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Autopoiesis

Autopoiesis is very similar to describing the processes which occur in a complex adaptive system. Both concepts were developed in parallel around the same time. The name was coined by Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela in 1973. Autopoiesis can be broken down into auto (self) and poiesis (creating or producing) and is an important part of living structures. As well having the ability to take in energy from the external environment to maintain the function of the structure, an autopoietic structure is able to restore and maintain the structure itself (Capra, 1997). It makes it both independent in that it maintains its separate identity and dependent in that it can not survive without its external environment and a continuous flow of energy. An autopoietic system can therefore not be understood from a linear perspective.

Maturana and Varela talk about living systems being structurally determined since what happens to the system is determined by its structure and the way we perceive our world is determined by our structure. We can only perceive our world using to means provided by our structure. This means we can have no objective reality about the world we live in, because it exists only as we perceive it.

In a human body cells are constantly dying, while new ones are being reformed to take their place. The new cells are created in just the right way so the structure is maintained. Our body knows just how many cells, and what sorts of cells are needed and where they are needed to maintain the shape and functionality of our body.

Autopoietic structures are also highly interactive with the environment about them. This structural coupling between the organism and the environment each affecting the other, gives them the ability to adapt, evolve and learn. Through autopoiesis the organism learns to change its structure and the processes of its existence to become fitter for the environment in which it exists. A simple cell is autopoietic. From those simple cells all life as we know it has evolved.

Francisco Varela was very clear than an autopoiesis system had to have a biological or physical basis, whereas complex adaptive systems can comprise of more ephemeral elements. Other people have proposed that autopoietic systems, such as a social group can be considered to be autopoietic. Certainly, most, if not all, qualities of an autopoietic system are still valid when used in regard to social systems.