第三章_结构决定功能

Chapter 3: Structure Determines Function: The Materialist Foundation of Consciousness

Life is not randomly assembled matter, but possesses a hierarchical structure:

• Molecule → Cell → Tissue → Organ → Nervous System

Structure is not neutral.

Structure constrains possible functions, and also gives rise to new ones.

Here, we propose the core principle:

Matter → Structure → Constraint → Function → Agency

This means:

• Agency is not a capacity that floats spontaneously
• It is the behavioral space permitted by structural factors
• Organisms alter their structure through evolution, thereby changing their agency

To clarify: "Structure determines function" is not equivalent to mechanical reductionism.

We are not saying that life can be reduced to a combination of parts. Rather, we are saying: function cannot exist apart from structure, and agency cannot float in isolation from the structure of life. This is the bottom line of materialism.

Consequently, the question of consciousness naturally translates into:

At what level of complexity in a living structure will what level of agency emerge?