How is fire not considered alive when it grows and uses oxygen?

Answer 1

Good question.

Yes, it is true that fire grows and uses oxygen, but life is defined by more than just those two factors. In order for something to be truly alive, there are other factors that must be embodied, such asthe reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.

Think of this in instinctual terms. When one thinks of something as being alive, it is usually a given that the thing grows and develops the way a human or a plant does; that it takes in food (of some sort) and water in order to stimulate this growth. Fire does not do this; it "grows", yes, but not in the way of change. Fire retains the same properties and the same components throughout its "life". In terms of reproduction, fire spreads but does not create a new being from itself. Reproduction ties in with evolution; fire doesn't evolve. It is created and then destroyed, but it never changes, never varies. It is perpetually constant.

Another factor is internal life. Humans and plants and animals think and feel in their own ways. Humans have brains and emotions to tell them right from wrong, to help them develop. Plants, scientists have discovered, have some sort of thinking process that urges them to grow towards sunlight and suck nutrients from soil in order to grow. Animals are similar to humans in that they have brains that inform them of how to grow and survive. Fire has no internal spark (pardon the pun). There is nothing within fire that helps it to think for itself or defend itself from danger. Fire is an object under the command of whomever has the ability to create and destroy it.