I think there was a book by Michael Crichton (the Andromeda Strain??) that talked about this. A scientist took a pice of granite and said, "This is Alive. It is living breathing, walking, and talking. Only we cannot see it, because it is happening to slowly. Rock has a lifespan of 3 billion years. We have a lifespan of about 60 to 70 years. We cannot see what is happening to this rock for the same reson we cannot make out the tune of a record being played at one rotation per century. To the rock, we are like flashes in the dark."
Or something like that.
Anyway, I think that "alive" is a purely subjective view. We as a species may not see the rock as alive because it does not act the way we expect living things to do, but the rock may not see us as alive for the same reasons.
But that's just a thought.