Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The supposed development of living organisms from nonliving matter.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In biology, the production of living things otherwise than through the growth and development of detached portions of a parent organism; spontaneous generation.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Biol.) The supposed origination of living organisms from lifeless matter; such genesis as does not involve the action of living parents; spontaneous generation; -- called also abiogeny, and opposed to biogenesis.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a hypothetical organic phenomenon by which living organisms are created from nonliving matter

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

a- + bio- + genesis

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word abiogenesis.

Examples

  • So the question is, "How do you know if the blind leap of faith in abiogenesis is wrong?"

    Convincing Evidence for God 2010

  • So the question is, "How do you know if the blind leap of faith in abiogenesis is wrong?"

    Convincing Evidence for God 2010

  • So the question is, "How do you know if the blind leap of faith in abiogenesis is wrong?"

    Convincing Evidence for God 2010

  • Sadly, in practice, abiogenesis is not yet allowed to be considered falsifiable or subject to the weight of evidence.

    De Facto Intelligent Design in Biology 2010

  • Is it acceptable for scientists, functioning as scientists within science, to take and to teach the view that belief in abiogenesis is not scientifically warranted by the evidence, and to support this view with the chemical evidence that this is not how unguided chemicals behave?

    Convincing Evidence for God 2010

  • If the leap of faith in abiogenesis can persist despite the repeated failure of attempted abiogenesis theories and the absence of any defensible explanation of how it is supposed to actually work, how can a faithful believer in abiogenesis know if that faith is misplaced and they are wrong?

    Convincing Evidence for God 2010

  • So, it would seem that by Coyne's own standard, believers in abiogenesis are in a state that cannot be described as a way of knowing.

    Convincing Evidence for God 2010

  • Because my knowledge of abiogenesis is pretty minimal.

    An Interesting Pattern 2008

  • If you include abiogenesis with evolution, then the neodarwinist will say, Ah, but abiogenesis is completely different.

    Abiogenesis and Evolution 2008

  • The latter statement indicates that we * have* determined that abiogenesis is impossible within the limitations of our methodology. fifth monarchy man: Exactly

    Beckwith on ID 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.