There is a dualistic assumption underlying constructivism: thinking takes place in an inner subjective world, divorced from the outer objective reality and knowledge is constructed there by the individual through material and mental acts. In a phenomenological framework the fundamental unity between human beings and the world in which they live is assumed. Knowledge represents ways of seeing, experiencing, thinking about the world and it is constituted through the internal relation between the knower (subject) and the known (object). It is shown that these two kinds of ontological and epistemological assumptions have radically different implications for how the development of arithmetic skills is seen and conceptualized.

The author proposes: 1. That a lineage of living systems is constituted by the reproductive conservation of a manner of living under the form of an ontogenic phenotype. 2. That language is a manner of living in recurrent consensual coordinations of consensual coordinations of actions. 3. That the human manner of living en tails among other things, a braiding of languaging and emotioning that we call.conversation. 4. That human beings arise in the history of bipedal primates with the origin of language, and the constitution of a lineage defined by the conservation of an ontogenic phenotype that includes conversations as part of it. 5. That the magnitude of the involvement of the brain and anatomy of the larynx and face in speech as our main manner of languaging indicate that language cannot have arisen later than two to three millions year ago. 6. That rationally pertains to the operational coherences of languaging and that different rational domains are constituted by different basic notions that are accepted a priori. That is, on preference. 7. That responsibility and freedom are a function of our awareness of the participation of our emotions (preferences) in the constitution of the rational domains in which we operate.

Maturana and Varela have developed a theory to explain the particular character of living systems. Such systems, they claim, have an “autopoietic, ” or self-produc¬ing, organization. This term is now used widely, although often without a proper understanding of the detail of the theory. Moreover, the concept has been applied to other systems, such as societies and institutions, in a rather naïve manner. It is a very important theory, with far-reaching consequences both for science and for social intervention, but it must be correctly appreciated and applied. The aim of this paper is to aid that process by, first, elucidating the theoretical ideas and, second, critically evaluating its implications and applications.

Key words: autopoiesis, organization, information, social systems.

Some students thirst for learning. They seek challenges and overcome obstacles sometimes with persistence and sometimes with inventive problem solving. They set realistic goals and utilize a battery of resources. They approach academic tasks with confidence and purpose. This combination of positive expectations, motivation, and diverse strategies for problem solving are virtues of self-regulated learners. We seek to understand and nurture the development of these attitudes in order to prevent students from rejecting the values of education, devising shortcuts to complete assignments, and setting minimal performance goals.

Key words: constructivist approach, social comparison, poor reader, achievement motivation, academic ability.

First I present what is called the “core” of gestalt psychology: the “law of natural order.” It postulates a principle of self-organization. For Fritz Perls, the founder of gestalt therapy, the principle of “organismic self-regulation” is central to his theory of therapy. Furthermore I show similarities and differences between gestalt psychology and gestalt therapy on one hand and the theory of autopoiesis by Maturana and Varela on the other. After defining the goal of gestalt therapy as turning power relations into love relations, I explain the main concept in gestalt therapy “contact” and compare it with “structural coupling” in the theory of autopoiesis. At the end I quote part of a session with Fritz Perls, demonstrating some aspects of the therapeutic process and I show consequences of the theory for the relation between therapist and client.