Defining Life
Defining Life.
The scientist define life in terms of DNA but could not define it in its entirety. The philosophers try to define life in terms of purpose of life. I am forced to define life while commenting on the gospel of John. In my attempt to study life and define it, I understood some important concepts about the life.
The life has three tiers: Biological life, physiological life and spiritual life. The greek philosophers have understood it and they have words for each tier and they are Bios, Psyche, Zoe.
Biological life means the existence of the biological body. Let us take humans as an example. The heart of our body pumps blood to all the cells of our body, life exists as long as it receives blood. Our human body has a hierarchy of life inside it. Cells have a function; when cells combine it forms tissues and tissues have its own function; Tissues combine to form organs and the organs have its own function. Organs combine to form an organ system. The Organ systems combine to form an organism. When we consider the biology of our body, the life is the existence of the body through its processes at different levels.
The religions attempt to define life in terms of free will. The free will is the ability to take a decision, and it is not the ability to perform the decision. The free will distinguishes living from nonliving. The living beings have abilities and nature(characteristics and traits). The free will has a relationship with the nature of the being.
I have found three tiers of nature of the being and they are the state of being, inner abilities and outer abilities.
The state of being of humans:
being truthful
being faithful
being trustworthy
being loyal
being joyful
being rebellious……..
The inner abilities of humans:
to think
to dream
to contemplate
to decide
to laugh………
The outer abilities of humans:
to walk
to laugh
to speak
to communicate
to eat
to drink ……….
The outer abilities are biological, the inner abilities are physiological and the state of being is spiritual.
Biological life is the existence of a physical body manifested through its outer abilities.
Physiological life is the existence of the soul manifested through its inner abilities and outer abilities.
Spiritual life is the existence of the spirit manifested through its state of being, physiological life and biological life.
I need to find better terms for “state of being”, “inner abilities” and “outer abilities”.
Please review the article I have made. So, I can make it better.
The scientist define life in terms of DNA but could not define it in its entirety. The philosophers try to define life in terms of purpose of life. I am forced to define life while commenting on the gospel of John. In my attempt to study life and define it, I understood some important concepts about the life.
The life has three tiers: Biological life, physiological life and spiritual life. The greek philosophers have understood it and they have words for each tier and they are Bios, Psyche, Zoe.
Biological life means the existence of the biological body. Let us take humans as an example. The heart of our body pumps blood to all the cells of our body, life exists as long as it receives blood. Our human body has a hierarchy of life inside it. Cells have a function; when cells combine it forms tissues and tissues have its own function; Tissues combine to form organs and the organs have its own function. Organs combine to form an organ system. The Organ systems combine to form an organism. When we consider the biology of our body, the life is the existence of the body through its processes at different levels.
The religions attempt to define life in terms of free will. The free will is the ability to take a decision, and it is not the ability to perform the decision. The free will distinguishes living from nonliving. The living beings have abilities and nature(characteristics and traits). The free will has a relationship with the nature of the being.
I have found three tiers of nature of the being and they are the state of being, inner abilities and outer abilities.
The state of being of humans:
being truthful
being faithful
being trustworthy
being loyal
being joyful
being rebellious……..
The inner abilities of humans:
to think
to dream
to contemplate
to decide
to laugh………
The outer abilities of humans:
to walk
to laugh
to speak
to communicate
to eat
to drink ……….
The outer abilities are biological, the inner abilities are physiological and the state of being is spiritual.
Biological life is the existence of a physical body manifested through its outer abilities.
Physiological life is the existence of the soul manifested through its inner abilities and outer abilities.
Spiritual life is the existence of the spirit manifested through its state of being, physiological life and biological life.
I need to find better terms for “state of being”, “inner abilities” and “outer abilities”.
Please review the article I have made. So, I can make it better.
Comments (14)
Can you cite an example?
Quoting Vipin
The concept of life found in the Gospel of John will be based on Biblical hermeneutics, and have a spiritual dimension, whereas; the concept of life found in Biology will be based on empirical investigation, and have organic dimensions.
What is the difference between biological and physiological life? Is there such a thing as anatomical life?
Do you mean to equate bios with Biological life, psyche with physiological life, and zoe with spiritual life?
Quoting Vipin
Can you cite an example?
Quoting Vipin
Spirit, mind, and body?
Are you actually seeking the definition of an individual human life (a person)?
I see, you are defining it from the perspective of a theist. Personally, I don't believe there exists a soul or spirit.
Actually, the standard definition in philosophy--which you'll find primarily under the auspices of philosophy of biology, a subdiscipline of philosophy of science, is very similar to the standard scientific definition, which is based on phenomena such as cell division, metabolism, etc.
Why are your beliefs relevant to the task undertaken by the OP? Generally, beliefs hinder the careful exegesis of a text; like putting the cart before the horse.
Quoting Terrapin Station
Being standards, it shouldn't be difficult for you to provide said Philosophy of Biology and Scientific definitions of life. Also, it would be helpful if you could provide a list of texts which comprise the Canon of Biological Philosophy.
Start with something like the Blackwell Companion if you're really interested in pursuing philosophical reading in the field:
Blackwell Companion to the Philosophy of Biology
Again, the definition is usually given as a cluster-property definition, where it includes things like environmental responsiveness and mobility, growth/cell division, homeostasis, metabolism, organization, reproduction and evolution.
That's what I figured. Cheers!