Not sure how much importance I put on the metaphor of boundaries, but just to probe a bit: how do you evaluate actions that make boundaries irrelevant or harmful:
Convincing someone to allow you to inject a vaccine into their arm.
Entering someone’s house and eating their food because they invited you over to dinner.
Visiting a country as a tourist, with the intent to leave after some positive interactions.
Is it intent that matters, or degree of harm, or “feeling of safety” that is controlling how you frame things?
Membranes are filters, they let in admissible things and repel inadmissible things. When an agent manages a membrane, it both maintains its existence and configures the filtering. Manipulation or damage suffered by the agent can result in configuring a membrane to admit harmful things or in failing to maintain membrane’s existence. There are many membranes an agent may be involved in managing.
Not sure how much importance I put on the metaphor of boundaries, but just to probe a bit: how do you evaluate actions that make boundaries irrelevant or harmful:
Convincing someone to allow you to inject a vaccine into their arm.
Entering someone’s house and eating their food because they invited you over to dinner.
Visiting a country as a tourist, with the intent to leave after some positive interactions.
Is it intent that matters, or degree of harm, or “feeling of safety” that is controlling how you frame things?
Membranes are filters, they let in admissible things and repel inadmissible things. When an agent manages a membrane, it both maintains its existence and configures the filtering. Manipulation or damage suffered by the agent can result in configuring a membrane to admit harmful things or in failing to maintain membrane’s existence. There are many membranes an agent may be involved in managing.
I discuss this in Protecting agent boundaries.