Here I will share an idea that caught my attention in the book "Life 3.0": the purposes and goals of conscious and unconscious matter.
Non-living matter can have goals, and increasingly so. If you were observing the atoms of Earth since the planet's inception, you would notice three stages of goal-directed behavior:
All matter appears focused on energy loss (increase in entropy).
Some of the matter comes to life and focuses on self-replication and its sub-goals.
In increasing proportions, matter is reorganized by living organisms to help fulfill its own goals.
The ultimate origin of goal-directed behavior lies in the laws of physics, including optimization.
Thermodynamics inherently aims at energy loss: increasing a scale of disorder called entropy.
Life is a phenomenon that can aid in energy loss (increasing total disorder) by maintaining or increasing complexity and replicating itself while increasing the disorder of its environment.
Darwinian evolution shifts goal-directed behavior from energy loss to self-replication.
Intelligence is the ability to accomplish complex goals.
Because we humans don't always have the resources to decide on the most optimal self-replication strategy, we've developed useful practical calculations that guide our decisions: feelings like hunger, thirst, pain, lust, and compassion.
Therefore, we no longer have a simple goal like self-replication; when our feelings conflict with the goal of our genes, we heed our instincts, as in using birth control methods.