The law that identifies the nature of living organisms by contrasting them to nonliving things. I frequently use this formulation. Organisms that embody end-directed action exist. See END-DIRECTED ACTION, LAW (FUNDAMENTAL, PHILOSOPHICAL).

---

Elaboration

As do the other laws of human life - which include the laws of awareness, sense-perception and autonomy - the law of living action provides a different vantage point on the nature of human life.

The concept "living action‚" (or "life") ultimately can be defined only ostensively. See DEFINITION (OSTENSIVE).

Notes

¹Although I characterize the nature of life differently, I did start thinking seriously about its nature in major part thanks to Ayn Rand's discussion of life's nature in her speech, "The Objectivist Ethics." This speech was reprinted in her book, The Virtue of Selfishness.