Abstract

Maturana and Varela's notion of autopoiesis has the potential to transform the conceptual foundation of biology, as well as the cognitive, behavioral and brain sciences. In order to fully realize this potential, however, the concept of autopoiesis and its many consequences require significant further theoretical and empirical development. A crucial step in this direction is the formulation and analysis of models of autopoietic systems. This paper sketches the beginnings of such a project by examining a glider from the Game of Life in autopoietic terms. Such analyses can clarify some of the key ideas underlying autopoiesis and draw attention to some of the central open issues. This paper also examines the relationship between an autopoietic perspective on cognition and recent work on dynamical approaches to the behavior and cognition of situated, embodied agents.

Citations