What is alive? — Philosophy, 4–6 years
Living things are not simply things that move. We look at growing, needing energy and changing in organised ways, while remembering that one clue alone is not always enough.
More than movement
A living thing has an inside that keeps working: it takes in what it needs, grows or repairs itself, and changes over time. A cat, tree and child are alive, even though they look very different. A ball can move, but it does not feed itself or grow.
Why ask what is alive?
People have long needed to tell living things from stones, tools and weather. The question matters because living things need care, food, water or the right place to grow, while a stone does not. It also reminds us that movement alone is not a good test for life.
A seed and a stone
Put one bean seed and one small stone on damp cotton. After a few days, the seed opens, grows a little root and later makes a shoot. The stone stays the same, even though both were in the same place; growth and self-changing give us useful clues.
If it moves, it is alive
A car rolls, a kite flies and a cloud crosses the sky, so it is natural to call them alive when we first notice them. But their movement comes from a motor, wind or air, not from an inside that feeds and repairs itself. Movement is one clue, not the whole answer.
Caring for life
When you care for a plant, pet or garden, you notice what a living thing needs. Watering a dry plant and giving a pet suitable food are not ways to repair a toy; they support an organism that keeps working from inside. This idea helps us choose care instead of force.
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