What is life

[Cosmin Mihai]

Hi,

I recently read a book "What is life?" by Paul Nurse and he didn't answer the question in the fundamental way. I thought that this might be the place to find the answer.

We have a certain pre-programmed intuition to recognize life, we can tell when a holon (to use Leo's term) is alive or not (or so we believe). And this seems to be the only efficient method to say if something is alive or not.

For the more spiritually advanced: are there holons that are alive and that usually we see as not alive?

Where is the turning point where a mineral becomes alive? Where is the point where if you add something to some molecules, it becomes alive?

Why is life starting at a virus scale and ending with the biggest whale, shouldn't it be encountered on all scales? From particles dimensions to galaxies dimensions?

Are there some interesting ideas that you can share about this?

 

Thank you

 

[LastThursday]

William Sidis had some ideas about life:

 

My own take, is that life is any bit of matter that actively works to keep itself intact over time. All life has an identity it maintains against chaos (entropy). This is what Sidis says above. Most life does this by reproducing itself (and so includes viruses). Identity itself can be diffuse and not necessarily concentrated in one individual.

Edited December 7, 2022 by LastThursday

[Space]

On 03/12/2022 at 8:34 PM, Cosmin Mihai said:

Hi,

I recently read a book "What is life?" by Paul Nurse and he didn't answer the question in the fundamental way. I thought that this might be the place to find the answer.

We have a certain pre-programmed intuition to recognize life, we can tell when a holon (to use Leo's term) is alive or not (or so we believe). And this seems to be the only efficient method to say if something is alive or not.

For the more spiritually advanced: are there holons that are alive and that usually we see as not alive?

Where is the turning point where a mineral becomes alive? Where is the point where if you add something to some molecules, it becomes alive?

Why is life starting at a virus scale and ending with the biggest whale, shouldn't it be encountered on all scales? From particles dimensions to galaxies dimensions?

Are there some interesting ideas that you can share about this?

 

Thank you

 

Surprised this hasn't got more responses.

We can make distinctions about what is alive and what isn't, and those distinctions are useful to make but relative to the individual, the society, culture, time, etc.

Fundamentally, before any distinctions are made, everything is just one. There is no distinction or difference between what we think is 'alive' and what is not. There is no such thing as 'aliveness', or a 'thing that is alive'. These are relative distinctions we're imagining and then placing onto reality for self-survival.

Where is the line between a thing that is alive and a thing that is not? At what point does a thing become 'alive'? Who gets to decide that? Who gets to decide where that line is. Well, no one. There is no point where a thing goes from not alive to alive. No point where a molecule or particle or virus, goes from non alive to alive. See how we create these distinctions? 

Edited December 8, 2022 by Space

[thisintegrated]

It is difficult to define exactly what constitutes "life," as it is a complex and multi-faceted concept. However, there are some common characteristics that are typically associated with living things, such as the ability to grow, reproduce, and respond to stimuli. These characteristics may be present on various scales, from viruses to whales, and may also be present in holons or other entities that we do not typically consider to be "alive." The exact point at which a mineral or other non-living substance becomes alive is a matter of debate, as it is not always clear where the line between the two is drawn. Some theories suggest that life may be present on even smaller scales, such as at the level of individual atoms or molecules. Ultimately, the concept of life is complex and may involve many different factors, both physical and metaphysical.

[Leo Gura]

What is a chair?

In fact you do not know what anything is. This problem isn't limited to life.

The only way to fully answer a what-is question is via Awakening.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Leo Gura

[vladorion]

There is no 'what' to anything.

[King Merk]

Life is….

This

[Rafael Thundercat]

"Life is a noun, but the phenomenon to which it refers is a process. And is vitalistic: when we say life, we think we know what we are talking about when we often simply applied a label that allows us to categorize, rather than examine closely, the phenomenon about which we are speaking" 

Quote from the Book in the picture

[vishnusavestheday]

I remember, years ago, taking 3 tabs of strong LSD and sitting with my tripsitting friend after a workout and just asking him over and over the question of "What is Life?" until I literally forgot what everything was. I forgot who I was, I forgot what burden the question itself even meant to me. I felt I was a  bound lightning bolt flame--flickering in most moments but arcing sometimes.

 

I remember him dryly saying, "Life is just what you make of it." 

 

Life is forgotten. Life is typically forgotten. What is life but something forgotten throughout the day.

[Eternal Unity]

On 3.12.2022 at 10:34 PM, Cosmin Mihai said:

"What is life?"

God.