An Argument for the Classification of Viruses as Non-Living Organisms

Did you know that the average virus is almost 100 times smaller than a human cell? Viruses do not grow and develop, they do not maintain homeostasis, and viruses do not respond to stimuli. Viruses are extremely small infectious organisms that can be considered nonliving in many people’s opinions. They are diseases that spread through people by contact. A virus in a human body duplicate many times by attaching itself to a specific cell. The virus then injects its genetic material into the cell. The virus hijacks the cell, making it use the genetic material to make new viruses. The cell then breaks open, releasing the many viruses, and killing the cell in the process. Viruses should not be classified as living for several reasons.

Viruses can be considered non-living, because they do not grow and/or develop. Growing and developing are two of the characteristics of life that all organisms must have to be considered to be living. When an organism develops, they change as they grow. Viruses do not develop. As stated by Khan Academy “Viruses manipulate host cells into building new viruses which means each virion is created in its fully-formed state, and will neither increase in size nor in complexity throughout its existence. Viruses do not grow.”

Viruses cannot be considered living, because they do not maintain homeostasis. When an organism maintains homeostasis, they are retaining a balanced equilibrium. An example is, when a human’s have a controlled body temperature that is almost always constant. An article on Khan Academy agrees with this, saying “Viruses do not have nuclei, organelles, or cytoplasm like cells do, and so they have no way to monitor or create change in their internal environment. This criterion asks whether an individual virion is capable maintaining a steady-state internal environment on its own.” That basically says, that without the important organelles that living organisms have, viruses cannot be put in the same category.

Viruses cannot be considered living, because they do not respond to stimuli. According to an on Britticana.com defines what a stimulus and response is. “A change in the environment is the stimulus. The reaction of the organism to it is the response.” Viruses do not respond to stimuli, because almost no matter what you do to them, viruses will not respond. An article written on Biology4kids states about virus’s stimulus and responses that “They don't respond to anything. You can poke them or set up barriers, it doesn't matter. They either function or they are destroyed.”

Although viruses should not be considered living otherwise, viruses do have one of the main characteristics that makes it possible that they are living. In a way, Viruses are able to reproduce. A living organism always wants to pass on it’s genetic information in some way, so their group/kind doesn’t die out. As said by Khan Academy “ Viruses definitely multiply. They enter living cells and then hijack the host’s cellular equipment to copy viral genetic information, build new capsids, and assemble everything together.” Viruses cannot reproduce on their own like ordinary organisms, but they replicate themselves in their own way.

In conclusion, there are many reasons why Viruses should not be classified as living. Viruses do not grow and develop, they do not maintain homeostasis, and they don’t respond to stimuli.