Publication 5714

This paper examines the application and usage of the idea of autopoiesis – a theory of living systems – within the context of viable systems theory. The paper is part of a broader consideration of how, at the social and organisational level, the relationship between these two sets of ideas about might be rethought and reconfigured to produce more comprehensive insight into the nature of the relationship between systems and the environments in which they are embedded (see, for example, Brocklesby, 2001).

Key words: living system, class identity, functional term, viable system, model.