Introduction : what is it that makes an object alive? -- Life forces and vital substances : the path from vitalism to materialism -- The material causes of life : the modern perspective -- Coming into being : the origin of aliveness -- A more refined understanding : a modern view of what is necessary for life -- A sufficient property of life : a search for the properties that attest to our being alive -- Dr. Bernard's adaptations : the internal adaptations of life and their critical role in understanding life's nature -- The physical world intrudes : how the physical world shapes our adaptive properties and us -- Adaptations as life : adaptations as the sufficient, lifegiving properties -- Spandrels and other irrelevancies: are there sufficient properties of life that are not adaptations? -- Life as complexity : the nature of biological complexity -- Harmony : the concordance of life and its science -- Conclusion : is there life beyond the genome?