I like your "biological" concept of life; and couldn't agree more. Language has peculiar function. Human being uses language to improve, say, reason, emotion, etc.; also, it's reasonable to see that language uses us to enhance itself. It's a tool for those who enjoy it. Somewhat too powerful, it defines its very clients. As much as I agree on yours, I like (and prefer) Dr. Hawkings' concept of life. The concept, life, shouldn't be refined as DNA (or RNA) containing entity; language is, indeed, a tool to articulate and enrich our imagination and knowledge. It's perfectly OK to call Earth a life as J. Lovelock proclaimed; his Gaia theory (seems it overcame its hypothesis stage) totally changed our view on Earth as well as Life. Robot which can efficeintly duplicate itself may be called a life form; yet a lousy one (for now). Yes, a concept is, by definition, a closed system; if it loses closeness it loses meaning. However, if it loses its plasticity (flexiblity), it becomes isolated then jargonised. As a molecular biology major, I think it is unfailingly helpful for us, a life form, to see all the aspects that Life shows/provides, and to take language "coolly." By the way, thanks to your intelligent reply. :-) Still holding some hope... -------------------------------------------- 혹시라도 어쩌다가 아픔같은 것이 저며올 때는 그럴 땐 바다를 생각해 바다 ... ----- 김민기의 <봉우리> 중에서 ----------- J jhan@ucsd.edu