Propositions of Schroedinger and Dyson: Implications for program development in secondary school biology

The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether there is a linkage between the special case of New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Science as they represent biology, and the propositions of Schrodinger and Dyson. The aim of the study is to derive implications for program development in secondary school biology. Critical review reveals that the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Science do not provide linkage to biology and the propositions of Erwin Schrodinger and Freeman Dyson.;If life is characterized by replication and metabolism, then Schrodinger and Dyson present a plausible argument toward describing life as reciprocal forms and functions that characterize a living system.;Examination revealed that Schrodinger, in stating that life can be characterized by the processes of replication and metabolism, emphasized replication and virtually ignored metabolism. Dyson also acknowledges the relationship of metabolism to replication. Examination of Dyson revealed that rather than describing metabolism as a characterization of life, he advances the origin of metabolism and its connection to the origin of life. If metabolism and replication characterize life and if the origin of life is within the domain of biology, then Schrodinger's and Dyson's propositions are central to the characterization of biology.;If program development for secondary school biology requires accurate description of its domain, then it is necessary to acknowledge the complexity of life forms. There is as yet no universally accepted general description of life and no reasonable consensus for something to be termed living. If the conditions for something to be termed living are the capacity to reproduce self as maintained by Schrodinger, and the capacity for self-organization preserved through natural selection as proposed by Dyson, then these conditions form the basis for program development.