The Meaning Of Life

Life (cf. biota) is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have self-sustaining biological processes from those that do not The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, published by Houghton Mifflin Company, via Answers.com:

*"The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism."

*"The characteristic state or condition of a living organism."

—either because such functions have ceased (death), or else because they lack such functions and are classified as "Category: wiktionary - :inanimate|inanimate."Definition of inanimate. WordNet Search by Princeton University.

In biology, the science of living organisms, "life" is the condition which distinguishes active organisms from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, functional activity and the continual change preceding death.The Concise Oxford Dictionary. English Edition 1991 A diverse array of living organisms (life forms) can be found in the biosphere on Earth, and properties common to these organisms?plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea, and bacteria ? are a carbon- and water-based cellular form with complex organization and heritable genetic information. Living organisms undergo metabolism, maintain homeostasis, possess a capacity to grow, respond to stimuli, reproduce and, through natural selection, adapt to their environment in successive generations. More complex living organisms can communicate through various means.

In philosophy and religion, the conception of life and its nature varies. Both offer interpretations as to how life relates to existence and consciousness, and both touch on many related issues, including life stance, purpose, conception of a god or gods, a soul or an afterlife.