autopoiesis
o1 Pro.icon
Francisco Varela, together with Humberto Maturana, proposed the concept of "autopoiesis" (autopoiesis). Autopoiesis refers to the property of a biological system to generate and maintain itself autonomously. Specifically, the components interact with each other inside the system, remaking themselves while maintaining boundaries, and exchanging materials and energy with the external environment. This theory is characterized by its view of life as a self-organizing entity that continues to actively maintain its internal structure, rather than simply a passive entity determined by inputs from the outside world. By applying this autopoiesis perspective to neuroscience and cognitive science, Varela presented the idea that "cognition is the very act by which an organism maintains its own survival. This perspective has influenced not only the study of consciousness and cognition, but also a wide range of fields such as robotics and systems theory.
nishio.iconWhat does that have to do with membranes and nuclei?
o1 Pro.icon
In autopoiesis theory, the "boundary network" is first important. Specifically, the cell membrane is the "boundary" that separates self and others, within which metabolism and self-renewal circulate. The nucleus (the mechanism that holds genetic information, like the nucleus) is the element that provides the blueprint for maintaining and renewing itself at the cellular level. However, it does not necessarily follow that autopoiesis is possible because there is a nucleus. Prokaryotes do not have a nucleus, but they have a self-sustaining mechanism with a membrane, which itself functions in an autopoietic manner. The membrane forms the boundary between the environment and the system, and the internal components continue to generate themselves while interacting with each other, which is the core of the autopoiesis theory.
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