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The Dissenter cover image

#985 Philip Ball - How Life Works: A User’s Guide to the New Biology

The Dissenter

NOTE

Meaning Emerges from Selective Perception

Living systems utilize sensory mechanisms tailored to filter the overwhelming amount of information in their environment, only attending to what is deemed valuable for their survival and goals. Evolution has shaped these selective perceptions, determining what aspects of the environment matter to different organisms and what can be disregarded. This selective attention reflects a judgment process unique to living entities, distinguishing them from non-living systems. The concept of meaning here relates to the capacity of organisms to assign value to the information they receive, focusing on what aids their existence and ignoring the rest. Thus, life can be viewed as a generator of meaning, with each living agent continuously evaluating and prioritizing the relevance of environmental stimuli.

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