Trees are NOT alive.

One's a noun, the other's an adjective (in fact an adjectival form of the word "life").
That's why they are two words.

 

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Your argument above is very poor.

Life is a noun.
Alive is an adjective.

Anything considered alive is a form of life.

edit: oh, you beat me to it Oli.

 

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Oli and simon,

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/life

Notice where it has adj. in the box.

Main Entry:
life
Function:
adjective
Date:
13th century

1 : of or relating to animate being 2 : lifelong <a life member> 3 : using a living model <a life class> 4 : of, relating to, or provided by life insurance <a life policy>

 

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I find this very upsetting..

 

You didnt see the post above yours, did you?

 

I can't believe this.. please educate yourself John.
Go to Google and type in "definition of life".

 

Trees turn their leaves to the Sun, they grow, water and minerals circulate through them in a complex circulatory system, their respiratory system exchanges gases from their circulatory system with those in the air.

I suspect you have a primitive notion of a tree as a solid object without internal structure or differentiation, when in fact they are far more akin to mountain lions, in that regard.

 

Somewhat dishonest of you since the FIRST definition of the word from YOUR source is... noun.
With 20 definitions as opposed to the mere 4 as an adjective.

 

What about flowers John, and mushrooms ?

 

Pandaemoni, all that is learned by the third grade. All i am saying is that to be be truly alive there needs to be added components present that trees do not posses.

Take a look what i have placed in order of consciousness:

rock (0)
tree (0)
bug (1)
fish (2)
human (3)

Of course that is simplistic but just used as for illustrative purposes.

 

Yes, 'life' can be used as an adjective BEFORE nouns. Alive is used as a predicate adjective which 'life' cannot be.

Your theory is not backed up by anyone. Language is a communal process and people are not going to agree that this thing is a form of life but not alive.

You are becoming a troll.

 

It is also a different kind of adjective when it is used as an adjective. It is a noun that became an adjective, used to modify nouns by coming right before them.

 

Doesnt matter if there are four or twenty. My contention is that Life and Alive are two different things.

Same as trees my man.

Simon, why are you calling me a troll?

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John, are you saying that a tree isn't a plant? Are you saying that a tree isn't an organism?

 

Oh, lol, what a funny thread

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John, please take a look at this:

A life is characterized by growth and reproduction ability. If you put seed on appropriate soil condition, it grows...!

 

Your personal beliefs have nothing to do with the definition of alive, which for some reason, you refuse to understand. Again, the term 'alive' is not restricted to a state of consciousness, John, nor is restricted to humans.

 

Thanks. I have studied science all my life and i could have written that article myself.

 

The reason there are two different words for "life" and "alive" is that one is a noun and the other the adjective. Even Merriam-Webster notes that "alive" comes from the Middle English "on life". Your argument is akin to saying that things that are "on fire" are not covered in fire, because that's why we have different terms "on fire" and "fire."

As for consciousness, trees do react to the environment in ways that rocks do not, and have a more complex system enabling them to react than you are giving them credit for. Granted that they are not "animals" and so do not react with the speed that animals do, but that's not the test. Apparently things are alive only if John99 sees them reacting on a time scale John 99 considers acceptably fast. Sorry, coma patients, but you're not alive either.

Face it, you have your own special definition of "alive" and it does not actually match what anyone else in the world thinks that word means.

 

Two different words that are ALWAYS applicable to some members of any other noun.

Some humans are alive.
Humans are a form of life.

Some trees are alive.
Trees are a form of life.

That tree is NOW dead. It was struck by lightning. Before that it was alive. It was a member of the set of plants which are forms of life.

Give us a break and admit he obviousness of this.

I think you know why. I think you know on some level that you are now simply trying to win.

 

See my additional note above ^^^^