Are viruses living or nonliving and why?

Viruses can only replicate themselves by infecting a host cell and therefore cannot reproduce on their own. ... They are similar to obligate intracellular parasites as they lack the means for self-reproduction outside a host cell, but unlike parasites, viruses are generally not considered to be true living organisms. read more

Viruses represent the nature’s simplest organization just RNA or DNA and a protein coat that exhibits some properties of life. Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that consist of DNA or RNA as genetic material surrounded by a protein coat. read more

First seen as poisons, then as life-forms, then biological chemicals, viruses today are thought of as being in a gray area between living and nonliving: they cannot replicate on their own but can do so in truly living cells and can also affect the behavior of their hosts profoundly. read more

It’s a little more complicated. In short, yes. Or at least there’s plenty to suggest that the line between living and non-living might be a little blurry. read more