Beer S. (1980) Preface. In: Maturana H. R. & Varela F. J. (eds.) Autopoiesis and cognition. Reidel, Dordrecht: 63–72. https://cepa.info/2724
Beer S.
(
1980)
Preface.
In: Maturana H. R. & Varela F. J. (eds.) Autopoiesis and cognition. Reidel, Dordrecht: 63–72.
Fulltext at https://cepa.info/2724
This small book is very large: it contains the living universe. It is a privilege to be asked to write this preface, and a delight to do so. That is because I recognize here a really important book, both in general and specifically. Before talking about the specific contents at all, I would like to explain why this is in general so.
Maturana H. R. (1980) Introduction. In: Maturana H. R. & Varela F. J. (eds.) Autopoiesis and cognition. Reidel, Boston: xi–xxx. https://cepa.info/553
Maturana H. R.
(
1980)
Introduction.
In: Maturana H. R. & Varela F. J. (eds.) Autopoiesis and cognition. Reidel, Boston: xi–xxx.
Fulltext at https://cepa.info/553
Maturana H. R. & Varela F. J. (1980) Autopoiesis: The organization of the living. In: Maturana H. R. & Varela F. J. (eds.) Autopoiesis and cognition: The realization of the living. Reidel, Dordrecht: 73–140. https://cepa.info/7624
Maturana H. R. & Varela F. J.
(
1980)
Autopoiesis: The organization of the living.
In: Maturana H. R. & Varela F. J. (eds.) Autopoiesis and cognition: The realization of the living. Reidel, Dordrecht: 73–140.
Fulltext at https://cepa.info/7624
Excerpt: We are asking a fundamental question: ‘What is the organization of living systems, what kind of machines are they, and how is their phenomenology, including reproduction and evolution, determined by their unitary organization?’