Introduction: Knowing What an Organism Is

This book addresses various topics unified under a single overarching theme: agency. It is structured in two sections, one dedicated to philosophy, the other to biology, whereby both are intended to be equally accessible to readers interested in either field. These sections exhibit significant parallels, with the philosophical segment delving into the works of influential thinkers who have shaped our understanding of life beyond merely mechanistic views. Our goal is to comprehensively explore their philosophies, therefore we have opted for depth rather than broad surveys of philosophical trends. Instead of covering numerous philosophies superficially, we have carefully selected a few to explore in detail. The philosophical section of our book investigates the concept of organism or nature as discussed by Aristotle, Kant, Schelling, and several processualists. It explores how their ideas contributed to the development of the concept of agency. While it is impossible to cover all philosophers relevant to the study of agency, we believe our selection provides a representative overview. The biological section of our book explores various notions of agency and their relation to dissipative systems, memory, experience, phenotypic plasticity, reproduction, modularity, the development of integrated phenotypes, organismal choices, and self-representation within animal organisation. The two sections jointly offer a thorough examination of organismal agency, encompassing both its philosophical underpinnings and its biological manifestations.