Humberto R. Maturana

A book with depth beyond any textbook I've read yet which looks like an easy reader at first sight. Very, very deceptive. Needs careful consideration as it bridges across so many traditional disciplines - who'd have thought a biologist could create a theory about love? To understand this book is to see the world in a profoundly changed way. I believe the two of them could have made it easier to understand - for example Hoffman has very similar ideas (radical constructivism) and manages to show more communicate more effectively. Autopoiesis is a cracking good theory with many many applications. I'm not sure though that Maturana is in favour of all of them... I wonder if Capra's broken ideas about social autopoiesis come straight from the horse's mouth? show less

I was reading and enjoying Andres Weber, and a friend recommended I check out this book for a less western take on biosemiotics. Ironically, Weber was a student of Maturana.

There are a number of unusual things about this book. It seems to be a very small printing. Apparently it was written in the early '90s, but not published until the lat '00s. Almost half of the book is appendices (which you should probably read). It is written using what some call semantic language. Its text requires that show more you image what the authors are speaking about, or else you will quickly become lost. In other words, it is a very challenging read! I think I'll need to have a handful of conversations with others that have read the book before I have a strong grasp of the topics within.

The book was written by two Chilean professions. Gerda Verden-Zöller has studied mother-child relations. Humberto Maturana Romesin has studied sense-perception and developed the concept of autopoesis (the self-making nature of life). Apparently Maturana died during the time I was reading this book.

The book outlines an alternate theory of evolution, on in which ecosystems and their species are part of an ongoing give-and-take that results in their mutual development. Humans, as part of this system, have been able to conserve their distinct identity through love. Love is a defining aspect of human relations—the mother-child relationship being at the core of human culture.

I'm interested in learning more about the work of Maturana and Verden-Zöller, although I may return to Weber first. show less

Like all Maturana's work, this is dense but highly rewarding. Maybe one of the most important books I've ever read. It's enhanced my understanding of evolution by natural drift and enlightened my view of humans, our origins and what we are. Recommended for serious biologists, and those interested in Maturana's views (or enactivist views) in general.

The work is as philosophical as it is scientific, even in discussions of neurophysiology, which was particularly refreshing aspect of the book. It has a very interesting framework, and there are number of pragmatic problems that are handled in a connected manner. Also some people might feel a bit of 'Kant' in it. The one downside is, it over explains 'What autopoiesis is not.'
I definitely recommend this book.