Defining Life – The Current Working Definition

Posted on by Erik Popp
Exotic Alien Creature

This is part of a series: Define Life

The first definition of life that I’ll cover is the current working definition used by NASA.

Life:

  • Is complex
  • Is highly organized
  • Is diverse
  • Takes energy from its environment, and uses it
  • Tend toward homeostasis, where it is “normal” and “healthy”
  • Grows
  • Reproduces
  • Reacts to its environment
  • Adapts to its environment
  • Has a control system/nervous system

Strengths:

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Correctly Defining Life

Posted on by Erik Popp
The Many Forms of Life

This is part of a series: Define Life

In this series, I want to define life precisely enough to answer this question:

  • When an inventor says that his invention is a new form of life, is he right?
    Whoever answers should be able to reasonably and conclusively explain why, or why not.

One of the most profound scientific discoveries is that biological life is made of ordinary matter, and is an extremely advanced machine.  If life really is a machine, then human engineers will eventually be able to create it themselves.  I’m not talking about merely manually building and assembling the parts of God’s creatures, I’m talking about a truly new form of life that is radically different from what God made.  I’m talking about fully artificial life, designed and built by humans.

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