  We discuss a special aspect of agents placed in a social network. If an agent
can be seen as comprising many components, the expressions and interactions
among these components may be crucial. We discuss the role of patterns within
the environment as a mode of expression of these components. The stability and
identity of an agent is derived as a function of component and
component-pattern identity. The agent is then placed in a specific social
network within the environment, and the enigmatic case of altruism is explained
in terms of interacting component identities.
