Biological Extension of the Action Principle: Endpoint Determination beyond the Quantum Level and the Ultimate Physical Roots of Consciousness

We show that when we endow the action principle with the overlookedpossibility to allow endpoint selection, it gains an enormous additional power,which, perhaps surprisingly, directly corresponds to biological behavior. Thebiological version of the least action principle is the most action principle.For the first time, we formulate here the first principle of biology in amathematical form and present some of its applications of primary importance.