What set of properties distinguish living things from nonliving things? Is such a set even possible to define without exclusing things we call living, or including things we think of as nonliving?
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ANSWERS: 1
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Living things utilize external substance and energy to sustain life, and they do it by conversion, assimilation, and similar means. Living things can reproduce. Living things have internal transfer of components; blood, lymph, digestive fluids, digested nutrients, etc. Living things require certain levels of accommodation by their environment to remain living, e.g. air to breathe, water to fluidate the body, light to use to control movements, lasagna because it's lasagna, etc. Non-living things have none of these requirements and cannot reproduce. A mechanical device that is programmed to replicate itself is not living because it does not have free thought, and, in that way, resembles lawyers and accountants. Living things do not live forever, and they die and cease all activity normal to their period of having life, except paying taxes which go on forever. Dead and non-living things collect those taxes.
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