Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical approach to the theory of autopoiesis in order to see how it challenges mainstream Darwinism. In the first part of the paper, I characterize Darwinism from the concepts of natural selection, heredity, reproduction, and evolution. This characterization is absolutely schematic, and I hope not controversial at all, since my aim is to provide a general background for the discussion of the rest of the paper. The second part presents the main tenets of the theory of autopoiesis, also paying special attention to the concepts of natural selection, heredity, reproduction, and evolution. The third and final part considers some criticisms that have been directed against the theory and suggests some new ones. As I said, my intention is to offer a critical approach, so that I pretend to assess neither autopoiesis nor Darwinism. The assessment, it seems to me, would be a matter of scientific debate—not properly of philosophy. Therefore, given that my approach attempts to be a conceptual clarification, my contribution to the contemporary debate about Darwinism is twofold. On the one hand, I show that conceptually autopoiesis constitutes an important challenge to Darwinism, but on the other, I also show that some fundamental aspects of the theory appear to be both epistemologically and empirically problematic, which perhaps helps to understand why autopoiesis is not widely accepted in mainstream Darwinism.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Camus P. A. (2000) Evolution in Chile: Natural drift versus natural selection, or the preservation of favoured theories in the struggle for knowledge. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 73: 215–219
Etxeberria A. (2004) Autopoiesis and natural drift: Genetic information, reproduction, and evolution revisited. Artificial Life 10: 347–360
Guiloff, G. D. (1981). Autopoiesis and neobiogenesis. In Zeleny (Ed.) Autopoiesis: A theory of the living organization (pp. 118–125). New York: North Holland.
Krohn W., Küppers G. (1989) Self-organization: A new approach to evolutionary epistemology. In: Hahlweg K., Hooker C. A. (eds) Issues in evolutionary epistemology. State University of New York Press, Albany, pp 151–170
Luisi P. L. (2003) Autopoiesis: A review and a reappraisal. Naturwissenschaften 90: 49–59
Maturana, H. R. (1981). Autopoiesis. In Zeleny (Ed.) Autopoiesis: A theory of the living organization (pp. 21–33). New York: North Holland.
Maturana H. R. (1995) La realidad: ¿objetiva o construida? Fundamentos biológicos de la realidad (Vol. 1), Fundamentos biológicos del conocimiento (Vol. 2). Anthropos, Madrid
Maturana H. R., Mpodozis J. (2000) The origin of species by means of natural drift. Revista chilena de historia natural 73: 261–310
Maturana, H. R., & Varela, F. J. ([1973] 1994). De máquinas y seres vivos. Autopoiesis: La organización de lo vivo. (Santiago: Editorial Universitaria).
Maturana H. R., Varela F. J. (1980) Autopoiesis and cognition: The realization of the living. Reidel, Boston
Maturana H. R., Varela F. J. (1987a) The tree of knowledge. Shambala, Boston
Maturana H. R., Varela F. J. (1987b) El árbol del conocimiento. Editorial Universitaria, Santiago de Chile
Mingers J. (1989) An introduction to autopoiesis: Implications and applications. Systems Practice 2: 159–180
Mingers J. (1995) Self-producing systems: Implications and applications of autopoiesis. Plenum, New York
Scheper W. J., Scheper G. C. (1996) Autopsies on autopoiesis. Behavioral Science 41: 1–12
Valenzuela C. Y. (2007) Within selection. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 80: 109–116
Varela F. J. (1979) Principles of biological autonomy. North Holland-Elsevier, New York
Varela F. J. (1981) Describing the logic of the living: The adequacy and limitations of the idea of autopoiesis. In Zeleny (Ed.) Autopoiesis: A theory of the living organization (pp. 36–48). New York: North Holland.
Varela F. J. (2000) El fenómeno de la vida. Dolmen Ensayo, Santiago de Chile
Varela F. J., Maturana H. R., Uribe R. (1974) Autopoiesis: The organization of living systems, its characterization and a model. BioSystems 5: 187–195
Weber B. H., Depew D. J. (2001) Developmental systems, Darwinian evolution, and the unity of science. In: Oyama S., Griffiths P. E., Gray R. D. (eds) Cycles of contingency: Developmental systems and evolution. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 239–253
Zeleny, M. (ed.) (1980) Autopoiesis, dissipative structures, and spontaneous social orders. Westview Press, Boulder, CO
Zeleny, M. (Ed.) (1981). Autopoiesis: A theory of the living organization. New York: North Holland
Zolo D. (1990) Autopoiesis: Critique of a postmodern paradigm. Telos 23: 61–80
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Escobar, J.M. Autopoiesis and Darwinism. Synthese 185, 53–72 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-011-9875-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-011-9875-y