The Difference Between Consciousness and Materialism

We've been talking about this question of consciousness as something that goes beyond physics or any science. So imagine, for example, ants, each ant is very simple and making simple decisions. But somehow, when you have enough ants, they're making these complex structures. And we can understand the process happening in every ant's brain,. but it's different to answer the question of why when they all come together, do they make something bigger than some of their parts?