Defining life is difficult due to the lack of objective measurement tools. Scientific qualifications, such as the ability to reproduce and react to stimuli, are limited as computer viruses and inorganic materials meet these criteria. Life cannot be defined by a list of ingredients or objects present in the world. Philosophical, metaphysical, and religious perspectives also contribute to the quest for defining life.
Perhaps the most compelling reason life is difficult to define is the lack of objective measurement tools. All of our human methods of defining the indefinable (science, philosophy, religion, metaphysics, etc.) are somewhat self-limiting. Unlike other living organisms, humans seem to be driven to quantify and categorize the world around them. If we can describe a phenomenon like “life” well enough, we can bring some order to chaos. The problem is, once a working definition is created, a previously unknown plant or animal can appear and challenge the definition.
Scientists have several qualifications that they use to define life, including the ability to reproduce and a reaction to external stimuli, such as light or heat. But some computer viruses can use electronics to replicate themselves, and some inorganic materials can be engineered to respond to external stimuli, such as plastics that shrink from exposure to heat. Computer viruses and engineered plastics are not usually considered living organisms, but each of them meets at least one of the criteria used by scientists. Scientific methods and principles alone cannot adequately describe all elements of life.
Just as nonliving objects can have similar qualities to living organisms, living organisms can have similar qualities to those objects that are not alive. For example, a human baby contains measurable amounts of iron, sulfur, zinc, calcium, carbon, water, and salt. Coincidentally, a random sampling of gravel and loam also contains these elements. Life is, therefore, not completely defined by a list of elementary ingredients.
Experience tells us that other elements present in the world (minerals, water, metals, etc.) can contribute to life, but are not filled with this indefinable force. Humans can quantify the objects around us as animals, plants, or minerals, but we cannot capture and examine the life force that sustains the largest tree and smallest single-celled organism.
From a philosophical or metaphysical point of view, life occurs whether we humans can measure it or not. The fact that we are sentient (capable of self-awareness and thought) tells us that we are indeed filled with this force. Plants and animals that share some of our organic structures are also said to be alive.
Religion has also played a role in our quest to define life. Many religions believe that life is a gift sent by a benevolent Creator who has set in motion all the biological processes necessary to sustain this force. A power of this magnitude and scope is beyond human understanding, so many people feel compelled for spiritual and philosophical reasons to accept the indefinable qualities of life.
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