Why is Life So Difficult?

From an outside distance life on earth seems tranquil and at peace. Excluding the turmoil that occurs through human causes the world appears a quiet and harmonious place. In reality however life is anything but tranquil. The earth is a confined space full of perpetual competition. Every species lives in their own kill or be killed world. Birds lay eggs that are eaten by snakes while rodents sneak in and eat the eggs laid by the snake. Little fish are eaten by bigger fish, which in turn are eaten by even bigger fish. This structure implores two questions; why is life so competitive and what purpose does competition serve?

Firstly, life is competitive is because material existence is limited. Organic life is unable by design to manufacture its own energy therefore it must find its energy from some other exte
al source. Plants photosynthesize sunlight herbivorous animals eat the plants, while carnivorous animals eat the herbivores.

In the plant world whoever gets the most sunlight wins so trees compete by growing taller, or spreading their limbs to create shade unde
eath them so nothing else will grow. Even small plants like dandelions are vicious competitors flattening their broad leaves on the ground so no other plant beside them can take root. Some trees and plants have developed highly acidic leaves making the soil around them inhospitable to others, while other trees are so dense no sunlight can get through their canopy making it impossible for any other plant to grow.

If this life wasn’t hostile enough, many plants also face constant danger by animals. Some herbivores will eat a whole tree bare, killing it because it has no leaves left to convert sunlight to sugar. As a result many have developed strategies to survive. Some grow leaves only at their top, out of the range for most animals – so nature developed the giraffe. Some plants developed thorns and prickles but animals like goats can eat through anything.

As a result of plant adaptation, herbivorous animals had to evolve an array of methods to overcome the problems caused by the plants. Herbivores also had to avoid being eaten by other animals. Many developed spikes, poison or coats of armour, some developed elaborate camouflage while for others, defence was based on the shear weight of numbers. Many adapted to living in uncomfortable terrains. These evolutionary adaptations are the answer to the question; what purpose does competition serve.

Material life evolves from necessity and exte
al pressure is the catalyst of change, without it material life stands still. If we view the three primary particles, proton neutron and electron, each is content to exist on its own until nature forces them together by pressure, making inorganic matter and finally life appear.

The universe is designed to evolve itself into the most complex structures it can. The more exte
al pressure is exerted, the more life must physically adapt in order to survive. And the best exte
al pressure for organic life is a limitation of resources. As a result of limitation every species is both predator and prey and with each new evolutionary adaptation, a species becomes increasingly more physically complex and more aware of their surroundings. Once one life form adapts, the others must follow.