Reflections on Autopoiesis, the Signature of Life

Luisi, Pier Luigi

Volume 18 · Number 1 · Pages 020–022

< Previous Paper · Next Paper >

Reflections on Autopoiesis, the Signature of Life

Pier Luigi Luisi

Abstract

Open peer commentary on the article “The Organization of the Living: Maturana’s Key Insights” by Fritjof Capra. Abstract: I agree with Capra that autopoiesis is the signature of life and that Maturana did well to reject Cartesian dualism. Contrary to how mainstream biology defines life, I point out that reproduction is a consequence of life, not its origin. Furthermore, I address the questions of whether both autopoiesis and cognition together are necessary for life and whether autopoiesis can be extended beyond the molecular domain. I also have words of criticism for Maturana, who called for “objectivity” to be put in parentheses, and conclude with a reminder that it was Varela who was instrumental in making autopoiesis a household term.

Citation

Luisi P. L. (2022) Reflections on autopoiesis, the signature of life. Constructivist Foundations 18(1): 020–022. https://constructivist.info/18/1/020

Export article citation data: Plain Text · BibTex · EndNote · Reference Manager (RIS)

References

Bachman P., Luisi P. L. & Lang J. (1992) Autocatalytic self-replicating micelles as models for prebiotic structures. Nature 357: 57–59. ▸︎ Google︎ Scholar

Bitbol M. & Luisi P. L. (2004) Autopoiesis with or without cognition: Defining life at its edge. Journal of the Social Society Interface 1: 99–107. https://cepa.info/2262

Bourgine P. & Stewart J. (2004) Autopoiesis and cognition. Artificial Life 10: 327–345. https://cepa.info/2263

Keller E. F. (2002) The century of the gene. Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA. ▸︎ Google︎ Scholar

Lovelock J. E. (1988) The ages of Gaia. W. W. Norton, New York. ▸︎ Google︎ Scholar

Luisi P. L. (1993) Defining the transition to life: Self-replicating bounded structures and chemical autopoiesis. In: Stein W. & Varela F. J. (eds.) Thinking about biology: An introduction to theoretical biology. Addison-Wesley, Reading MA: 17–39. https://cepa.info/7809

Luisi P. L. (2003) Autopoiesis: A review and a reappraisal. Naturwissenschaften 90(2): 49–59. https://cepa.info/2465

Luisi P. L. (2016) The emergence of life. Second edition. Cambridge University Press, ▸︎ Google︎ Scholar

Maturana H. R. & Varela F. J. (1980) Autopoiesis and cognition: The realization of the living. Reidel, Boston MA. ▸︎ Google︎ Scholar

Maturana H. R. (1975) The organization of the living: A theory of the living organization. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies 7(3): 313–332. https://cepa.info/547

Piaget J. (1967) Biologie et connaissance. Gallimard, Paris. English translation: Piaget J. (1971) Biology and knowledge: An essay on the relations between organic regulations and cognitive processes. Translated by Beatrix Walsh. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh. ▸︎ Google︎ Scholar

Varela F. J., Thompson E. & Rosch E. (1991) The embodied mind: Cognitive science and human experience. MIT Press, Cambridge. ▸︎ Google︎ Scholar

Walde P., Wick R., Fresta M., Mangone A. & Luisi P. L. (1994) Autopoietic self-reproduction of fatty acid vesicles. Journal of the American Chemical Society 116, 11 649–11 654. ▸︎ Google︎ Scholar

Wick R., Walde P. & Luisi P. L. (1995) Light microscopic investigations of the autocatalytic self-reproduction of giant vesicles. Journal of the American Chemical Society 117(4): 1435–1436. ▸︎ Google︎ Scholar

Zepik H. H., Bloechliger E. & Luisi P. L. (2001) A chemical model of homeostasis. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 40(1): 199–202. https://cepa.info/8133

Comments: 0

To stay informed about comments to this publication and post comments yourself, please log in first.

LATEST ISSUES

FOLLOW US

Abstract

Citation

References

Comments: 0