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There are some schools of thought that any systems in thermodynamic disequilibrium should be considered in some way ‘alive’. If it’s in disequilibrium, if it has a way to transmit information over time, and if future systems vary based on the course of that information, I fail to see how different it is than any other form of life.
The classic thought experiment in this vein being: Is fire alive?
Fire meets many of the criteria commonly cited for qualifying as life. It requires oxygen, just like us. It “eats,” consuming fuel. In so doing it also “reproduces,” creating more fire. In a narrow sense, fire can also “evolve” into slightly different forms in response to its environment, buy consuming different fuels.
Check out Star Trek: TNG episode The Quality of Life for a discussion on this topic. It’s pretty good!
