Purpose, Agency and Field Theory is an investigation of goal directedness or purpose. It began with a theory proposed in 2012 by Dan McShea about how goal-directed systems work. The theory adopts an earlier proposal from philosophers that goal-directed entities have two signature behaviors, persistence and plasticity, properties shared by all goal directed systems, from a sunflower tracking the sun across the sky, to a developing fruit fly embryo, to a turtle seeking its natal beach, to a self-driving car, to a person deciding how to spend the afternoon. Persistence is the capacity of an entity pursuing a goal to lose its way, to get knocked off course, and yet recover, again finding a trajectory toward the goal. Plasticity is the capacity to find a trajectory toward a goal from a wide range of starting points. The theory argues that all goal-directed systems have the same architecture, consisting of a goal-directed entity that is guided by a larger field, a higher-level structure in which the entity is immersed. Consider a bacterium swimming up a chemical food gradient. It is propelled by a flagellum, and it has internal mechanisms to detect the food concentration and regulate the flagellum. But it is not these mechanisms that guide it. Rather, it is the food gradient. The gradient is what the theory calls a “field,” and the field is only source of information about the food concentration that is  available to the bacterium. The theory argues that all goal-directed systems share this entity-within-field architecture, and in all cases it is the field the provides the guidance. The theory has consequences for our understanding of agency, freedom, meaning, and morality.

In recent years, Gunnar Babcock has joined the project, and in collaboration with Dan, they are investigating how goal directedness works in complex systems, considering what sort of systems should – in the context of theory – be considered goal directed, and working to understand the relationships among purpose, freedom, and agency. Part of the project is the further development of the theory. Other missions include producing educational resources and fostering dialogue among scholars. The project is funded by generous support from the John Templeton Foundation.