Are viruses alive?

a reply to: supermarket2012

Ok. I'll bite. Then your comptr is dead? Active? Operating? Producing?

Life ..of sorts...or it's dead. Right?

See?

a reply to: mysterioustranger

The cell is alive. If the cell/bacteria was a computer then the virus or exosome would be no more than a packet of data with address on it. A packet resembling a computer virus.

However, pollen and maybe even sperm are similar. They just contain much more instructions and the sperm even moves on its own so it's bad example. Does each cell have consciousness? A seed contains a whole plant. It doesnt move or consume at all. I'm already starting to see myself as a biofilm of individual cooperating bacteria-like cells 😀

I dont think you will be able to decipher it without going into metaphysics. If science knew the answers they would be bragging about it. A dead cell contains the same chemicals and instructions as a live cell but nothing moves. Life remains a mystery. People shouldnt mess with DNA.. It should be a taboo. Something sacred

a reply to: PapagiorgioCZ

I'm reminded of 2 things: the Platypus...and the Ameba...

Providing "God"..he, she, they, them, it...has a sense of humor over what construes life

Ask the platypus!

a reply to: network dude

First off, I'm so far out of my depth, I should never write this thread.

I wonder if it'd be politically correct to agree with you..

In any case, the question 'are viruses alive' is about as silly as 'would five Spidermen beat ten Batmans', but let's explore the question anyway.

You can think of viruses in many ways - here are a couple of examples.

'Biological programs'. They simply follow a programming, multiplying and infecting and doing their 'job'. I think most viruses are made in labratories - why would nature create something that nasty? The purpose of illnesses and sicknesses is to weed out the weak so nature can thrive. Nature doesn't tolerate weakness as much as people's 'societies' do. We try to care for and heal someone's body that has become ill or sick. Nature simply preys on it and utilizes it for the good of the whole. In any case, animals don't have human sentience, as animals also follow programming called 'instinct', and animal souls are too primitive and raw to be able to handle it - in fact, the whole animal soul system is very different, although human souls do evolve from that (it's a long explanation, I think I once wrote it somewhere in ATS).

There are exceptions, of course, as when a two-souled animal's other side's body dies, and thus the soul becomes 'one' for the first time in an incarnation, and it's the last incarnation as animal(s). That's why you sometimes (albeit rarely) see 'very humanlike dogs' and 'super intelligent horses' and other bigger, usually two-souled (or more accurately, half-souled) animals.

'Biological Robots'

When you think about 'biological robot', the first thing that comes (or should come) to one's mind is, of course, a soulless entity that isn't alive, except in the most rudimentary sense of the word. A biological robot is exactly like any other robot, except instead of metal or plastic, its body consists of biological matter. It has no soul, it isn't alive as a whole, although some sort of life can exist within and around its body, in a similar way than any inanimate object can have an 'aura' around them.

The Universe is alive, so 'everything is alive', pretty much, but there are big differences between HOW something is alive. A laptop can be said to be alive, a planet can be said to be alive, but neither is an individual entity with a soul, a mind, capability for feelings, emotions and the spiritual experience. An animal is more alive than laptop or planet, but it can't be said to be having a human experience (usually) - I would never kill an animal, but people on this planet routinely eat murdered animal bodies, so obviously a virus would have even less value or importance to them.

In any case, a virus isn't a sentient entity, it's not a lifeform capable of experiencing pain, emotions, feelings or spirituality. A virus doesn't meditate and attempt to experience The Divine.

I hope this answers your question.

a reply to: Shoujikina

Not so quickly. Does you leg have feelings and is it seeking the divine?
If you say no I say it's part of you. Emotions come rather from the gut, lungs, heart,... It's not just the brain cells. The planet is not just the molten rock bellow. Not just the electro-magnetic circuits. The soil is full of bacteria, as well as each drop in the oceans and miles bellow the seabed.
You could say that all life on Earth is part of planet's consciousness. So it's more than your little experience. The collective consciousness of each bacteria, dogs, humans and papaya trees would be obviously beyond our comprehension. We are booting from there while sleeping.
(unless it's male/female thing and the spirit comes from above. The line could be blurred or non-existent as long as there's life too)

originally posted by: mysterioustranger
a reply to: network dude

If something is born...birthed...and can replicate?

Life

Life uh...
Life finds a way

What we view as life, is it really life? I agree with you there, generally, but would then a synthetic AI that can create more of itself be considered life too? Curiosity

a reply to: AgeisContemplation

Here's a thought: "Artificial" Intelligence...is by definition...the opposite of "Real" Intelligence.

It is artificial...not real...perhaps created, not born...but even that is open to interpretation.

Bottom line? Who knows?