There does not exist such a thing as one characteristic process, that creates life.

''This is a bizarre statement from GodsEyeView or at least RoyalWe. How would you know?''

The typical life creating process is evolutionary though.

''I currently lean toward a contrary opinion, proposed by, for example, Maturana and Varela, that autopoiesis is the one characteristic process.'' -- RalphMellor

I understand that autopoiesis means essentially a process emerging from continued self-reference and system-environment difference (though I have read NiklasLuhmann, not Maturana). I'm not quite clear whether life necessarily implies self-reference, that typically being a property of conscious and social systems.

	 :	Every mammal knows which mammal its mother is. Most of us can find our tails.

	 :	Read about heteropoiesis, even gaiapoiesis.

''Never heard of, care to give a reference?''

Heteropoiesis relates to "designed by man for some purpose". Gaiapoiesis invented to relate to "gaia hypothesis"?

::Better yet start [http://disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Talk:Truth with a defensible notion of truth bound to Terran and Human POV]

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Many people find copulation to be an effective process. (And even when it's not effective, it's fun.)

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Also the title of the first volume of ChristopherAlexander's ''The NatureOfOrder''.

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See DefinitionOfLife

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