You: Then all flowers are dead. In an oversimplified view, the only actions that a dandelion can take are growing, reproducing, taking nourishment, and turning its petals toward the Sun. Growing is a completely automatic process, predictable if one has enough information. Reproduction takes place when seeds, grown at the top of the weed, are blown off by the wind (that the plant has no control over). Taking nourishment is handled automatically through the capillary affect, and food is created through photosynthesis whether the plant wants it to or not. Finally, turning toward the sun is a completely automatic process that takes place when the sun's warmth causes certain fibers in the plant's "body" to contract.

Aaron: This does not prove that a flower is dead, only that it uses chemical processes to sustain life.

You: But we could say the same thing for a molecule that bonds with other molecules to form a stronger unit and avoid being digested by a fish.

Aaron: That sounds like you are saying that the molecule has a will of its own.

You: Not any more than the dandelion does, and yet you say that one is alive and one is dead. I put it to you that the dividing line is not nearly as clear-cut as you would like to believe it is.

Aaron: We have reached an impasse and my patience for this game is wearing thin.