Why do all lifeforms desire to survive?

Why do lifeforms want to live? Even if they reproduce, they themselves are doomed to die.Why do so many of us seek extend our lives if possible?

[Scott]

Obviously, evolution greatly favors a creature who has desires to desire to stay alive--whether that desire is indirect or direct, right? Suicidal creatures and species clearly would fail the evolutionary test of time, right?

On another note, Whatdoiknow, what do you mean by the word desire? Certainly you agree that most lifeforms do not have desires in the literal, common sense of the word, right? Are you writing in regard to only the fraction of lifeforms capable of desire? Or are you using the term metaphorically?

Finally, I will answer your question with a question: Why not? Why not live a little longer? Why would a typical 50-year-old choose to die immediately rather than choose to live for the near future? What are the alleged benefits of being dead for, say, the next 20 years as opposed to being alive for 20 more years and then killing oneself or just living as long as one can?

Obviously, evolution greatly favors a creature who has desires to desire to stay alive--whether that desire is indirect or direct, right? Suicidal creatures and species clearly would fail the evolutionary test of time, right?

On another note, Whatdoiknow, what do you mean by the word desire? Certainly you agree that most lifeforms do not have desires in the literal, common sense of the word, right? Are you writing in regard to only the fraction of lifeforms capable of desire? Or are you using the term metaphorically?

Finally, I will answer your question with a question: Why not? Why not live a little longer? Why would a typical 50-year-old choose to die immediately rather than choose to live for the near future? What are the alleged benefits of being dead for, say, the next 20 years as opposed to being alive for 20 more years and then killing oneself or just living as long as one can?

FYI, this is very serious question now, for a product will soon be available that will lengthen the telomeres on the ends of our chromosomes, making us as immortal as some species already are, and as our germ cells, those that produce our gametes, sperm and eggs, already are. Then, people will be able to stop ageing. A life as long as we like, at bodily age, well, take your pick. The old idea that youth is wasted on the young will no longer apply.

Might be an increased demand for philosophical consultation!

An object in motion tends to stay in motion unless an out side force acts upon it. Life follows this same pattern. On a fundamental level it's not about desire or want, but about continuing a chemical reaction.

As a matter of reason, it is beneficial to stay alive longer for the individual at least.

As a matter of want and purely want, metaphorical or not. We each living thing desire to stay alive for our own reasons. My signature reflects that the meaning of life is to choose, choose what to live for, or die for.

Is the desire to live or is it a desire to not die? Or both?

Here is your answer because people like me want to live & be happy.I rather not die & be unhappy.Also people like me are fighters, i rather fight than give up like certain people.

Evidently most of us have the misconception that longevity of the individual organism is the first priority for the organism. But it is not so in many cases. To go further, let us understand some concepts in evolutionary science.
"r/K Selection strategy".(now incorporated into "life history strategy")
Organisms are broadly of two types "r-selected" and "k-selected"
1) r(rate) selected organisms are which MATURE EARLY, reproduce early, have high fecundity(not an essential criteria), with less parental care. "Long life doesnt matter here".
They are suitable for more stable environments with abundant resources. Classical examples are aphids, parasites etc.
2) K(capacity)- selected organisms: they mature at late stages, LONG LIFE, less fecundity, greater parental care, more defence strategies. They are suitable for ecologies with high competition and fluctuating environments. Eg: humans, elephants etc
(refer "ontogeny and phylogeny" by stephen jay gould)
* Thus, from above observations, we may infer that long life of "individual" is not everything but what matters is how successful is your genetic material(in form of individual or/ and its progeny) able to exist in this world.

I don't know of any animal that wants to die, with the exception of some of the more intelligent or more despairing human individuals who want to die. Any system, living or engineered, 'tries' to preserve its existence because it is the nature of systems to self-preserve.

If a living or engineered system ceased to self-preserve it would itself immediately begin to revert to an aggregate of elements .

I don't know of any animal that wants to die

It has been my ultimate goal to die for forty years now. I have selected the method of my death, and a generalized location of my death. The time of my death is dependant upon completing certain duties. Once those duties are complete, which they nearly are, I will step aside and quietly fade into distant memory.

I will have completed my life to my own satisfaction. I will leave on my own terms, in my own time, and in the knowledge that I have done the best that I could. In this I could have asked no more.

I have my own version of the "Serenity Prayer". God grant me the wisdom to know when my job is done, the serenity to accept that which must inevitably come, and the courage to complete my journey with dignity and honor.

Perhaps someday all men will have the right and the serenity to choose the time and the form of their own passing. They deserve that much.

I don't know of any animal that wants to die

It has been my ultimate goal to die for forty years now. I have selected the method of my death, and a generalized location of my death. The time of my death is dependant upon completing certain duties. Once those duties are complete, which they nearly are, I will step aside and quietly fade into distant memory.

I will have completed my life to my own satisfaction. I will leave on my own terms, in my own time, and in the knowledge that I have done the best that I could. In this I could have asked no more.

I have my own version of the "Serenity Prayer". God grant me the wisdom to know when my job is done, the serenity to accept that which must inevitably come, and the courage to complete my journey with dignity and honor.

Perhaps someday all men will have the right and the serenity to choose the time and the form of their own passing. They deserve that much.

I echo this sentiment. When thinking of myself as an electromagnetic "biological organism," and I reflect on the r-k selection business discussed by Dinesh, I realize that at some point I do my genes the most good by getting out of the way, especially when my presence is a burden. The old eskimo in the cold decision. Or, when I am thinking spiritually, well, it's the same thing. God has me here for a purpose, and if I stay past that time, I am more likely to spoil things then help. And, part of that purpose is to look forward to being with Him, to die with joyful anticipation of what is next. To cling to this life too firmly sends the wrong spiritual message to any watching who are weak in faith.

But, now, I have a task to complete. I wish there were someone younger who would take it up, but until I find them, I will take the telomerase pill, and live to 150 (hopefully in a biological body age 30), if necessary, to get it done.

I wish to echo Scott's sentiments:

Obviously, evolution greatly favors a creature who has desires to desire to stay alive ...

Yes, natural selection will allow creatures predisposed to living to pass along both their genetic and socialized traits. Any additional reasons for this tendency would be icing on the cake.

Hey guys! This is my first post on the forums. I haven't been able to scavenge through them as much as I'd like, but already I have seen a great deal of interesting threads; I only wish I had been here for them while they occurred.

As for this one, Scott actually embodied my first thought in response to the OP. Evolutionarily, anything void of the proclivity towards survival would have decreased their chances for reproduction. I also wish to echo his desire to elaborate on how (for this post) we are defining "desire" to survive. My reason here is that I think "desire to survive" does not necessarily imply a wish-for-death. In lieu of the "desire to survive", there are (I imagine) some creatures or even bacteria that are apathetic to their own existence; if a non-threatening environment surrounded them and they seek to avoid physical displeasure they would be able to reproduce. I can safely say effervescent and apathetic individuals seem to have some niche sex appeal (and therefore increased ability to generate progeny). My point here is, the conversation changes drastically if we (specifically) redefine the OP.

I think Existence was hinting at this, although far less prolix.

And finally, Groktruth, although I think this strays from the OP's intent, I am surprised that no one had much in response to your point; I think it is an awesome extension, and assuredly is a more contemporary issue. With stem cells, trans-humanistic features being researched and implemented, and the rate of technological/medical progression, there are a great deal of issues raised about consciousness, morality, authenticity, and as I think you were poking at, a sense of when it is time to kick the bucket. So I ask, how does one know when it is time to go? Is it merely an arbitrary choice? Is it due to a sense of fulfillment, or curiosity? What is the moral or virtuous criteria on which to base that?

Hey guys! This is my first post on the forums. I haven't been able to scavenge through them as much as I'd like, but already I have seen a great deal of interesting threads; I only wish I had been here for them while they occurred.

As for this one, Scott actually embodied my first thought in response to the OP. Evolutionarily, anything void of the proclivity towards survival would have decreased their chances for reproduction. I also wish to echo his desire to elaborate on how (for this post) we are defining "desire" to survive. My reason here is that I think "desire to survive" does not necessarily imply a wish-for-death. In lieu of the "desire to survive", there are (I imagine) some creatures or even bacteria that are apathetic to their own existence; if a non-threatening environment surrounded them and they seek to avoid physical displeasure they would be able to reproduce. I can safely say effervescent and apathetic individuals seem to have some niche sex appeal (and therefore increased ability to generate progeny). My point here is, the conversation changes drastically if we (specifically) redefine the OP.

I think Existence was hinting at this, although far less prolix.

And finally, Groktruth, although I think this strays from the OP's intent, I am surprised that no one had much in response to your point; I think it is an awesome extension, and assuredly is a more contemporary issue. With stem cells, trans-humanistic features being researched and implemented, and the rate of technological/medical progression, there are a great deal of issues raised about consciousness, morality, authenticity, and as I think you were poking at, a sense of when it is time to kick the bucket. So I ask, how does one know when it is time to go? Is it merely an arbitrary choice? Is it due to a sense of fulfillment, or curiosity? What is the moral or virtuous criteria on which to base that?

Check out my post #10, and we can go from there on the "Why live on?" question. I might add here that there are, potentially, times when our death allows others to live. When these occasions arise, they alter the idea of the best time to go.

I can certainly agree that external lives depending on yours cutting short could very much impact the decision.

But let's say, no extreme factors exist, ie, no lives depending on yours.

So then, Groktruth, are you proposing that the extent of a person's life should be determined by a subjective set of goals that s/he wish to fulfill?

I would like to invoke the anthropic principle, that life forms are here only by virtue of their fight for survival. I notice that there aren't a whole lot of "death forms" around. I'm guessing they must have died out a long time ago.