The ORIGIN and PROBLEM of LIFE

In this provocative study first published in 1921, Arthur E. Baines invites the reader on a daring journey between physiology and psychology to explore the foundations of life. He asks: Where does life begin? What sustains it? And what ultimately threatens it?

With striking clarity, Baines melds biology, philosophy and inner experience into a unified investigation of existence’s origin and its ever-present problem—how to live fully, richly and consciously in the face of mortality, limitation and change.

For readers drawn to the question of “Why life?” this book offers both scientific curiosity and deep contemplative insight—illuminating not only how life arises, but how we might engage it more meaningfully.