Living systems distinguish conditions that support persistence from those that undermine it. This viability-relative asymmetry explains why environmental conditions acquire biological significance. It does not establish that every action promoting persistence is morally justified.
A system may persist through exploitation, domination, exclusion, or destruction. APS therefore distinguishes the biological conditions of persistence from the moral legitimacy of the means through which persistence is secured. Viability explains why outcomes matter to living systems. It does not establish that actions, norms, institutions, or forms of organisation that promote persistence are morally legitimate.