What is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell

This book, based on lectures delivered in 1943, addresses the fundamental question of how the events within a living organism can be explained by physics and chemistry.

Schrödinger argues that living organisms obey the same laws of physics and chemistry as non-living matter, but they maintain order through metabolism, which he terms 'negative entropy'.

He discusses the stability of genes, the role of mutations in evolution, and the concept of an 'aperiodic crystal' as the carrier of hereditary information.

The book also delves into philosophical speculations on determinism, free will, and the nature of human consciousness.