AUTOPOIESIS, STRUCTURAL COUPLING AND COGNITION

摘要

My intent in this essay is to reflect on the history of some biological notions such asrnautopoiesis, structural coupling, and cognition, that I have developed since the earlyrn1960’s as a result of my work on visual perception and the organization of the living. Norndoubt I shall repeat things that I have said in other publications (Maturana and Varelarn1980 and 1988), and I shall present notions that once they are said appear as obviousrntruisms. But the reader it is not invited to attend to the truisms, rather he or she is invitedrnto attend to the consequences that they entail for the understanding of biologicalrnprocesses. After all, explanations or demonstrations always become self evident once theyrnare understood and accepted.