On Intrinsic Agency in Physical Reality: A Reconstructive Exploration of Physical Laws, Value, and the Origin of Cosmic Order

This paper proposes a fundamental hypothesis: the basic reality of the universe is not constituted by passive matter and fixed physical laws, but by a universally existing "Intrinsic Agency" (IA). This agency is considered to be prior to and constitutive of the basis for the physical laws we observe, and the cornerstone for the existence, evolution, and maintenance of order in non-equilibrium structures within the universe. While traditional physics tends to exclude value and purpose from its core descriptions, this paper argues that introducing the concept of Intrinsic Agency can reintegrate an "intrinsic evaluation mechanism," based on existence and order, into the foundational framework of physics. Within this framework, stable physical quantities and laws are regarded as relatively stable and recurring behavioral patterns or "tools" formed by this intrinsic evaluation mechanism during cosmic evolution. This paper will explore the potential explanatory power of this hypothesis for existing physical concepts (such as quantum fluctuations, symmetry breaking, non-equilibrium thermodynamics) and envision its profound implications for updating physical laws, bridging the fact-value gap, and understanding complex phenomena (such as the origin of life and consciousness). Concurrently, the paper will also examine the immense conceptual challenges faced by this hypothesis and potential future research directions.