APS proposes that normativity does not depend on consciousness, intention, or representation. It arises from the organisation of living systems themselves.
A system exhibits normativity when differences in its state matter for its continued persistence. Some conditions support viability, while others undermine it. This asymmetry is not imposed from outside, but follows from the system’s dependence on maintaining the conditions of its own existence.
This does not require that the system represents or interprets these conditions. Regulation, adaptation, and responsiveness are sufficient. Normativity, in this sense, is enacted rather than represented.
At the same time, APS distinguishes between descriptive asymmetry and evaluative force. The fact that some states sustain persistence does not, by itself, justify stronger claims about value or meaning. Instead, it identifies the point at which such questions become possible.
In brief: normativity begins where organised systems must differentiate between what sustains them and what does not.