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Jonathan Michael (JQ) Quinn

GER 160A1: From Animation to Zombies: The Ethics, (Bio)Politics, and Aesthetics of Defining
LifeSec. 001
Professor Jacobs
2 February 2017
What is Life?

Defining life involves an intricate thought process, in the regard that there is no objective

answer, due to the varying aspects that one can take on it. This can be such things as science or

subjective connotation. The science based definition of what it means for something to be truly

alive is derived from the seven characteristics of life. This essay will center around those seven

characteristics of life, that every living thing must satisfy to be considered alive, which are: the

ability to move freely, a structural composition of cells, capability to grow throughout ones

lifespan, can produce and decompose their own natural source of energy, and can sense ones

environment and adapt accordingly.

Movement is a key characteristic in all living things that is more noticeable in some

organisms than others. Plants move around, but not in a method that we ordinarily associate with

movement. Per, an article by Science Learning, all living things move in some way. This may

be obvious, such as animals that are able to walk, or less obvious, such as plants that have parts

that move to track the movement of the sun, (Science Learning Hub, 2012). As evident in this

quote plants must move to track the sun. Without this capability to move to track the sun plants

are unable to perform photosynthesis, which is how they naturally create energy for themselves

and other organisms. If plants were simply unable to move, then we could consider them not to

be alive, because they would lack the ability to move and create their own source of energy.

Some organisms like zombies and robots may fulfill the ability to move freely, but they

are not able to fulfill all seven characteristics of a life. For example, they are dependent on

something else (i.e. power source or brains) meaning that they cannot naturally produce
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energy on their own. Also, they are unable to reproduce their own genetic offspring, which is

another characteristic of life. Reproduction is defined as the production of offspring by a sexual

or asexual process, (Merriam-Webster). This could not possibly be applicable to a zombie

because they cannot reproduce due to a lack of cellular structure present within themselves. The

same thought process applies to robots because they could not possibly reproduce another

individual, due to lack of producing their own natural energy. Robots may gain added parts to get

larger, but they lack the ability to grow naturally on their own. These examples fail to

demonstrate all the characteristics of life, and as such fail to be considered alive.

As just previously mentioned all living organisms must have the ability to grow.

Organisms constantly go through growth cycles through their life. An article on the New Mexico

Tech website stated that livings go through cell division which is the orderly formation of new

cells and cell enlargement or the increase in size of a cell. Cells grow to a certain size and then

divide, (New Mexico Tech). This growth symbolizes that an organism is alive, for example a

rock fails to grow or enlarge itself due to cell enlargement. Therefore, we do not consider the

rock to be alive. However, a human grows constantly throughout their life and for this reason we

can conclude that they are alive. Without the ability to grow an organism would fail to

demonstrate life-like characteristics.

There are things that could be considered life-like, due to their qualities and appearances,

but still lack all the necessary characteristics to be considered alive. This can be seen in an article

released by the New York Times about Strandbeests stating that: on a windy day in Ypenburg,

the Netherlands, you can sometimes see sculptures the size of buses scuttling across a sandy

hill, (Jabr, 2014). Strandbeests lack the ability to move free freely, which has been

demonstrated as a characteristic of a living organism. They rely upon the wind to help move, and
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thus cannot be considered alive. If they demonstrated the characteristic of moving freely, then

they could possibly be considered alive as long as they satisfy the rest of the six characteristics.

The article goes on to admit that Strandbeests appear life-like but, ...are not alive. They are just

machines elaborate, beautiful ones, but inanimate contraptions nonetheless, (Jabr, 2014).

They are called inanimate, which literally translates to belonging to the class of nouns denoting

nonliving things, (Inanimate- Dictionary Definition). They lack the ability to demonstrate all

seven characteristics, and therefore cannot be considered alive despite their life-like qualities and

appearance. They fail to reproduce on their own (due to the fact they are a machine), and fail to

move freely without the help of another source of energy (i.e. the wind).

All living things must be able to produce their own natural source of energy. Energy is

present in all living things, because it is required to move and to carry out necessary life

functions. Humans demonstrate this when they produce energy from foods that they consume.

Humans get their food from plants and animals, animals use the same source of consumption as

humans to maintain their energy, but plants use a different method than the two. Plants use

photosynthesis to converts massive amount of Sunlight into electrical and then chemical

energy, (Govindjee & Govindjee). This example shows how plants produce and use natural

energy to perform their living functions. We cannot see this demonstrated in non-living things,

because they fail to produce their own natural energy. Therefore, we know that it serves as a

good indicator as to whether an organism is to be considered alive or not. This characteristic is

also present in movement and reproduction, as energy is a primary source in both functions. This

helps us understand the importance of this characteristic in all living things.

There are organisms, and objects, that may fulfill some of the seven characteristics of

life, but do not fulfill all the necessary characteristics to be considered alive. They must satisfy
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all the seven characteristics: the ability to move freely, a structural composition of cells,

capability to grow throughout ones lifespan, can produce and decompose their own natural

source of energy, and can sense ones environment and adapt accordingly. Without all these

characteristics present there is no way that an organism or object could be considered alive based

on the scientific definition. When all these characteristics are fulfilled in an organism, then the

organism could be considered alive.

*Word Count (excluding heading and title, only body writing): 1,070*
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Works Cited

Govindjee, & Govindjee, R. (n.d.). What is Photosynthesis? Retrieved January 31, 2017, from

http://www.life.illinois.edu/govindjee/whatisit.htm

"Inanimate - Dictionary Definition." Vocabulary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

Jabr, F. (2014, March 12). Why Nothing is Truly Alive. Retrieved January 2017, 31, from

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/13/opinion/why-nothing-is-truly-alive.html?_r=0

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Reproduction. Retrieved January 31, 2017, from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/reproduction

New Mexico Tech. (n.d.). The 7 Characteristics of Life. Retrieved January 31, 2017, from

https://infohost.nmt.edu/~klathrop/7characterisitcs_of_life.htm

Science Learning Hub. (2012, June 12). Characteristics of living thigns. Retrieved January 31,

2017, from https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/14-characteristics-of-living-things