Biology often treats the question “Is this alive?” as a single problem. In APS, this question separates into three distinct tasks.
Definition specifies what life is.
In APS, life is defined as viability-oriented, constraint-closed organisation sustained across scale.
Diagnosis determines whether a particular system exhibits this organisation.
Diagnosis is graded and empirical, using tools such as the Viability Gradient (VG), Normativity Gradient (NG), and Cognitive Integration (CI).
Classification groups systems for practical or scientific purposes.
These groupings do not determine what life is.
Confusion arises when these tasks are collapsed into one.
APS resolves this by keeping them distinct.
Key Point. Definition states what life is, diagnosis assesses how it is realised, and classification organises cases without determining either.