(December 19, 2022 at 10:31 pm)Jehanne Wrote:(December 19, 2022 at 10:18 pm)paulpablo Wrote: For example with a tree, I don't think there's an exact precise definition of when a dead tree stops being a tree or when a tree becomes a tree and stops being a seed.
As with all life, trees have a unique DNA sequence, as individuals, as particular tree species and as trees and plants overall. Living trees have metabolic activity; dead trees do not, except for the decomposers who are feeding upon their remains.
I think you've given a reasonable boundary for calling a tree dead or alive.
But there's still the question of whether a dead tree is still a tree.
"What's that you were carrying?" "A tree." "Was it alive?" "No, it was dead."
Treeness, and whether it requires the thing to be alive, is probably socially constructed. As well as the Sorites paradox of when it goes from seed to tree, or whether a particular plant is a bush or a tree, etc.
Philosophers of language talk about different ways of classifying animals and plants. So some plants are distinguished by their DNA, but the category "weed" is defined by society. Likewise you can tell the difference between animal species scientifically, but the category "pet" is a social construction.
