The Evolution of Agency

Explore the concept of agency in living organisms through this thought-provoking lecture by Kevin Mitchell from Trinity College Dublin. Delve into the limitations of reductionist approaches in biology and discover a non-reductive physicalist framework that explains the emergence of purposeful behavior. Examine how indeterminacy in the universe creates opportunities for higher-order properties to influence outcomes, and learn how causal power is encoded through evolution, development, and learning. Investigate the physical basis for decision-making and mental causation, and trace the evolution of autonomy and free will in complex systems. Gain insights into naturalizing concepts of meaning and purpose, challenging traditional mechanistic views of life and consciousness.

Introduction
Free Will
Causal Power
Life
Persistence
Nervous Systems
Representations
The Problem of Determinism
Many Worlds Interpretation
Indeterminacy
Neural State Space
Causal Slack
Inspection
Conclusion
Discussion
Questions