Harv,

Perhaps you include this in the spiritual level. But I do not.

The materalistic level implies the ability to predict on the basis of scientific principles.

If freedom of choice does exist- I believe it does- then science will never be able to predict the actions of all humans. That defines a mental level- e level of free will. Psychology has made some progress in predicting the actions of certain humans. To the extent that they can do so, then life is robotlike.

But in my mind life, both animal and vegstable, is defined by decision making, even when it is predictable, like when sunflowers turn towards the sun.

The Science of Decision Theory can perhaps find what the best decisions are, but it cannot predict what decisions an individual will make. So I see the essence of life in free choice. This describes life at the mental level.

Richard