NOTHING IS ALIVE (WE ONLY SAY SO). Issue 47 (30th October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Benovsky, Jiri
• Is Part Of: Think. Volume 16:Issue 47(2017)
• Page Start: 115
• Page End: 125
• Publication Date: 2017-10-30
• Subjects: Philosophy -- Periodicals; 105
• DOI: 10.1017/S1477175617000240
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1477-1756

Abstract

Abstract : Finding an adequate definition of 'life' has proven to be a tricky affair. In this article, I discuss the idea that nothing is really alive: we only say so. I shall argue that 'being alive' is not a genuine property of things, and that it only reflects the way we think and talk about things. An eliminativist strategy will then allow us to free ourselves from the burden of having to find a definition of life, and will allow us to focus on the genuinely interesting properties of living (and non-living) entities.