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Full Idea
Among some of the lower organisms, it is a moot point with biologists whether there be anything which ought to be called death.
Gist of Idea
Is there any such thing as death among the lower organisms?
Source
Charles Sanders Peirce (The Doctrine of Necessity Examined [1892], p.334)
Book Ref
Peirce,Charles Sanders: 'Philosophical Writings of Peirce', ed/tr. Buchler,Justus [Dover 1940], p.334
A Reaction
The point, presumably, is that one phase of an organisms moves into another, and the 'individuals' are not distinct enough for their 'death' to be a significant transition. A nicely mind-expanding thought.
| 14803 | The more precise the observations, the less reliable appear to be the laws of nature [Peirce] |
| 14804 | Is chance just unknown laws? But the laws operate the same, whatever chance occurs [Peirce] |
| 14805 | Is there any such thing as death among the lower organisms? [Peirce] |
| 14806 | If the world is just mechanical, its whole specification has no more explanation than mere chance [Peirce] |