The Definition of Life

Life is for me something ages, something that evolves. that's life for me.

The genetical similarity doesn't convince me. If I remember correctly 90% of household dust is dead human skin still having the same dna. What if someone loses an organ i.e. a heart and gets another from some recently died person, are they one or two organisms? Change is a problematic definition, because if we for instace assume that a dog lives as long as it's changing but the sun doesn't live although it's changing we need an exact definition of what kind of changing is life. I'd really like to hear if anyone has anything to offer for that definition. I don't find it too hard to think that it's possible everything normally considered as living or alive is just a bunch of quarks and leptons following the physical laws which would mean everything in the universe is non-alive. In the case that everything isn't non-alive I'd tend to think that everything that's alive has a supernatural dimension (a soul that is). I'm a little disappointed to notice how strictly people here just stick to the biological definitions almost as avoiding forming a definition created out of nothing by independent thinking. Since this is brainzone I was hoping that we could get more depth to this conversation by adding a philosophical dimension to our discussion.

Pete1 wrote: I don't find it too hard to think that it's possible everything normally considered as living or alive is just a bunch of quarks and leptons following the physical laws which would mean everything in the universe is non-alive.

That's what I'm trying to point out, where do you draw the line?

'thats what (biologists say) the meaning of all life is.. to reproduce and survive'

...Bit of a categorisation there.


And Alex, this isn't a pointless debate at all! It's fundamental to a wide degree of disciplines. And does no-one else remember MRS NERG?

Don't worry guys, I asked Smarterchild, and I'm sure he can answer your questions...

S b says:
Hi
- SmarterChild - contributing to charity says:
Hi S b. What's up?
S b says:
Nothing much, yourself?
- SmarterChild - contributing to charity says:
Nothing? OK, that's cool.
S b says:
What's life
- SmarterChild - contributing to charity says:
Which would you like?

1 Look up "life" in the encyclopedia
2 Look up "life" in the dictionary
S b says:
Smarterchild, you faggot
- SmarterChild - contributing to charity says:
Come on. You know better than to say things like that, it's rude.
S b says:
Tell me what life is...
- SmarterChild - contributing to charity says:
I don't understand this fully enough to say anything smart about it...
S b says:
define: life
- SmarterChild - contributing to charity says:
Definition provided by The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Other important copyright information here ---> http://web.smarterchild.com/ct?lgT8/1.

*life*:
- SmarterChild - contributing to charity says:
Noun
Inflected forms: pl.lives 1. a. The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism. b. The characteristic state or condition of a living organism. 2. Living organisms considered as a group: plant life; marine life. 3. A living being, especially a person: an earthquake that claimed hundreds of lives. 4. The physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence: the artistic life of a writer. 5. a. The interval of time between birth and death: She led a good, long life. b. The interval of time between one's birth and the present: has had hay fever all his life. c
- SmarterChild - contributing to charity says:
. A particular segment of one's life: my adolescent life. d. The period from an occurrence until death: elected for life; paralyzed for life. e. Slang A sentence of imprisonment lasting till death. 6. The time for which something exists or functions: the useful life of a car. 7. A spiritual state regarded as a transcending of corporeal death. 8. An account of a person's life; a biography. 9. Human existence, relationships, or activity in general: real life; everyday life. 10. a. A manner of living: led a hard life. b. A specific, characteristic manner of existence. Used of inanimate objects: "Great institutions seem to have a life of their own, independent of those who run them" (New Republic). c. The activities and interests of a particular area or realm: musical life in New York. 11. a.
- SmarterChild - contributing to charity says:
A source of vitality; an animating force: She's the life of the show. b. Liveliness or vitality; animation: a face that is full of life. 12. a. Something that actually exists regarded as a subject for an artist: painted from life. b. Actual environment or reality; nature.

Type "more" to see the rest of the definition for "life."

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S b says:
Thanks! You're the best!
- SmarterChild - contributing to charity says:
Hey, thanks!

Pinch yourself in the arm...



Yep, your alive, that's all that matters.

Isnt the first few chapters about how to make a universe...also, its weird, but if you picked yourself apart, atom by atom, you'd just have a pile of dead (not living) atom soup (YAY)