Centre Cavaillès (CIRPHLES, USR 3308), Ecole Normale Supérieure, 29 Rue d'Ulm, 75230 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Res Microbiol. 2011 Jan;162(1):5-9. doi: 10.1016/j.resmic.2010.10.001. Epub 2010 Oct 27.
In addition to its scientific interest, research on the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) and the lower part of the tree of life raises important and difficult issues in biology, but also in the philosophy of science as well as in philosophy in general. The way inquiries are formulated has to be scrutinized to avoid unanswerable questions. Preconceived ideas, poorly defined notions and abuse of metaphors are obstacles which can induce bias in studies and in the interpretation of their results. In the background, the question of life has recently re-emerged.
除了其科学意义之外，对最后一个普遍共同祖先 (LUCA) 和生命之树下部的研究提出了生物学中重要而困难的问题，也提出了科学哲学以及一般哲学中的问题。必须仔细审查问题的提法，以避免无法回答的问题。先入为主的观念、定义不明确的概念和隐喻的滥用是在研究及其结果的解释中产生偏见的障碍。在这一背景下，生命的问题最近再次出现。
