This essay first considers how some systems may take on the appearance of acting with aim and intent, but actually progress at the mercy of their environments and surroundings. From this, it suggests that the only natural systems that truly act with aim and intent are living systems. It then shows how living systems are born out of the evolving complexity of particles, which is driven by phenomena expressed as mathematical laws. Consequently, it appears that mathematical laws give rise to aims and intentions by facilitating complexity.
William L Stubbs