Really nice article. I can't say that I already thought that this was a popular perspective, but from the biochemistry that I have taken, I always assumed that 'dynamic equilibrium' was a cornerstone of biological sciences, and such, I would have guessed that it would have more deeply pervaded theories of biogenesis. I come from a physics background, and for me, life has always been a question of thermodynamics. Life is a process, not a state, and as such, the replicative nature of biological processes are what increase the exergy they can draw upon, putting them into a supra-chemical realm. Or perhaps more simply, these are chemical reactions that can draw upon another well of energy which is not available to abiotic reactions. I suppose that is Darwinian chemistry. I recall b_b mentioning some physicists that posited that life is an avenue of thermodynamic equilibrium that can't be avoided under certain conditions. To me, that seems a reasonable way of looking at things. It would also suggest that life must be fairly common, or at least proportional to the number of conditions that exist that would allow for it. I guess what I am saying, is that I think physicists and biologists need to have lunch together more often. :) At any rate, I completely agree that this perspective can be applied to other areas. IMO there are strong parallels between the abiotic-to-biotic 'transition', and the 'animate-to-conscious' transition.
Thanks! I'm glad you liked the article. After readings their paper I felt really intellectually stimulated. In the past I have just been left disappointed with discussions on the origins of life, but they approached it from such a sensical perspective. I actually also read a few chapters from Andy Pross's book What Is Life which is where I got his perspective on replicating chemistry. It seems like a really promising area of future research for chemists and evolutionary thinkers in general. Also, if you want to watch a documentary about biology from a physicists perspective Wonders of Life by Brian Cox aired on the BBC recently!