What is life?

[arunangelo]

Living organisms are in a constant state of well orchestrated activities. These activities cannot happen on their own; unless there is a force to initiate and sustain them. This force is the life of the organism. This force, unlike other forces in nature is not static, but dynamic and intelligent. It is dynamic because it sustains a life process that is extremely dynamic. It is intelligent because it orchestrates an extremely complex life process. For example it orchestrates the development of a single cells embryo into a fully grow human being with an extremely complex brain. Therefore, although a single cell embryo does not have a brain it does have a life that is extremely intelligent. One can get a faint idea about this intelligence if we look at computers. Computers do not have brain. Yet they perform some extremely complex and intelligent tasks. Some people call it computer intelligence. Life is however much more than a computer because it is dynamic, self-sustaining, constructive and reproductive. Furthermore, its intelligence is far greater than the most powerful computer we can ever build. This is evident by the fact that it orchestrates the building and functioning of multiple highly complex organs, including a highly intelligent human brain with memory capacity approximately equal to 20,000 computers. Life, therefore, is a dynamic and intelligent force that keeps organisms functionally active.

Functions of living organisms include: growth, development, self-preservation and reproduction. These functions are all related to their bodies. Human beings however, also have functions that are not related to the body. These functions include: creative and rational thinking and moral decision making. Therefore, human life, which is involved in developing and maintaining these functions transcends the body and does not die with the death of the body. Furthermore, these functions mirror those of God’s. Human life therefore is sacred. In addition, since this life enters human body at conception human life is sacred from the moment of conception.

[Nilloc James]

Interesting thught process there.

Though I am not a biologist I don't think there is a "life energy" as it has never been proven and life exists because of cellular activity.

How god was involved in your theory I have no idea but you refrenced him anyway.

[McCulloch]

A little precision might be asked for in defining your terms. What do you mean by force? Biologists generally do not use the term. In physics, a force is any agent that causes a change in the motion of a free body, or that causes stress in a fixed body. All the forces in the universe are based on four fundamental forces.

1. The strong and
2. weak forces act only at very short distances, and are responsible for the interactions between subatomic particles including nucleons and compound nuclei.
3. The electromagnetic force acts between electric charges and
4. the gravitational force acts between masses.

All other forces are based on the existence of the four fundamental interactions. Some other forces, based on the four fundamental forces:

• Normal force
• Friction
• Tension
• Elastic force
• Continuum mechanics
• Fictitious forces
• Centripetal force

The standard measurement unit of force is the newton (symbol N), which is the force required to accelerate a one kilogram mass at a rate of one meter per second squared. For this life force to be called a force, it should be measurable in these units.

[Ooberman]

I think he means "The" Force...

maybe it's not with you...?








Oh, BTW, great post. This kind of thing needs to be reiterated often. Also, when people mention "Energy".

[thunderfbolt]

I think he means Chakra.

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! Rasengan!

[handofnergal]

Living organisms are in a constant state of well orchestrated activities.

m'kay

These activities cannot happen on their own; unless there is a force to initiate and sustain them.

to initiate maybe, everything had a kind of first cause, but since I am an atheist I do not believe the first cause argument has any weight if that is where you are going - but to sustain nothing is needed, an object in motion for example shall remain in motion... O_o

This force is the life of the organism.

Nope, life is a result of certain processes determined by the interaction of organic molecules and such, you are redefining life to support your argument

This force, unlike other forces in nature is not static, but dynamic and intelligent.

The force of gravity is not static, the surface of the Sun is very dynamic but not alive, and how do you define alive? Is an Amoeba intelligent? It sure is alive.

It is dynamic because it sustains a life process that is extremely dynamic.

Circular argument and a non sequitor - life is dynamic because it is dynamic? You are raping a definition

It is intelligent because it orchestrates an extremely complex life process.

The laws of nature do that, if they are intelligent then why do they also cause death or exploding stars?

For example it orchestrates the development of a single cells embryo into a fully grow human being with an extremely complex brain.

Biology does that on its own

Therefore, although a single cell embryo does not have a brain it does have a life that is extremely intelligent.

wrong, a zygote has DNA telling it how t grow, we also have telomeres telling our body to age - get to the point plez

One can get a faint idea about this intelligence if we look at computers.

No we can't, that's a bait and switch - life is biological, computers are man made; poor analogy, if you want to make the case for life being engineered, which is where you are going, just say you support the ID movement so I can address my stupid design rebuttal

Computers do not have brain.

Correct

Yet they perform some extremely complex and intelligent tasks.

They have microchips for Krishna's sake, and even an ant with a tiny brain makes the ENIAC look like a Texas Instruments calculator

Some people call it computer intelligence. Life is however much more than a computer because it is dynamic, self-sustaining, constructive and reproductive.

agreed

Furthermore, its intelligence is far greater than the most powerful computer we can ever build.

agreed, already mentioned

This is evident by the fact that it orchestrates the building and functioning of multiple highly complex organs, including a highly intelligent human brain with memory capacity approximately equal to 20,000 computers. Life, therefore, is a dynamic and intelligent force that keeps organisms functionally active.

you are arguing that life is dynamic? Yes, intelligent? Intelligence is relative, intelligence is not required for life.

Functions of living organisms include: growth, development, self-preservation and reproduction. These functions are all related to their bodies. Human beings however, also have functions that are not related to the body. These functions include: creative and rational thinking and moral decision making.

What the hell?:confused2: Of course thinking is related to the body, that's what the brain is for!

Therefore, human life, which is involved in developing and maintaining these functions transcends the body and does not die with the death of the body.

That's quite a leap of reasoning, can you demonstrate a mind existing outside of a body? And BTW your method of arriving at that conclusion is flawed because obviously everything the body does ceases when the body dies. That's why the dead stay dead.

Furthermore, these functions mirror those of God’s.

I knew it!!!! Goddunit. You can't link humans to God, no relation has been established yet. You haven't even defined him or made a case for his existence yet, you tried, but, it was a poor attempt.

Human life therefore is sacred.

Another non sequitor, sacred based on what? The fact that we have brains? That God made us? By that standard rodents are sacred beings as well.

In addition, since this life enters human body at conception human life is sacred from the moment of conception.

Again, you have yet to make your case that life is sacred, but even if that were the case, what about all the living things in the human body, like the cells that make up our skin or the sperms that fertilize the eggs? Are they sacred as well? They belong to a human? And if life is so scared then why does God cause so many birth defects like ectopic pregnancies? He seems to have a very low regard for the well-being of a fetus and is a very sloppy designer if he made humans with such a narrow birth canal but one of the largest brains in comparison to the mass of the body among all the mammals.

I'm sorry, you just have to work on your debate skills friends, your argument is full of loose ends and holes in logic. I recommend your work on it a bit, I enjoyed the discussion

[T-mash]

Living organisms are in a constant state of well orchestrated activities.

So is my PC, which is not alive btw. (as far as I know)

These activities cannot happen on their own; unless there is a force to initiate and sustain them. This force is the life of the organism. This force, unlike other forces in nature is not static, but dynamic and intelligent. It is dynamic because it sustains a life process that is extremely dynamic. It is intelligent because it orchestrates an extremely complex life process. For example it orchestrates the development of a single cells embryo into a fully grow human being with an extremely complex brain. Therefore, although a single cell embryo does not have a brain it does have a life that is extremely intelligent.

Following a programmed set of cell functions isn't really "intelligent". Cells do what they do because if they don't they wouldn't be doing and we'd be dead. If cells were "intelligent" we wouldn't be dying (unless by accident or diseases).

One can get a faint idea about this intelligence if we look at computers. Computers do not have brain.

Wrong and correct. Computers don't have a human brain, but they do have what we would call a brain. It's just not a natural one like ours.

Yet they perform some extremely complex and intelligent tasks. Some people call it computer intelligence. Life is however much more than a computer because it is dynamic, self-sustaining, constructive and reproductive.

Life isn't self-sustaining. Lock yourself up in a cell for a few years without food and water. Self-Sustaining means being able to exist without the help of others. Good luck with that. A computer is similar to a life form by the way, the only difference is our definition of life. (The question of the title). Computers don't "breathe" or "eat" or "grow", they don't "die" or get "born". Then again they don't have too.

Furthermore, its intelligence is far greater than the most powerful computer we can ever build.

Really? I'm sure my PC can calculate better than you and can store more data than you. Why do you think NASA etc use "Super computers" instead of superhumans to do their work for them?

This is evident by the fact that it orchestrates the building and functioning of multiple highly complex organs, including a highly intelligent human brain with memory capacity approximately equal to 20,000 computers.

I challenge you to store about 500 billion books in your head and recite them letter for letter after. You got 5 hours to write it all to your brain, go go go!

Functions of living organisms include: growth, development, self-preservation and reproduction. These functions are all related to their bodies. Human beings however, also have functions that are not related to the body. These functions include: creative and rational thinking and moral decision making. Therefore, human life, which is involved in developing and maintaining these functions transcends the body and does not die with the death of the body. Furthermore, these functions mirror those of God’s. Human life therefore is sacred. In addition, since this life enters human body at conception human life is sacred from the moment of conception.

First of all. Moral, creative and rational thinking aren't limited to humans only. Dolphins, apes, dogs etc etc all can do this. Not as well as us, because their brains haven't evolved like ours. But they can.
Second of all you have explained that humans are animals that are build to stay alive and therefore they are able to transcend their body? I somehow don't follow that logic... I call non-sequitur.
All of the functions you have named are bodily manifestations. Every single one of them is part of your body. Why does this mean there is a soul of some sort? You said it yourself. Your life is the result of the beautifully orchestrated system of human cells working together. So what happens when the orchestra breaks down? The music stops. You die. End of story. I don't see how you can go from this to "So therefore obviously even when the orchestrated system stops working we are obviously still alive!".

[FinalEnigma]

Really? I'm sure my PC can calculate better than you and can store more data than you. Why do you think NASA etc use "Super computers" instead of superhumans to do their work for them?

Humans do actually have more memory than computers - we just aren't very good at using it. We are worse with numbers and facts, but way better with pictures and such. And you actually know an awful lot more than you think you do. for example, you know a huge number of word definitions, and beyond that, their connotations, but you aren't consciously aware of knowing that much info. admittedly, that's relatively little by a computer's standards, but its just an example. And how much space on a computer do you think it would take to write code for ballroom dancing? learning actions takes massive amounts of memory, but we do it with ease.

and we do store rather absurd amounts of purely factual information as well. I can still tell you to watch out for the Rodian in the third alcove on your right after you get out of the bar in the first level of Jedi knight - which I haven't played in close to ten years.

computers do have far more computational power though.

and btw, your computer can't store 500 billion books either.

[handofnergal]

Really? I'm sure my PC can calculate better than you and can store more data than you. Why do you think NASA etc use "Super computers" instead of superhumans to do their work for them?

Humans do actually have more memory than computers - we just aren't very good at using it. We are worse with numbers and facts, but way better with pictures and such. And you actually know an awful lot more than you think you do. for example, you know a huge number of word definitions, and beyond that, their connotations, but you aren't consciously aware of knowing that much info. admittedly, that's relatively little by a computer's standards, but its just an example. And how much space on a computer do you think it would take to write code for ballroom dancing? learning actions takes massive amounts of memory, but we do it with ease.

and we do store rather absurd amounts of purely factual information as well. I can still tell you to watch out for the Rodian in the third alcove on your right after you get out of the bar in the first level of Jedi knight - which I haven't played in close to ten years.

computers do have far more computational power though.

and btw, your computer can't store 500 billion books either.

I believe that the unspoken consensus is that life is by definition biological.

I can imagine an argument for artificial intelligence, but life is another matter unless we were to rewrite or redefine what constitutes life.

If we can call a computer alive but not a Virus I will be mighty upset, I think that's a major oversight.

[T-mash]

Humans do actually have more memory than computers - we just aren't very good at using it. We are worse with numbers and facts, but way better with pictures and such. And you actually know an awful lot more than you think you do. for example, you know a huge number of word definitions, and beyond that, their connotations, but you aren't consciously aware of knowing that much info. admittedly, that's relatively little by a computer's standards, but its just an example. And how much space on a computer do you think it would take to write code for ballroom dancing? learning actions takes massive amounts of memory, but we do it with ease.

and we do store rather absurd amounts of purely factual information as well. I can still tell you to watch out for the Rodian in the third alcove on your right after you get out of the bar in the first level of Jedi knight - which I haven't played in close to ten years.

computers do have far more computational power though.

My Pc can store an infinite amount of pictures. If I show you a picture of someone you have been on the bus with once, do you think you can remember him? You can store entire encyclopaedias, history books, picture albums, movies and whatnot on your pc. Can you playback a movie frame by frame you've seen before just by closing your eyes and imagining it? On top of that a Pc doesn't forget. Humans forget. You can store loads of phone numbers in your head, but if I tell you my phone number and you plan to write it down tomorrow, do you think you can still remember? Only if you constantly keep reminding yourself of what it is.

I know a huge amount of word definitions, but I can store entire dictionaries of each language known to us on my pc.
Learning experiences do take memory yes, but so does installing software on your pc.

and btw, your computer can't store 500 billion books either.

The bible in ebook form is 5 MB. My PC is 1,6 TB = 1600 GB (approximately) = 1,600,000 MB = 320,000 bibles. This is my home pc. The OP said "including a highly intelligent human brain with memory capacity approximately equal to 20,000 computers.". 20,000 times 320,000 = 6,400,000,000 bibles. This is considering a crappy home pc. You can easily buy 1,5 TB drives at your local computer shop and just as easily fit in at least 2 or 3 in your PC averaging you at 20 billion. Most books are not even half that size. Then there are hard drives of 128 Exabytes which is 125,600,000,000,000 bibles. Then of course you also need to take into account that this increases exponentially nearly each year, while the human brain does not.