It's fair to characterize life as a process that locally decreases entropy. Non-living processes tend to increase entropy. Even if you have a rock that looks exactly like a human being, say one of Phidias' statues, it will decay until it looks like every other rock given enough time and exposure to the elements. It rarely goes the other way around, the wind does not sculpt David out of marble.
It's probably not a sufficient criterion for life, but it's at least necessary to avoid granting life to a wildfire or some other process most would not consider living.
It's probably not a sufficient criterion for life, but it's at least necessary to avoid granting life to a wildfire or some other process most would not consider living.