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Is a virus a living thing?
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Do you perceive a virus to be a living entity? It may have some RNA or DNA but many don't consider them to be a living thing. How would your perception of the covid19 agent alter, if you didn't consider it something that was living? |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I don't tend to anthropomorphise things that aren't human, (except my dog!), a virus is not something with cognition function, I don't "feel" any way about it. |
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"Do you perceive a virus to be a living entity? It may have some RNA or DNA but many don't consider them to be a living thing. How would your perception of the covid19 agent alter, if you didn't consider it something that was living? "
The virus is able to replicate so long as the host carries it. But I don't believe it is a sentient life form despite the DNA structure. Has anyone seen a link to the Covid-19 genome? I'll bet it will have s structure not too stretched from humans. But then, it appears other animals (not humans) don't seem to be affected by the bug so far as I know. They may be carriers (bats for example) but crossing the species barrier may or may not happen.
OK I'm rambling now. Sorry!
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By *alfrollerMan
over a year ago
West London / Scotland |
Coronaviruses are based on RNA not DNA and whilst as far as a virus is concerned they are quite complex there is a massive difference in the complexity in comparison to say human genomes.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1684118220300827
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"Do you perceive a virus to be a living entity? It may have some RNA or DNA but many don't consider them to be a living thing. How would your perception of the covid19 agent alter, if you didn't consider it something that was living? "
Paracite code
Not living
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By *ljamMan
over a year ago
Edinburgh |
"It is alive.
It is not alive.
https://microbiologysociety.org/publication/past-issues/what-is-life/article/are-viruses-alive-what-is-life.html
 "
Great arguments. Leaves me no closer to an answer! |
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Whether we consider something alive or not is still just a human interpretation, it doesn't change what it is.
I'm fascinated by our relationships with things and how they can alter, based on how we perceive and understand them.
The Domestos tagline 'Kills all known germs... Dead!' isn't much of a winner, if you didn't perceive something to be alive anyway .  . Not that we've considered bleach etc on this side of the Atlantic. 
They could be considered sublife, or something similar |
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By *ljamMan
over a year ago
Edinburgh |
"Whether we consider something alive or not is still just a human interpretation, it doesn't change what it is.
I'm fascinated by our relationships with things and how they can alter, based on how we perceive and understand them.
The Domestos tagline 'Kills all known germs... Dead!' isn't much of a winner, if you didn't perceive something to be alive anyway . . Not that we've considered bleach etc on this side of the Atlantic.
They could be considered sublife, or something similar "
All starts with that tricky definition of life. What are the essential qualities which make something alive. Seems like there are a range of contenders, but no definitive set, so you just pick your philosophical poison and make your choices. |
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HG Wells had something to say about this in War of the Worlds.
Prometheus the movie had an interesting take on the matter.
What came first the chicken or the virus.
Could Covid 19 do something to the host to create a new generation of human/covid hybrid.
Big things have small beginnings........
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Viruses can't self replicate unless they infect a cell. Bacteria on the other hand will happly grow almost anywhere.
People say washing your hands kills the virus. Maybe a more suitable term is makes it inert. Although that's not as catchy on a poster. |
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By *rHotNottsMan
over a year ago
Dubai & Nottingham |
Was having this exact conversation with a friend recently. We get animals, humans and plants , they all have their role and can be explained by evolution and creation but what the fuck is a virus. Some kind of mist that hops around infecting and mutating , bloody weird |
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"Was having this exact conversation with a friend recently. We get animals, humans and plants , they all have their role and can be explained by evolution and creation but what the fuck is a virus. Some kind of mist that hops around infecting and mutating , bloody weird "
Like Alien, the movie. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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If it wasn't alive, it wouldn't be killing or infecting people. Can a dead virus infect and make you ill or does it have to be alive?
Define alive. It has no cognitive function, but it is a 'bundle' of living cells that form a living virus/organism |
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By *rHotNottsMan
over a year ago
Dubai & Nottingham |
"Was having this exact conversation with a friend recently. We get animals, humans and plants , they all have their role and can be explained by evolution and creation but what the fuck is a virus. Some kind of mist that hops around infecting and mutating , bloody weird
Like Alien, the movie."
Awww always thought it was quite cute, I want one as a pet. |
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"Was having this exact conversation with a friend recently. We get animals, humans and plants , they all have their role and can be explained by evolution and creation but what the fuck is a virus. Some kind of mist that hops around infecting and mutating , bloody weird
Like Alien, the movie.
Awww always thought it was quite cute, I want one as a pet."
Cute, until it grows up and eats Spunkmeyer. |
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"If it wasn't alive, it wouldn't be killing or infecting people. Can a dead virus infect and make you ill or does it have to be alive?
Define alive. It has no cognitive function, but it is a 'bundle' of living cells that form a living virus/organism"
We've not fully defined what 'alive' is, ss you and others say. A virus is organic material, with elements of some things that things that we recognise as living entities have, such as cells, the ability to reproduce etc.
If a virus isn't alive, it can't die, as we understand the words to mean.
A virus can be destroyed, such as by partial or full obliteration. It's organic material, so bleaches could break it down, via oxidation, for example.
Do you feel differently contemplating them as non-living vs living? The enormous piwer of replicating them, resulting in exposure to others, is the wonder of the host species, such as us, potentially bats etc |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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A virus is considered right on the boundary of what counts as a life form.
All it essentially is, is an RNA protein strain that integrates itself into other lifeforms.
There are macro-viruses that are larger than some bacteria, but essentially it's right there along with the most rudimentary complex chemical reactions you might find in the lab.
There's very little to distinguish it from just that.
Bacteria have a means of replicating itself independent of other similiar life forms. But what viruses really do is to identify what counts as "life" as merely an abstraction of thought. It's an arbitrary category we give to organic material based off the properties we see that make it 'different' from something else. The major aspect just being the complexity and the novel properties that come from it.
If it makes you feel any better though, there are some humans i've met that barely meet the criteria for counting as a life form. Generally if it can file for tax returns, you can safely consider it a life form. |
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Can't imagine that there is a baby Jesus of Virus's. lol.
