A living organism is a system that continually re-forms itself in order to remain itself, interacting ceaselessly with the external world. Of such organisms, only those continue to exist that are more efficient at doing so, and therefore living organisms manifest properties that have suited them for survival. For this reason, they are interpretable, and we interpret them, in terms of intentionality, of purpose. The finalistic aspects of the biological world (this is Darwin’s momentous discovery) are therefore the result of the selection of complex forms effective in persisting. But the
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