Organisms and Their Evolution: Agency and Meaning in the Drama of Life

Every organism is a striving agent. It insistently pursues its own meanings and purposes in the manner of its species. This is true, not only of animal behavior (as seen in our pets), but all the way down to the molecular and cellular levels. Whether a cell is dividing - becoming two cells, with each daughter cell re-organizing itself as a living entity - or replicating its DNA, or carrying out the infinitely varying work of metabolism, it is always directing its activity with a remarkable ...