If you were to ask a biologist, a poet, and an astronomer to explain “life,” you would get three distinct answers. The biologist would speak of cells and homeostasis. The poet would speak of love and sorrow. The astronomer would speak of a rare, fragile anomaly in a vast, dark universe.
Defining life is perhaps the most difficult task we face, yet it is the very thing we are all busy doing every day. Life is not a static noun; it is an active verb. It is an unfolding process of becoming.
1. The Biological Miracle
At its most fundamental level, life is resistance. In a universe governed by entropy—the tendency for things to fall apart and disorder to increase—life does the opposite.
- Order from Chaos: Living things take energy from their environment (food, sunlight) to build complex, ordered structures.
- Adaptability: Life is stubborn. From the bottom of the ocean to the vacuum of space, life finds a way to persist.
- Reproduction: The drive to pass on information (DNA) ensures that even though individuals perish, the pattern of life continues.
Note: To be alive is to be a rebel against the universe’s natural decay. Every breath you take is a small victory against entropy.
2. The Philosophical Lens: Finding Meaning
Once we move past the mechanics of breathing and eating, we hit the harder question: Why?
Throughout history, philosophers have tried to pin down the purpose of this experience.
- Existentialism: Thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre argued that existence precedes essence. We are born first, like a blank canvas, and we define our own purpose through our actions. There is no pre-written script.
- Nihilism: The belief that life has no intrinsic meaning. While this sounds bleak, many find it liberating. If nothing “matters” cosmically, you are free to decide what matters to you.
- Humanism: The idea that our purpose is found in our connection to one another—improving the welfare of humanity and finding joy in community.
3. Life as a Narrative
Perhaps the most relatable way to explain life is to view it as a story.
We are all the protagonists of our own novels. We encounter inciting incidents (birth, change), rising action (struggles, career, love), climaxes (major life events), and eventually, a resolution.
The beauty of the “life as a narrative” model is that it allows for character development. The person you were five years ago is likely a stranger to the person you are today. Life is the process of shedding old skins and evolving into new versions of yourself.