[This definitely is not my area of expertise, but I am interested in this subject and hope to learn from those members who are more up to speed. In other words, try not to be a jerk.]
Many people wonder about the origins of "life". (Was it a cosmic accident? Was there a creator?) I don't want to go down those roads (not too far, anyway). My question is on the concept of life, itself. Is it really all that mysterious?
It seems to me that every concept (be it a banana, or a cloud, or an ashtray) is a system, and/or part of a system, that we have defined and learned to recognize. More complex systems we call "life", and less complex systems we call "not life".
Going a step further, it seems that "consciousness" is attributed to even more complex systems. So, a (relatively) non-complex system would be considered "non-living and not conscious"; a moderately complex system, "living, but not conscious"; and a highly complex system would be considered "conscious life".
Besides the relative complexity, what is the difference?