Why Do We Need Artificial Life?

In this paper, we ask the question of whether we need artificial life (AL) at all. We find a lot of convincing arguments in favor of AL, but we also point out some dangers AL is exposed to. This careful epistemological review reveals the potential richness of AL without being either too reductionist or too holistic. We give some examples showing how this can be done in practice, and conclude that almost everybody needs AL.