  It is high time to openly and without finalism define the dangerous but
needed term 'purposeful information', whose quantity is an Eigen information
value. Using the term 'biological information' in its stead forces one into an
uncomfortable detour. I propose such a definition based on the generalized
notions of 'information' and 'encoding'. Next, the properties of the
spontaneous process of collecting purposeful information are investigated. In
effect, the properties of this process: the goal 'continuation of existence',
reproduction and Darwinian mechanism are derived which suggest, that it is the
natural life process. A 'natural identity criterion' appears in this process
for an evolving object, that is connected to a 'small change tendency'.
Likewise, 'hereditary information' is defined. Artificial life is constructed
by living objects, is a part of natural life process and its properties are not
an effect of its internal restrictions but of external assumptions.
