Eli5: what exactly is a virus and are viruses alive?
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Incan think of three ways to look at “is a virus alive?”
The scientific way, which is where the “kind of alive kind of not” thing comes from. The other responses in this thread address this in more depth. I’ll summarize that it has half the building blocks of “life” so it falls in a gray area.
The philosophical interpretation. What does it mean to be alive? To have memories and experiences? Recognize yourself in a memory or have a sense of self? To have empathy and selflessness? It’s up to debate. Is a virus truly alive? What about a plant, or an insect? A dog? Are humans truly living or are they all a part of a predetermined illusion of life?
And a metaphorical interpretation. This is like personification. A virus, your robot vacuum, an F-15—you can say you killed any of those and it would make sense, so saying they’re still live targets is also valid.
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