assignment should naturally end within this range (i.e. do not leave an awkward ending to your essay just because you have reached the upper limit or because you just surpassed the minimum limit).
  • Do you include a word count at the end of your essay?
• Bibliography
  • Do you list all sources you have used for your essay?
  • A bibliography of the sources you used (such as assigned readings, articles, any other print or online sources used, images, maps, etc).

Note: In-text citations and bibliography should be formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style. To see examples, go to our Canvas course site (Links to an external site.) and follow the following links: Library Tools Þ Citation Management Þ Our Citation Þ Research Guide Þ Chicago.

txt book:

• David C. Lindberg, The Beginnings of West- ern Science: the European Scienti c Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, 600 b.c. to a.d. 1450, 2nd Edition, Chicago, 2007