Genie, I would like to linger on Biology a little bit longer, if you don't mind.
As long as we don't dwell in the pits of conscious and emotions, I am game for anything.
If everything is energy, why do only some pockets of energy, that we refer to as life, have the burning desire to survive? Survive from what? Is there a good reason?
I see this to be intended towards the "reproduce or die" theory.Though putting aside my skeptimism I feel it gives a solid reason for our survival instinct. The replication is the basic program on which the template of "life" seems to have been created.
This , lets call this, purpose ,could be a result of a singular or cohorts of mutations, which managed to pass through generations. Of course it's evolution in terms of behavior varies from one entity to another.
Interesting that you thought that cells of a being are not resistive, only the whole of the being is. We will get to that too, but how about we start off with a microbial organism, say, fungi. Some of them prey on tiny protozoa and roundworms like nematodes. So, it is not like the predator-prey relationships exist only at a level visible to the naked eye; they exist even at the microscopic level. They desire to survive too. They want to absorb nutrients too, from any source that they can get their hyphae on.
Coming to our body, what do you think the white blood cells are up to? They are of course fighting against infectious diseases and foreign materials every second of their lives. They are resisting. They are ether killing or being killed.
So, this pattern of one life form against another seems to be the norm anywhere we look. I only question why it is so.
I think cells can be non-resistive , as evident from the rapid uncontrolled reproduction in some cases, don't know if cancer cells sound like an apt example but will cite them here. Then to balance it, came the mutation, they vary from generation or cell to cell.
And I concur your point that fungi and even some yeast in cases do display a certain degree of survival instinct, where I feel this intent develops according to the mode of reproduction. There has to be a certain type of aberration to make them develop this instinct.
I don't think the foreign materials or microbes fight or resist, they are different to the internal body system and hence it takes time for WBC to program itself according to the new entrant. I doubt the microbe ever changes its reactions/processes based on the attack of WBC. The whole gambit is to maintain the internal balance and the onus is solely on WBC to do so even if it means engulfing the foreign bodies. I don't see resistance in it rather adaption by WBC.
Underline what Angie suggested - Homeostasis
@ Blue- That is generalizing , one form of life is more likely to be complementary to another rather than the pitying contest. But for the sake of the thought, it has to do so to maintain the balance, to check the replication and to limit the system in some way.
Anupamaa
