Most of us probably do not need to think too hard to distinguish living things from the "non-living". A human is alive; a rock is not. Easy!Scientists and philosophers do not see things quite this clearly. They have spent millennia pondering what it is that makes something alive. Great minds from Aristotle to Carl Saganhave given it some thought – and they still have not come up with a definition that pleases everyone. In a very literal sense, we do not yet have a "meaning" for life.
Picture source : Pixabay
So which definition do you subscribe to for the definition of life?
Scientist? which type? virologists, biologist, chemists, astrobiologist?
Philosophers? or your religon?
It is like opening a can of worms or an unending rabbit hole.. i am confused and intrigued.
I have no answers only questions haha
hope these articles will help
The famous Nasa definition as they seek life outside earth
"Self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution."
and astrobiology definition:
http://io9.gizmodo.com/can-these-seven-words-really-define-all-life-in-the-uni-1657129771
https://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/starsgalaxies/life's_working_definition.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3005285/#s003title
Picture source: Pixabay
Philosphy for you?
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/life/
https://philosophynow.org/issues/101/What_Is_Life
Maybe good old Webster dictionary?
1a : the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead bodyb : a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beingsc : an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction
2a : the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individualb : one or more aspects of the process of living <sex life of the frog>
3: biography 1
4: spiritual existence transcending physical death
5a : the period from birth to deathb : a specific phase of earthly existence <adult life>c : the period from an event until death <a judge appointed for life>d : a sentence of imprisonment for the remainder of a convict's life
6: a way or manner of living
7: livelihood
There is more : https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/life
Our old trusted biology definition?
Homeostasis: regulation of the internal environment to maintain a constant state; for example, sweating to reduce temperature
Organization: being structurally composed of one or more cells — the basic units of life
Metabolism: transformation of energy by converting chemicals and energy into cellular components (anabolism) and decomposing organic matter (catabolism). Living things require energy to maintain internal organization (homeostasis) and to produce the other phenomena associated with life.
Growth: maintenance of a higher rate of anabolism than catabolism. A growing organism increases in size in all of its parts, rather than simply accumulating matter.
Adaptation: the ability to change over time in response to the environment. This ability is fundamental to the process of evolution and is determined by the organism's heredity, diet, and external factors.
Response to stimuli: a response can take many forms, from the contraction of a unicellular organism to external chemicals, to complex reactions involving all the senses of multicellular organisms. A response is often expressed by motion; for example, the leaves of a plant turning toward the sun (phototropism), and chemotaxis.
Reproduction: the ability to produce new individual organisms, either asexually from a single parent organism or sexually from two parent organisms.
From:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life#Artificial
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/intro-to-biology/what-is-biology/a/what-is-life
Christian faith?
Life [N] [E]God (Yahweh) as the Source and Sustainer of Life. According to Genesis 2:7, "the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." This "breath of life" does not distinguish human beings from other animals, nor perhaps even plant life, as can be seen in Genesis 1:29-30. When God declared his judgment against Noah's generation, all creation in which there was the "breath of life" would suffer the destruction of the flood ( Gen 6:17 ; Genesis 7:15 Genesis 7:21-23 ). The breath of life distinguishes the living from the dead, not human beings from animals ( Eccl 3:18-19 ). Consistently throughout Scripture God is portrayed as the giver of life, which distinguishes living organisms from inanimate things ( Rom 4:17 ).
Maybe some of our Steemians can help:
https://steemit.com/biology/@pjheinz/biology-the-study-of-life-part-1-introduction
https://steemit.com/biology/@pjheinz/biology-the-study-of-life-part-2-what-is-life
https://steemit.com/life/@annamalocaris/what-is-life
https://steemit.com/life/@zachamo/theory-of-life-part-1
How about artificial life?
Please let me know how you define life? or just your thoughts and opinions.
Thank you for your time.
If you like my content please upvote or follow me @laymanave
The biggest secret is that everything is alive. The nature of consciousness alone is dependent on so many factors that we have no clue about imho. But I don't know this - it is just a guess based on my direct experience.
So true. thank you for commenting