Physiological regulation, development, repair, behaviour, and reproduction are all activities performed by biological systems as they maintain the conditions required for continued viability.
Within APS, a biological system is identified by its organisation rather than by any particular material composition. The same explanatory principles apply regardless of the specific structures through which viability is realised.
Why It Matters
Biology seeks to explain biological systems rather than merely catalogue biological components. Understanding a biological system therefore requires explaining how coordinated activities contribute to the maintenance and re-establishment of viability.
This shifts biological explanation from describing mechanisms in isolation to understanding the organised activity through which living systems persist.
What It Is Not
A Biological System is not simply any collection of biological parts.
Nor is it defined solely by its chemical composition, genetic material, or constituent mechanisms.
Within APS, a biological system is distinguished by the organisation through which coordinated activities maintain the conditions required for viability.
Relationship to Other APS Concepts
A Biological System instantiates Life through viability-oriented, constraint-closed organisation.
Its activities constitute Biological Agency, are organised through Functional Organisation, and are continually modified through Adaptive Reorganisation to achieve Organised Persistence under changing conditions.