Playing the Game

Having discussed some of the issues that arise when considering how evolution has unfolded on Earth, it is time to ask how this affects our attempts at producing a definition of life. The distinction has already been made between evolutionary and ecological views of life (Sections 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 respectively), and in Section 2.1.3 it was noted that an adequate picture of living things would require a combination of these perspectives. However, it was also noted that it is hard to imagine a succinct definition which could capture this.

The discussion in the previous section only serves to emphasise the entanglement between the evolutionary and ecological pictures. Living organisms are taking part in the `game' of life. Fundamental aspects of this game include ecological interactions with other organisms and with the abiotic environment, the exchange and transformation of resources, and the coevolution of all organisms, together with aspects of their abiotic environment. If we define life in terms of an individual organism, it is easy to underestimate the importance of that organism's interactions with the rest of the world. These interactions are inseparably linked to the concept we refer to as `life'. Organisms exist both as products and as players in this game. It is only as both of these things that an individual organism can be said to be `alive'.