In biology, systems are often described as goal-directed, as if they pursue internal targets or future states. In APS, this interpretation is rejected. Living systems do not pursue goals; they regulate their activity relative to the conditions required for continued viability.
Because these systems are constraint-closed and viability-oriented, their activity is structured by an intrinsic distinction between conditions that support persistence and those that undermine it. What is described as goal-directedness is the organised regulation of activity relative to these viability conditions, not the pursuit of an internally represented endpoint.
APS does not eliminate the appearance of goal-directed behaviour, but explains it in organisational terms. Apparent goals are the outcome of viability-oriented regulation, not independent targets guiding behaviour.
Key Point. In APS, goal-directedness is reinterpreted as viability-oriented regulation: living systems act in ways that sustain their persistence, not to achieve internally represented goals.