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While abstraction has been a useful tool in Human thought I think in this case it gets in the way.
We separate life from organic chemistry. Why?
In a complex chemical soup some species of chemical(s) will be favored.
Do a logic experiment.
We have two species of molecules that a soup is equally likely to create.
One lasts longer before break down than the other.
The population will have a higher proportion of the longer lasting species.
In time any species of molecule that is possible to produce using the longer lasting molecules will be more likely to appear.
You are already talking about a selection process.
It has an implicit competition for spans of existence and use of pre-existing elements.
Molecules with a tendency to acrue other molecules into a stable configuration will persist. Could be globular (sphere), sheet, or linear chains
[could include branching].
Sheets and chains would have some tendency/ability to tear or break especially if they get large/long enough.
if these sub units retain the tendancy to accrue matter into stable configurations they will grow.
It doesn't have to symetric, regular, or identical reproduction.
Accrue matterial with only occasional breaks and you have life.
feed and reproduce.
Very ugly, very messy, very haphazard, very disorganized.
Its just pond scum.
Like the skin forming on the top of gravy.
Obviously symetry and regularity are favored [more efficient, dependable] in this selection of molecules.
Exact replication probably didn't happen until a long time after this initial process.
But it had at least a half a billion years to do this.
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