Open post Jeff Loeb @JDLoeb@mstdn.social · 5mo ago Replying to @jan@pleroma.microblog.se I will make a bald assertion: bacteria (or any living system, for that matter) can be agents because they are cognitive beings. Now, before going any further, I need to insert two disclaimers. The first is that I am using “cognition” in the broadest possible sense I can get away with… The second is that I am distinguishing cognition sharply from consciousness.<br>—Scott Turner, Purpose & Desire<br><a class="hashtag" data-tag="agency" href="https://pleroma.microblog.se/tag/agency" rel="tag ugc">#agency</a> <a class="hashtag" data-tag="cognition" href="https://pleroma.microblog.se/tag/cognition" rel="tag ugc">#cognition</a> @jan@pleroma.microblog.se I’m reminded of Maturana and Varela: "all doing is knowing, and all knowing is doing", from The Tree of Knowledge