Autopoietic Systems

This chapter re-interprets Polanyi’s substantive institutionalist analysis of market economies, market societies, and state intervention in the light of two later schools, namely, the Parisian regulation approach to contempo- rary capitalism and systems-theoretical accounts of the market economy as an autopoietic system. All three regard the modern economy as an operationally autonomous system that is nonetheless socially embedded and needful of complex forms of social regulation. For each, an adequate account of economic activities should explore how they are related to the wider social environment; how they are embedded in a wider nexus of social institutions; how the latter assist in reproducing the capitalist (or market) economy; and how their development is coupled to these and other environing institutions. Crucial differences among the three approaches nonetheless justify exploring their potential complementari- ties as a basis for further research. Thus, after presenting their respective accounts of economic institutedness and embeddedness, I discuss the stability and reproducibility of the capitalist economy, paying particular attention to governance and meta-governance.

Témou môjho dnešného referátu sú " Neurčité právne pojmy v autopoietickom právnom systéme. " Príspevok bude mať dve časti – v prvej sa budem venovať teórii práva ako autopoietického systému, ktorá bude teoretickým východiskom pre druhú časť, ktorú tvorí špecifická teória výkladu právne neurčitých pojmov, predovšetkým dobrých mravov, postavená na tomto teoretickom základe. Najprv mi dovoľte ale malý úvod, čo ma k tejto téme viedlo.

1. Einleitung .............................................................................................2
1.1 Managementlehre ....................................................................3
1.2 System-Methodik ............................................................................3
1.3 Komplexe Systeme ....................................................................4
1.4 Zwei Theorietypen .....................................................................5
1.4.1 konstruktivistisch-technomorpher Theorietyp ....................5
1.4.2 Systemisch-evolutionärer Theorietyp .....................................6
1.5 Aufbau des Buchs .....................................................................8
2. Das Modell lebensfähiger Systeme von Stafford Beer ............8
2.1 Die Gesamtstruktur des lebensfähigen Systems. ....................9
2.2 Das Prinzip der Rekursion ..........................................................11
2.3 Das Prinzip der Lebensfähigkeit ..........................................13
2.3.1 Komplexitätsbeherrschung ..................................................15
2.3.2 Das Gesetz der erforderlichen Varietät ..................................17
2.3.3 Das Bremerman’sche Limit ..................................................18
2.3.4 Das Prinzip der Ordnung ...........................................................19
3. Das Problem der Komplexität ...................................................23
3.1 Die allgemeinen Evolutionstheorie ...........................................24
3.2  Die Lenkung des Problemlösungsprozesses ...........................28
3.3 Varietätsbewältigung ....................................................................31
3.4 Grundprinzipien kognitiver Prozesse ....................................32
3.5 Prozessmerkmale des evolutionären Problemlösens ............34
4. Umgang mit Komplexität ............................................................38
4.1 Spiralenförmiges Vorgehen ....................................................40
4.2 Evolutionärer Problemlösungsprozeß ....................................40
4.3 Das Rückkoppelungsprinzip ....................................................41
4.4 Das Prinzip der Homöostase ....................................................43
5. Metasystemische Steuerung ....................................................44
6. Strategien zur Komplexitätsbewältigung ....................................48
7. Zusammenfassung ....................................................................56

This paper is dedicated to the victims of those continuing tragic events that started on September 11. Human communication is a crucial factor ensuring the survival of our species. Any message carried through by means of a violent act leading to destruction and self-destruction represents a
fundamental breakdown in meaningful communicative activities. As pertaining to the philosophy of education, the problematics of language and communication relates to the understanding of human
subjectivity (Garrison 1999a) in terms of human behaviors, actions and thoughts. The paper, by placing the notion of communication in the framework of complex dynamical systems, posits communication as a
continuous and open-ended process. The concepts of poiesis, or making, and autopoiesis, as—literally— self-making, or making of the “self”, are critical for describing the dynamics of such a process understood
as creative—versus destructive—and potentially leading to the production of new meanings, habits and values.

The paper draws from John Dewey’s philosophy of education devoted to the transformations of our old “habitual attitudes” (Dewey 1922, p. 26) and creation of new, intelligent habits or, as Dewey called them,
“organizations” (Dewey 1922, p. 22). The paper also introduces some views on language and communication derived from the works of the French poststructuralist philosopher Gilles Deleuze. Reading Deleuze through the lens of Dewey’s process philosophy strengthens the possibility that
“poststructuralism—its genealogy, transmission, development and application—has ongoing significance for educational theory” (Peters 1998, p. 18) as well as for actual classroom practice. If, as a result of such a
“coupling” (see further below) of two thought-processes, Dewey’s philosophy itself undergoes some transformation, it only confirms the fact, as Jim Garrison (1995) has indicated, that Dewey would welcome,
in accord with his own philosophical project, the reconstruction of his own ideas so as “to better respond to the vicissitudes of new times and contexts” (Garrison 1995, p. 1). The notion of communication as shared, that is as a process leading to the emergence of commonly shared meanings, questions the accepted view of the Self as autonomous entity, in the tradition of liberal
education, and presents human subjectivity as a function of an ongoing complex process of multiple interactions. Epistemology overlaps with ethics, and the educational practice in a classroom becomes a selforganizing
process of self-discovery in terms of assigning novel meanings to students’ own experiences.
.
Keywords— autopoiesis, becoming, complexity, Deleuze, Dewey, difference, desire ."

Ulisses Schwarz Viana. O confronto da jurisdição constitucional com seus limites autopoiéticos: o problema do ativismo judicial alopoiético na teoria dos sistemas. 275 Direito Público: Revista Jurídica da Advocacia-Geral do Estado de Minas Gerias, v.15, n.1, jan./dez., 2018. O CONFRONTO DA JURISDIÇÃO CONSTITUCIONAL COM SEUS LIMITES AUTOPOIÉTICOS: O PROBLEMA DO ATIVISMO JUDICIAL ALOPOIÉTICO NA TEORIA DOS SISTEMAS ULISSES SCHWARZ VIANA ____________________ SUMÁRIO __________________ 1 Introdução. 2 A jurisdição constitucional e sua relação com os acoplamentos estruturais (strukturelle kopplungen) como mecanismo de observação de possibilidades decisórias. 3 A jurisdição constitucional no contexto da autopoiese, da codificação e da programação condicional do sistema jurídico. 4 Os programas condicionais do direito e a jurisdição constitucional. 5 Jurisdição constitucional e fórmula do risco. 6 Conclusões. Resumo: o presente texto tem por escopo produzir breve reflexão sobre a jurisdição constitucional e o fenômeno do ativismo judicial. Nele propõe-se uma possível leitura à luz da teoria dos sistemas. Coloca-se em confronto com a necessária consciência dos limites sistêmicos das decisões judiciais, tanto em seu aspecto eficacial, quanto do uso argumentativo de elementos principiológicos. As decisões no campo da jurisdição constitucional passam a ser problematizadas como possibilidades de disfuncionalidade das prestações do sistema do direito na sociedade complexa e funcionalmente diferenciada, como manifestações de um ativismo judicial alopoiético. Palavras-chave: Jurisdição constitucional. Ativismo. Autopoiese. Alopoiese. Limites decisórios. Disfuncionalidade. Eficácia. Ressonância. Complexidade e contingência social. 1. INTRODUÇÃO O fenômeno denominado de forma genérica de ativismo judicial tem sido objeto de frequentes questionamentos teóricos e práticos, como também tem sido relacionado com o advento do neoconstitucionalismo.

El diseño actual debe asumir su cuota de responsabilidad en el deterioro ambiental de nuestro planeta. Por lo tanto, requiere cuestionarse los legados disciplinarios que ha acumulado, especialmente en términos estructurales y organizativos. Es a partir de la maduración de la disciplina que se ha definido una estructura en el diseño y muchas de sus características tienen su origen en la fundación de la Bauhaus Estatal de Weimar, hace 100 años bajo una realidad totalmente distinta. Es este hecho lo que ha llevado a una limitación continua de una evolución disciplinaria y evitar que el propósito final del diseño se cumpla de manera sostenible. La tradición del diseño, como la de otras disciplinas, ha mantenido una visión mecanicista de sus componentes constitutivos, definiendo una visión parcial de sus operaciones y enlaces. Sin embargo, una mirada sistémica podría lograr despejar e iluminar áreas que hasta el día de hoy han sido parcialmente visualizadas, aisladas o estrictamente ignoradas. Como una forma de pensar en el diseño en una relación más armoniosa con su entorno, este documento propone un enfoque desde el mundo de la biología. No como una práctica de biomímesis, sino como una herramienta observacional epistemológica de primer y segundo orden. Concretamente, a partir de la obra de Humberto Maturana y Francisco Varela, quienes desarrollaron el concepto de Autopoiesis, que inició un nuevo paradigma en la definición de lo que caracteriza a los seres vivos. Para ellos, los sistemas autopoiéticos son aquellos que crean, reproducen y reparan sus propias fronteras, componentes y organización. Niklas Luhmann, a través de su teoría de una sociedad funcionalmente diferenciada, hizo uso del concepto de autopoiesis y lo aplica a las ciencias sociales. La aplicación del concepto, por parte de Luhmann (1991), se relaciona con la forma en que los grupos sociales producen internamente los elementos y las relaciones que los constituyen. Asimismo, argumentó que existe una diferenciación entre el mundo de la práctica y el de la ciencia, es decir, presenta la coexistencia de dos sistemas paralelos como resultado de una funcionalidad diferenciada Es bien sabido que el diseño es una disciplina que se ha ido especializando y concentrando en aspectos cada vez más estrechos de los fenómenos a los que se enfrenta. Se autoimpone visiones parciales de sus acciones y su entorno y, por lo tanto, ha ido perdiendo la capacidad de observación y análisis holísticas que alguna vez tuvo. Por esta razón, se llevó a cabo una revisión bibliográfica y una encuesta a nivel internacional en busca de pruebas que permitieran caracterizar sus fronteras, componentes y organización. Esto permitió que el diseño fuera iluminado para ser entendido como un sistema autopoiético. En este proceso se identificaron siete componentes esenciales en las pruebas observadas, y su organización da lugar a un marco de diseño sistémico; dichos componentes son: componente Humano o la dimensión referencial, componente Transicional o la dimensión de tiempo, componente Alopoiético o la dimensión física, componente Operativo o la dimensión procesal, componente Observacional o la dimensión cibernética, componente Teleológico o la dimensión causal y el componente Relacional o la dimensión espacial. Esta nueva organización le permite al diseño definir límites disciplinarios claros, regulando su respuesta dentro de esos parámetros, con el fin de garantizar una continuidad en su funcionamiento, a través de la generación de una producción que se integra en su nicho ecológico. Una comprensión profunda del diseño garantiza la sostenibilidad en su actuar.

Una rivisitazione dei fondamenti dell'antropologia filosofica che ne svela tutte le contraddizioni e le rigidità. Una ricerca che incrocia le teorie dell'autopoiesi di Maturana e Varela con le "ontologie della pluralità" contemporanee, per rifondare una soggettività che non confini l'umano (e il postumano) in una solitudine orgogliosa ma sterile.

The ontology of animality, starting from Derrida's writings, determines the reconsideration of the human being and his ontological condition within an environment (Umwelt) in which the anthropocentric point of view has hitherto been predominant. The post-human represents the urgency for ethics willing to reflect on a world inhabited both by hybridizing life forms breaking the boundaries, and a common and immanent substratum yearning for its own limit: the animality partaken by all of us. The boundaries will be deconstructed starting from the ontology, through the epistemology, in order to define post-human ethics.

Organizational knowledge is at the center of the debate focused on the nature of knowledge, where the perspective of knowledge as possession opposes the perspective of knowledge as practice. These two views are rooted in the radical versions of realist and constructivist epistemology, respectively, according to which knowledge is an object or a practice. Far from being a Byzantine dispute, the adoption of one or the other has relevant and concrete consequences for the design and management of IS/IT, because as such, the two paradigms result incommensurable in both theoretical and methodological aspects. However, from a moderate and middle-ground version the following fruitful implications would stem: 1) the juxtaposition would dissolve, and a dual nature of knowledge as object and practice would emerge; 2) the epistemology of pragmatism would be able to account for all the concepts and methods employed by the two fronts, thus terminating a sterile “paradigm war”; 3) the theory of autopoiesis would become irrelevant and eventually even misleading; 4) standard scientific methodologies and simulation models would be acknowledged as useful and common tools for progressive confrontations among the supporters of both the paradigms; 5) the development of IS/IT studies and the design of knowledge management systems would substantially benefit.

This article focuses on vegetal life as paradigmatic alternative to animal and human existence in  terms  of  systematic  organization.  Through  the  analysis  of  three  symptomatic  vegetal  species – ferns, baobabs, lichens – we try to broaden the anthropomorphic/anthropocentrism deconstruction  by  inclusion  of  vegetal  alterity,  proposing  a  revision  of  crucial  terms  in  the posthuman discourse, such as individual, intern and extern, whole and parts. Rejecting the construction  of  a  new  normative  frame  for  bioalterity,  we  aim  at  defining  the  ‘stay  with’ relation  as  valid  model  of  individuation  not  only  for  other  living  beings,  but  also  for  that  peculiar way of individuation that is knowledge.

In their recent book Radicalizing Enactivism. Basic minds without content, Dan Hutto and Erik Myin (H&M) make two important criticisms of what they call autopoietic enactivism (AE). These two criticisms are that AE harbours tacit representationalists commitments and that it has too liberal a conception of cognition. Taking the latter claim as its main focus, this paper explores the theoretical underpinnings of AE in order to tease out how it might respond to H&M. In so doing it uncovers some reasons which not only appear to warrant H&M’s initial claims but also seem to point to further uneasy tensions within the AE framework. The paper goes beyond H&M by tracing the roots of these criticisms and apparent tensions to phenomenology and the role it plays in AE's distinctive conception of strong life-mind continuity. It is highlighted that this phenomenological dimension of AE contains certain unexamined anthropomorphic and anthropogenic leanings which do not sit comfortably within its wider commitment to life-mind continuity. In light of this analysis it is suggested that AE will do well to rethink this role or ultimately run the risk of remaining theoretically unstable. The paper aims to contribute to the ongoing theoretical development of AE by highlighting potential internal tensions within its framework which need to be addressed in order for it to continue to evolve as a coherent paradigm.

Travels in Intertextuality aims for what John Berger would call “ways of seeing” digital media artifacts and interacting cultural texts. Using Lev Manovich’s Language of New Media, these “new media objects” are seen through the metaphorical “coordinated set of lenses” of Michael Cole’s Cultural Psychology. In addressing issues of “writing” and identity in the digital age at the intersection of technology, art, and commerce, this highly exploratory work looks for ways to perceive “value” in remix culture through ecological models of sociocultural systems. The thesis “follows the problem” of remix through “pioneering research”, “reflective practice”, and shifting contexts for expansive learning. Emerging from significant pools of digital media, “remix value” is analysed through cultural-historical perspectives, as well as through the autopoietic perspectives of “self-making” biological and sociolinguistic systems.

> context • The majority of contemporary enactivist work is influenced by the philosophical biology of Hans Jonas. Jonas credits all living organisms with experience that involves particular " existential " structures: nascent forms of concern for self-preservation and desire for objects and outcomes that promote well-being. We argue that Jonas's attitude towards living systems involves a problematic anthropomorphism that threatens to place enactivism at odds with cognitive science, and undermine its legitimate aims to become a new paradigm for scientific investigation and understanding of the mind. > Problem • Enactivism needs to address the tension between its Jonasian influences and its aspirations to become a new paradigm for cognitive science. By relying on Jonasian phenomenology, contemporary enactivism obscures alternative ways in which phenomenology can be more smoothly integrated with cognitive science. > method • We outline the historical relationship between enactivism and phenomenology, and explain why anthropomorphism is problematic for a research program that aspires to become a new paradigm for cognitive science. We examine the roots of Jonas's existential interpretation of biological facts, and describe how and why Jonas himself understood his project as founded on an anthropomorphic assumption that is incompatible with a crucial methodological assumption of scientific enquiry: the prohibition of unexplained natural purposes. We describe the way in which phenomenology can be integrated into Maturana's autopoietic theory, and use this as an example of how an alternative, non-anthropomorphic science of the biological roots of cognition might proceed. > Results • Our analysis reveals a crucial tension between Jonas's influence on enactivism and enactivism's paradigmatic aspirations. This suggests the possibility of, and need to investigate, other ways of integrating phenomenology with cognitive science that do not succumb to this tension. > implications • In light of this, enactivists should either eliminate the Jonasian inference from properties of our human experience to properties of the experience of all living organisms, or articulate an alternative conception of scientific enquiry that can tolerate the anthropomorphism this inference entails. The Maturanian view we present in the article's final section constitutes a possible framework within which enactivist tools and concepts can be used to understand cognition and phenomenology, and that does not involve a problematic anthropomorphism. > constructivist content • Any constructivist approach that aims for integration with current scientific practice must either avoid the type of anthropomorphic inference on which Jonas bases his work, or specify a new conception of scientific enquiry that renders anthropomorphism unproblematic. >

Maturana and Varela in 1973 declared that an autopoietic unit is the one that creates, reproduces, and repairs its own components and organization. The last two hundred years, humankind has generated an unprecedented technological development. Unfortunately, it has broken the balance of the biosphere, leading to a new geological change, the Anthropoccene. Design must assume its share of responsibility. It is clear that the practical theoretical model assumed so far is not working, it is necessary to make a paradigm shift. By appropriating a methodology born in biology and created to determine whether we are facing an autopoietic entity, design seeks new ways of understanding oneseed and thus being able to have a more sustainable action. This research suggests that contemporary sustainable design, understood as a systemic model anchored in the theory of autopoiesis, will constitute a methodological theoretical tool that will allow a more harmonious link with the environment.

Design Culture(s). Cumulus Conference Proceedings Roma 2021, Volume #2
Edited by: Loredana Di Lucchio, Lorenzo Imbesi, Angela Giambattista, Viktor Malakuczi
ISBN 978-952-64-9004-5,
ISSN 2490-046X – Cumulus Conference Proceedings Series, N°7

In this paper we criticize the "Ashbyan interpretation" of autopoietic theory by showing that Ashby's framework and the autopoietic one are based on distinct, often incompatible, assumptions and that they aim at addressing different issues. We also suggest that in order to better understand autopoiesis and its implications, a different and wider set of theoretical contributions, developed previously or at the time autopoiesis was formulated, needs to be taken into consideration: among the others, the works of Rosen, Weiss and Piaget. By analyzing the concepts of organization and closure, the idea of components, and the role of materiality in the theory proposed by Maturana and Varela, we advocate the view that autopoiesis necessarily entails selfproduction and intrinsic instability and can be realized only in domains characterized by the same transformative and processual properties exhibited by the molecular domain. From this theoretical standpoint it can be demonstrated that autopoietic theory neither commits to a sharp dualism between organization and structure nor to a reflexive view of downward causation, thus avoiding the respective strong criticisms.

The phrase 'beyond historicism' is usually associated with Bielefeld historians like Hans Ulrich Wehler and Jürgen Kocka, who attempted to turn the study of history into a social science, but a better candidate would be the sociologist Niklas Luhmann, who happened to teach as well in Bielefeld during the 1970's and 1980's. Luhmann had little affinity with the project of his colleagues from the history department. He took the opposite view that the social sciences suffered from a naive enlightenment view and should become more history minded. Like the historicists of the early nineteenth century Luhmann was indirectly inspired by the philosophy of Leibniz. Although Luhmann's theory of social systems may seem miles away from the daily interests of most historians, it can be interpreted as an Aufhebung of historicism. This will be demonstrated for two important concepts, the autopoietic system which incorporates the historicist notion of individuality and the concept of second order observation which can be read as an abstract redescription of what historicists meant by the historical method.

En este trabajo se ha estudiado al Derecho penal desde un punto de vista estrictamente del constructivismo operativo del sociólogo alemán Niklas Luhmann; distanciándonos, al menos metodológicamente, de la concepción funcional sistémica del Derecho penal de los profesores Günther Jakobs (Alemania), Carlos Gómez-Jara Díez (España) y Piña Rochefort (Chile). Este trabajo ofrece otra perspectiva sociológica sistémica de concebir al Derecho penal.

Literaturauszug aus: Anatol Rapoport: Allgemeine Systemtheorie
Die ersten Keime der allgemeinen Systemtheorie erschienen in den Werken von Ludwig von Bertalanffy. Es war auch Deutschland, wo im tiefen Denken von Kant eine klar formulierte Philosophie der modernen Wissenschaft in Verbindung mit einer strengen Theorie der Erkenntnis zuerst erschien. Diesem Boden entstammte die Allgemeine Systemtheorie.
Die Verwendung des Ausdrucks "allgemeine Systemtheorie" legt nahe, daß es in unserer Welt Gebilde gibt, die "Systeme" genannt werden, und daß alle diese, oder wenigstens alle, die besonderen Typen angehören, einige Eigenschaften gemeinsam haben. Entsprechend dieser Ansicht würde es scheinen, daß die Aufgabe einer "allgemeinen Theorie von Systemen" darin bestehen würde, Systeme ztu definieren, eine Taxonomie von Systemen zu formulieren, Eigenschaften auszusondern, die zahlreiche Systeme gemein haben, und zu erklären, wie dieser Zuagng uns zu einem besseren Verständnis unserer Welt verhelfen kann (das letztgenannte Ziel ist natürlich Bestandteil der Rechtfertigung einer jeden substantiellen Theorie).
Wenn man die Literatur sorgfältig liest, welche vorgibt, sich mit allgemeiner Systemtheorie zu befassen, findet man weite Divergenzen in der Definition von Systemen, in den Klassifikationskriterien und der Bewertung der Systembetrachtungsweise als ein Beitrag zum Wissen, Verständnis oder zur Verfolgung spezifischer praktischer Ziele.

Systems theory is proposed as a major resource for reconceptualizing a Christian theology of creation. Section I outlines the principles of the theory of autopoietic systems and discusses in particular Manfred Eigen's and Stuart Kauffman's differing views of the emergence of life. Section II shows how biblical texts conceive of God´s "blessing" as a divine installment and reshaping of spatiotemporal fields for creaturely self-productivity. On this double basis, Section III undertakes a constructive attempt to formulate a theology of self-productivity within a Trinitarian framework. The unity of divine self-consistency and capacity for self-relativization is seen as the clue for understanding how God not only sustains the world in general but also influences particular processes by changing the overall probability pattern of evolving systems.

Autopoietic theory is increasingly seen as a candidate for a radical
theory of law, both in relation to its theoretical credentials and its relevance in terms of new and emerging forms of law. An aspect of the theory that has remained less developed, however, is its material side, and more concretely the theory’s accommodation of bodies, space, objects and their claim to legal agency. The present
article reads Luhmann’s theory of autopoietic systems in a radical and material manner, linking it on the one hand to current post-structural theorisations of law and society, and on the other hand extending its ambit to accommodate the influx of material considerations that have been working their way through various other disciplines. The latter comprises both a materialisation of the theory itself and ways
of conceptualising the legal system as material through and through. This I do by further developing what I have called Critical Autopoiesis, namely an acentric, topological, post-ecological and posthuman understanding of Luhmann’s theory, that draws on Deleuzian thought, feminist theory, geography, non-representational
theory, and new material and object-oriented ontologies. These are combined with some well-rehearsed autopoietic concepts, such as distinction, environment and boundaries; Luhmann’s earlier work on materiality continuum; more recent work on bodies and space; as well as his work on form and medium in relation to art. The article concludes with five suggestions for an understanding of what critical autopoietic materiality might mean for law.

Resumen: En el presente artículo el autor nos propone la libre navegación y asociación a través de una breve síntesis esquemática presentada bajo la forma de red conceptual en el universo de la extensa e interesante obra de Niklas Luhmann.

Abstract: In the present article the author proposes to us the free navigation and association, through a brief schematic synthesis presented in the form of a conceptual network in the universe of the extensive and interesting work of Niklas Luhmann.

1. Das Problem                               1
2. Die Schwierigkeit                               1
3. Der Ausgangspunkt                       2
4. Das Phänomen der Kognition       2
5. Grundbegriffe                               2
6. Das lebende System                       3
7. Das Nervensystem                       4
8. Das Nervensystem operiert als ein geschlossenes System 4
9. Das Medium                               4
10. Kognition                                       4
11. Strukturelle Kopplung                       5
12. Wahrnehmung                               5
13. Wahrheit und Falschheit               5
14. Konsensuelle Bereiche               6
15. Der Beobachter                               6
16. Kognitive Bereiche                       7
17. Kreativität und Freiheit                 7
18. Ethik und Liebe                                 8

The primary aim of the research project was to develop a theory and model of the evolutionary and revolutionary phases of change in human cultures valid from prehistory to the present. To do this satisfactorily the first stage was to clarify what it is to be human. Consequently, the thesis is as much concerned with human evolution as it is with theories of culture.

Its originality derives from the adoption of a radical theory of living and cognition devised by biologists and neuroscientists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, referred to as biology of cognition (BoC), or autopoietic theory.

Despite claims to the contrary, mainstream theories of evolution do not provide a satisfactory explanation of how genes, brain, body and culture co-evolve. Maturana and Varela already provide such a theory, and one might venture to say that this is what they have dedicated themselves to explaining these past 50 years or so. One of the central aims of the project has been to bring it into the light to compare against extant theories of human evolution, cognition and cultural change.

One of the significant outcomes is the articulation of a theory of human evolution that is independent of empirical evidence, and which, therefore, can be used to guide interpretations of fossil and artefactual discoveries, the latter of which are used to ascertain the presence, absence and kind of culture from prehistory to the present.

1. Introduction 2
2 Analytical and Holistic View 2
2.1 Concept of Systems       3
2.2 Living Systems         3
2.3 System Properties 3
2.4 Introspective Knowledge 3
2.5 Mathematization         4
2.6 Constancy in Change         4
3 Organization 5    
3.1 Information                 5
3.2 Entropy and Redundancy 6
3.3 The Second Law of Thermodynamics 6
3.4 Structure and Relationships 6
3.5 News and Social Communication 7
4 Political/Social Organization 7
4.1 Game and Association (Coalition) 7
4.2 Foundations                 8
4.3 Teams                 8
4.4 Decisions         8
4.5 Power                 8
4.6 Evolution         8
4.7 Motivation and Purposefulness 9
5 Decision Theories 9
5.1 Normative Decision Theories 9
5.2 Empirical Decision Theories 10
5.3 Decision under Risk         10
5.4 Social Choice Theory         10
5.5 Game Theory                 10
6. Summary         12
6.1 Global Modeling         12
6.2 Structure, Behavior and Developments of Systems 13   6.2.1 Structure of Systems         13
6.2.2 Behavior of Systems                 13
6.2.3 Developments of Systems         13
6.3 Applications                 14

Inhaltsverzeichnis  Folie

Einleitung      ………………………... 3
Systemisch-evolutionärer Theorietyp .. 4
Der Aufbau des Buchs      …...….……… 5
Das Modell lebensfähiger Systeme ….. 6
Das Prinzip der Rekursion      …………. 8
Das Prinzip der Lebensfähigkeit  …. .    9
Komplexitätsbeherrschung    ……......  10
Die wichtigsten Lenkungsprozesse .... 10
Varietät …..........................................    11
Das Bremerman’sche Limit    …………. 12
Das Prinzip der Ordnung ……….…. 13
Das Problem der Komplexität  ……….. 15
Die konstruktivistische Auffassung  …  16
Die Lenkung des Problemlöseprozesse  19
Varietätsbewältigung      ……….….………    22
Grundprinzipien kognitiver Prozesse    23
Prozessmerkmale des evolutionären
Problemlösens ……………….……...................... 24
Umgang mit Komplexität      …………………….….... 26
Das Rückkoppelungsprinzip    …………………....... 28
Implizite Regelung sowie Vernetzte Systeme ..... 29
Das Prinzip der Homöostase ..............................  31
Metasystemische Steuerung    ............................  32
Strategien zur Komplexitätsbewältigung 34
Typische Verhaltensmuster im Alltag ….…… 37
Die Verwendung des Modells des lebensfähigen
Systems     ..................………….….................. 39
Grundvorstellungen des Modells und
Zusammenfassung ............................…….…… 40
System 2: Koordination der Vielfalt der Teile ....    41
System 3: Arbeitsteilung und Interne Revision...    42
System 4: Kontskt zu anderen Umwelten...........    43
System 5: Top Management   ...........................    44

C. S. Peirce is often credited as a forerunner of the verificationist theory of meaning. In his early pragmatist papers, Peirce did say that if we want to make our ideas clear(er), then we should look downstream to their actual and future effects. For many who work in philosophy of mind, this is enough to endorse functionalism and dismiss the whole topic of qualia. It complexifies matters, however, to consider that the term qualia was introduced by the founder of pragmatism himself. Peirce was adamant that only triadic relations can support language and cognition. Even so, he insisted on purely logical grounds that, when we analyze triadic signs all the way, we are left with a qualitative residue he called Firstness. Such an isolated relatum could never be studied experimentally. Yet, given that this primitive state can be confirmed by means of a formal or prescissive distinction, I believe the Peircean account can do justice to many of the intuitions that generate the so-called hard problem of consciousness. My goal, then, is to show that Peirce's semiotic commitment to qualia is compatible with his foundational statements about pragmatism.

This paper addresses the issue of the biological foundations of agency and cognition. It does so from the point of view of the theoretical framework of autonomy, of which the theory of autopoiesis constitutes one of the paradigmatic examples. The starting point of this analysis consists in the thesis according to which agency and cognition are rooted in the very basic organization of living systems and, specifically, in those adaptive mechanisms that are at the basis of the capability of organisms of viably interacting with the environment. According to the framework developed here, it is these mechanisms that enable the endogenous generation of meaning for these very interactions in such a way that it becomes possible to express at the operational level, and therefore naturalize, notions such as meaning, world, significance etc. In conclusion, it will be argued that the crucial transition between the environment as an indistinct source of noise and a meaningful world brought forth by the system, takes place when interactions are not driven by dynamical stability only, but full-fledged mechanisms of adaptive regulation are at work.

European universities have come under reform pressures to make them instruments of social and economic development, compromising their earlier status as socially buffered institutions. The aim of this paper was to investigate the hypothesis that tensions and inconsistencies in recent higher education reforms in Poland trace back to a fundamental conflict between institutional and instrumental visions of the university. Findings suggest an intersection of "rationalized myths" that locks the university sector in a "corset" experienced by stakeholders more like a return to the Soviet past than the way of a better future. Seen through the lens of second-order systems theory, these findings problematize the assumption that the historically grounded institution of the university can be reoriented as an instrument for achieving state priorities with a mere balance of carrots and state-of-the-art sticks.

The article explores the mechanisms that led to the current crisis of copyright law in the digital environment (understood as its inability to regulate social dynamics as regards the production, dissemination and access to creative works) by applying the concept of law as an autopoietic system. It analyses how the copyright regime (a subsystem of the legal system) evolved over time, by scrutinizing the interdependencies between copyright law and the other constitutive systems of its environment: the creative system (concerned with the creation, reproduction, distribution and access to creative works), the political system (comprising both the State and the Church), the economic system (ruled by right holders and intermediaries on the market for creative works) and the technological system.

Maturana and Varela in 1973 declared that an autopoietic unit is the one that creates, reproduces, and repairs its own components and organization. The last two hundred years, humankind has generated an unprecedented technological development. Unfortunately, it has broken the balance of the biosphere, leading to a new geological change, the Anthropoccene. Design must assume its share of responsibility. It is clear that the practical theoretical model assumed so far is not working, it is necessary to make a paradigm shift. By appropriating a methodology born in biology and created to determine whether we are facing an autopoietic entity, design seeks new ways of understanding oneseed and thus being able to have a more sustainable action. This research suggests that contemporary sustainable design, understood as a systemic model anchored in the theory of autopoiesis, will constitute a methodological theoretical tool that will allow a more harmonious link with the environment.

In many regions of the world, scholars have renewed a discussion on the nature and properties of
contracts as a legal phenomenon, leading to the emergence of so-called ‘non-classical theories of contract’: contract as a
promise, relational contract, contract as a network etc.
This article’s aim is to compare non-classical approaches to contract and check the possibility of creating a modern holistic
theory of contract. This article’s methodology is based on the functional method, the use of which provides a comparative
perspective, meaning that each of the explored approaches to the theory of contract should be studied in the context of its
causes and problems it solves.
The article systematizes problems solved by non-classical theories of contracts and concludes that the development of a
new theory means the appearance of a new solution, not only for the problem for which it was designed but also for some
others from the list. No theory solves all the problems of contract law. Numerous theories of the 20th and 21st centuries have
shown the directions, in which it is necessary to carry out research and to seek approaches whose combinations and mutual
critical evaluations will allow the formation of a met theory of contract law, the further development of which can lead to a
dominant paradigm shift in response to the emergence of an integrative legal theory of contract viewed in a holistic manner
as a multifaceted phenomenon.

Departing from systems theory, Marc Amstutz has developed a refined theory of world law. In the course of developing this theory he has, however, reformulated or changed the status of a number of central system theoretical concepts, including the concepts of (co-)evolution, interpenetration and function. At first glance, these changes appear to be relatively inconsequential but at second glance they amount to a radical reformulation of systems theory because the focus is systematically shifted away from system internal processes and towards inter-systemic processes. Although Amstutz departs from a legal perspective, his theory is in fact projecting a mirror image of the wider society. Amstutz has, in other words, not just developed a theory of world law, but rather a central contribution to a novel inter-systemic theory of society as such.

Gunther Teubner has raised the question of "What comes after the state?" Behind the question lies the insight that society is currently undergoing deep structural transformations in the sense that state-centered society, which was a strong characteristic of 19th and 20th century society, is fading away at the same time as new forms of trans-national structures continuously gain in importance. One of the many consequences of this development is, seemingly, that the political system is no longer capable of serving as the primary "partner" of the legal system, thereby reducing the impact of democratic decision-making on the legal system. Teubner`s theory of reflexive law thus needs to be complemented by a theory of reflexive politics.

In this article I will outline the basic theoretical assumptions of two examples of the confederative and the integrative views of the living - respectively Ganti's Chemoton theory and Maturana and Varela's autopoietic theory - by showing that they are both consistent perspectives, but they differ in the accounts they make of the role of organization in biological systems. In doing so I will also put into evidence how the choice between these two theoretical frameworks is strictly connected to the problem of structure and function in living organisms and entails different strategies of investigation.

The aim of this Tesis is to defend that life is autopoietic by its definition,
inferring that if a system is not able to self-regulate, it will be therefore lifeless. To support this idea a interdisciplinary analysis will be used, being supported by powerful quotes that inscribe this idea in the appropriate words. After an exhaustive analysis of the real consequences of the capitalist system, on the Earth and on the people, an alternative is proposed to this system in order to favor the compatibility of the human being within its ecosystem, while providing health to its own participants, through the practice of new ways of managing resources, both material and personal. This change entails a necessary evolution from anthropocentrism to ecocentrism, being communities the right path for such change. This hypothesis will be defended from the General Theory of Systems, with theoretical
contributions from Ecological Psychology and Community Psychology.

Purpose: Today humankind is in a deep crisis and disharmony of Life without the power of Love. In this era, we are 'enjoying' the dominator paradigm as 'dominator culture'. These are the reasons for unhappy people, non-ethical economy, as well as the climate change and wars, taking place on the planet Earth. Design/methodology/approach: We have studied autopoiesis in the direction of self-production as a system of self-realization. As part of our action research, we carried out an interview with Lauc in 2017, where we found out, what the author said about change in these times. We used qualitative research methods with the aim to form a synthesis which we named as 'Lauc's Autopoiesis'. Findings: Most people are not on the way to self-realization yet. Lauc had a very optimistic Shared Vision about a creative society as a solution for the failing economic situation in the world. Finishing the cycle of a cycle is the Natural law of self-production within the Autopoiesis phenomenon. With action research self-realized people create constant evolution as creative work inside the cycle theory as 'Lauc's Autopoiesis'. Originality/value: We have been focused on Lauc's lifelong work and research, with the goal to form original synthesis as 'Lauc's Autopoiesis'. His lifelong mission was to achieve Freedom through Love, Truth and Knowledge, as a self-learning process. Environment implications and Research limitations: The final objective of 'Lauc's Autopoiesis' was to connect science, art, high technology and spirituality. Limitations in society are old and still valid organizational paradigms which block up the life in love and freedom and hinder human creative potential.

Resolutons of the Supreme Court and consistency of judicial decisions. The way to autopoietic legal system? // The text explores the system-construing potential of the resolutions of the Supreme Court, admissible in the Polish civil and criminal proceedings. Under the procedural rules, each court of second instance (including the Supreme Court itself) may refer to the Supreme Court a question on interpretation of a particular regulation, obtaining the answer in a form of resolution (distinct from the normal judgment, yet also comprising a sentence and grounds). Apart from these resolutions – made in concreto, upon the grounds of the particular case – several public offices (like the Ombudsman or the General Prosecutor) are entitled to ask abstract questions (without reference to any particular proceedings), also resolved by the Supreme Court in the form of a resolution. Dependable on the number of judges in a board (from three to the entire composition of the Court) the binding power of resolutions and possibility to overrule them may differ. In principle, however, the interpretative pattern provided in the resolution is binding only upon the court that referred the question (in concreto), with exceptions for compulsory recognition by the entire Supreme Court of the resolutions provided by broader judicial boards. The resolutions based upon this pattern may provide – as the text argues – a useful and multifunctional tool for improving the legal system – particularly through clarifying its vague areas and filling-in the gaps. In this way, resolutions (issued both in abstracto and in concreto) may provide a really fruitful path for „self-creating” and „self-perfecting” of a legal system (its autopoiesis), beyond the domain of legislative activity.

""Offering a novel, transdisciplinary approach to environmental law, its principles, mechanics and context, as tested in its application to the urban environment, this book traces the conceptual and material absence of communication between the human and the natural and controversially includes such an absence within a system of law and a system of geography which effectively remain closed to environmental considerations. This book looks at Niklas Luhmann's theory of autopoiesis. Introducing the key concepts and operations, contextualizing them and opening them up to critical analysis. Indeed, in contrast to most discussions on autopoiesis, it proposes a radically different reading of the theory, in line with critical legal, political, sociological, urban and ecological theories, while drawing from writings by Husserl and Derrida, as well as Latour, Blanchot, Haraway, Agamben and Nancy. It explores a range of topics in the areas of environmental law and urban geography, including: environmental risk, environmental rights, the precautionary principle, intergenerational equity and urban waste discourses on community, nature, science and identity.

The author redefines the traditional foundations of environmental law and urban geography and suggests a radical way of dealing with scientific ignorance, cultural differences and environmental degradation within the perceived need for legal delivery of certainty. ""