ABSTRACT
We are nearing an answer to the core problem of primitive agency, that of specifying the minimal conditions under which a system, considered as a whole agent, acts. I have proposed a general strategy for system discrimination that involves identifying the boundaries of a system through its domain of interactions with its environment and specifying the relevant norms governing those interactions. An account of primitive action requires the identification of a distinctly agential operational boundary and the specification of the norms governing interactions at that boundary. Action can then be defined in terms of those normative interactions. In this chapter I provide such an account. One additional refinement will be needed to proceed, however. Autopoiesis is necessary for agency, but it is not sufficient. We can see why by considering some of the recognized shortcomings of autopoiesis.
