Yesterday, a eleven years old kid questioned me: What is life?
The definition of life simply came out from my mouth:
Life is a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects, i.e. non-life, and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally. In physical terms, life is an organism that feeds on negative entropy.
Being only eleven years old, what can he apprehend from that? So i told him that life is the contrary of death, or rather life is just the subset of death.
I'll like to say that life is hard to define, even being a scientific person, i can find this question misleading. It might simply sound that it is your passion in life. I believe that life is unique, life is a creation where even god can't create.
You can preach about your god creating you. Yet, how can he create life. Life is something so unique that distinguishes itself from everything you get to see, you get to know.
Its like eating a burger and making you contented. What is contentment? Isn't being full/filled in the stomach just a subset of hunger? Since you'll get hungry the next time?
"Must not all things in the last be swallowed by death?"-Plato
Yes.
I mentioned that life is like things which are unable to be apprehend, hard to define.
Its like god, its impossible to believe that he is here, like HERE. Now, can can you define god where there isn't one?Of course , I am viewing this matter in my point of view, in my shoes. So, if you really believe that Jesus Christ do exist, or even some messenger from Allah or some god called Buddha do exist, you made me inarticulate.
'If there's a God gene, I would like to have the devil's DNA' -At risk.
No, I am not saying that there isn't life since you cant define them/it/him/her. Life has a limit and with a price to pay: Death.
Now, if I ever question about the contrary of life, you tell me its death.Yet, how can something(Death) so solemn and gloom be the exact opposite of something(life) as gloom as solemn.Death is joyful, but life is too.So, how can they be opposite. Now, if you would tell me to define death, I can.But not to define the phenomenon called life.
Life cant be the opposite of death.
Seriously, everyone knows what is life(except for my little cousin), but how do you exactly define it?
For him and for the P3 science textbook :
1) Living things need to take in energy.
2) Living things get rid of waste
3) Living things grow and develop
4) Living things respond to their environment
5) Living things reproduce and pass their traits onto their offspring
6) Over time, living things evolve (change slowly) in response to their environment
This is how you define life, or rather 'being alive'.
It seems to me that 'life' is a subject too 'Chim' for my 13 year-old brain with an IQ(intelligence quotient) of 139 to comprehend, but life can/could be human dignity.Helping the needy,to amend and blah , doing great shit. Having ownership over something/someone.
Now, tell me; How do i live without regrets?
Tell me; Why must be live?
Tell me; Why do we age?
You can't.
"While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die." - Leonardo Da Vinci.
I am learning to die.