Summary

The author proposes a novel definition of an organism, emphasizing existence and the active tendency to avoid death.

Abstract

In the provided content, the author introduces a unique perspective on defining an organism. This definition diverges from traditional biological definitions that focus on characteristics like reacting to stimuli, reproduction, growth, adaptation, and homeostasis. Instead, the author suggests that an organism is fundamentally an entity that exists and actively works to avoid death. The author uses an "existence spectrum" ranging from 0 to 1, where 0 represents non-existence and 1 represents death, to illustrate that all organisms can be placed within this continuum based on their probability of not dying. This approach simplifies the definition of an organism to two core components: existence and the active role in delaying death, contrasting with more complex definitions that include multiple criteria.

Opinions

The author believes that previous definitions of an organism are insufficient and overly complicated, often ignoring the fundamental aspect of existence.
The concept of an "existence spectrum" is introduced as a novel way to understand the state of being alive or dead, suggesting that organisms can be quantified by their position on this spectrum.
The author argues that the probability of not dying is an active role that organisms play, which is central to their definition and survival.
By focusing on the tendency to avoid death, the author implies that all biological processes and behaviors of organisms can be seen as mechanisms to resist death.
The author is open to feedback and encourages readers to consider and engage with this new definition, indicating a desire for collaborative evolution of the concept.

Here’s How I Define an Organism

It’s nothing like what you imagined, so I’d appreciate your feedback

Defining an organism can be tough.

In my previous article, I discussed the difficulties encountered when taking something simple and taking it seriously.

Face-value analysis is simple. Getting into the details makes what’s simple look…simplistic.

The conclusion was that something as simple as defining what an organism is can be tough.

I further talked about the various shortcomings of the present definitions. Not at length, because nobody has time for that here. But I wanted you to figure out some of the challenges of defining an organism by yourself.

This is an extension of what I started. Here, I’ll take you through how I define an organism.

You can’t stand ’em then you drop ’em — if you can’t stand an idea, you can just drop it.

Newton developed a new idea by dropping Kepler’s.

Einstein developed a new idea by dropping Newton’s.

Darwin developed a new idea by dropping Lamarck’s.

It seems you can drop an idea without hurting the previous endorsers. Kepler, Newton, and Lamarck are still important historical figures. The same case applies to Einstein and Darwin.

I do not claim to be as great as them. My point is that ideas can be replaced.

I’d want you to consider the possibility of replacing your idea of an organism with mine.

First, an organism has to exist

Has to. Without question.

Existence is necessary before you can even define any organism. There must then be ways of detecting if an organism exists.

To my knowledge, there is no single definition of an organism that considers this idea. It is assumed that existence is a given.

My definition relies on the ability of an organism to be considered existent.

I use an existence spectrum for better understanding.

The spectrum stretches between 0 and 1. At 0, the extreme left, lies non-existence. At the extreme right, at 1, also lies non-existence. The difference is, at 0, you have never ever existed. At 1, you cease to exist after traversing the journey between 0 and 1.

In simple terms, 1 spells death.

Now, I want us to consider death in this way.

If death lies at 1, anything that is not death lies before 1.

But if death exists, it lies after 0, because 0 applies to the absence of existence.

What this means is the existence spectrum can be seen as a death spectrum.

Here’s an example.

Let’s say you are halfway in the death spectrum.

It would mean you are half dead. Automatically, it also means you are half-existent. Or, without getting into the philosophical side of it, you are half alive.

Halfway dead means you are halfway alive.

Basically, the existence spectrum can also be considered to be the death spectrum.

I bet you never thought about an organism in the form of an existent entity within a death spectrum.

Understanding an organism through death gave me a perspective of death I did not quite consider.

Death can define how alive or existent an organism is. And as long as there was a death spectrum, all known organisms could fit in this spectrum. All organisms fit between 0 and 1.

ALL.

OF.

THEM.

What lies between 0 and 1 is an infinite number of fractions.

In this spectrum, I was able to fit ALL organisms. I could then identify an organism in this spectrum using fractions.

Simply stated, to define an organism, I would need a fraction.

The best way to do this is through probability.

The probability of being alive is the opposite probability of being dead

I have to remind the keen readers that I substitute alive with existence.

I can never know what is alive and what is not. But I can use whichever definition you prefer, and my argument will still hold.

So, an organism, in whichever form it is described in Biology, exists in the 0–1 death spectrum.

If you exist in midway in the death spectrum, your probability of dying is ½. It means your probability of not dying is ½.

Here’s the crucial step

If there is one feature we have to consider about organisms, it is they do not want to die. They want to avoid death.

Your probability of not dying becomes an active role in avoiding death.

Let’s take the same example.

Your probability of dying is ½. It would automatically mean that your probability of not dying is 1–½. It is ½.

If your probability of not dying is ½, you are only an organism if you actively find a way to delay getting to the 1 end of the death or existence spectrum.

It is your actions that delay your progression towards 1 — towards death.

Your probability of not dying then automatically becomes your tendency to avoid death.

We now have the two components needed to define an organism.

These are:

1. Existence

2. The tendency to avoid death

Therefore, my definition of an organism, as I define it in my theory, Organismal Selection, is:

An entity that exists and tends to avoid death.

Here’s how it contrasts with previous definitions

I shall only use the two examples I cited from my previous article.

1. Simplicity

My definition is simpler than the previous definitions. I use a criteria with two components. The one offered by Biology Online uses five.

Wikipedia’s definition uses three.

I use two

The need for existence is a critical criterion.

The definitions offered by Wikipedia and Biology Online dismiss this essential need. If it does not exist, how can it be defined?

I have yet to encounter a definition that stresses this quality.

2. My definition uses probability

This one here is a given.

No other definition of an organism uses probability.

I do what I do and you do what you can do about it — So, what do you have to say about my definition?

I created a new definition of an organism.

According to Biology Online, an organism has to react to stimuli, reproduce, grow, adapt, and maintain homeostasis. These are all mechanisms of avoiding death. If an organism has to do all these, then it has a tendency to avoid death.

My definition states that an organism is an entity that tends to avoid death. In it, it has captured the definition of Biology Online.

The tendency to avoid death is the active role of an organism.

For a deeper understanding, you’d need to understand the map of an organism and its universe. Fret not, because I’ll take you through that.

But for now, what do you have to say about it?

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