Autopoiesis and
Structural Coupling
From self-fabrication to biological cognition — a comprehensive journey through the mathematical and conceptual foundations of living systems from the viewpoint of Autopoiesis and Structural Coupling.
Self-Fabrication, Cognition, and the Nature of Life
The theories concerning the nature of living systems, emerging since the advent of cybernetics in 1948, can be grouped into a few distinct lineages. One of the most significant is centered on the concept of self-fabrication. Key theories in this lineage include (M,R) Systems (Rosen), Autopoiesis (Maturana and Varela), the Chemoton (Gánti), Autocatalytic Networks (Kauffman), Chemical Organization Theory (Dittrich), and RAF sets (Steel).
Undoubtedly, the most influential contributions in this stream are those of Rosen and Maturana & Varela. It is important to note that Autopoiesis is not solely a theory of self-fabrication — above all, it is fundamentally a theory of biological cognition. As such, it engages deeply with the Umwelt tradition inaugurated by Jakob von Uexküll. Furthermore, the notion of Autopoiesis, with its strong emphasis on recursivity and systemic science, has been both applied and misapplied in many fields outside of biology.
In the context of ALIFE 2026, we aim to present a comprehensive overview of the field of self-fabrication, tracing its history and exploring the mathematical formalisms and computer simulations developed to understand it. We will pay particular attention to relating Autopoiesis to the powerful ideas of Rosen and (M,R) Systems, including a demonstration of the ouroboros equation f(f) = f.
Finally, we will argue that the fundamental phenomenon characterizing living systems is not Autopoiesis per se, but rather Structural Coupling — the process by which an organism constructs its Umwelt through the creation of sensorimotor correlations. The relationships between structural coupling, enaction (Varela), Rosen's anticipation, and the Free Energy Principle (FEP) will also be explored.
- History of self-fabrication theories: from cybernetics to the present
- (M,R) Systems (Rosen), Autopoiesis (Maturana & Varela), Chemoton (Gánti)
- Autocatalytic Networks, Chemical Organization Theory, and RAF sets
- Mathematical formalisms and computer simulations of living systems
- The ouroboros equation f(f) = f and its biological significance
- Structural Coupling and the construction of the Umwelt
- Enaction (Varela), Rosen's anticipation, and the Free Energy Principle
Meet the Speakers
Dr. Juan-Carlos Letelier
Juan-Carlos Letelier received his BSc in Biology from the Universidad de Chile in the laboratory of Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela (1983), and his PhD in avian neurophysiology from City College of New York under Josh Wallman. Since 1994 he is Professor at the Facultad de Ciencias of the Universidad de Chile, where he co-directs the laboratory created by Maturana in 1961. His research spans neurophysiology, neuroanatomy of the avian visual system, EEG studies, and mathematical tools for neuroscience. His lifelong passion is theoretical biology, with publications on Autopoietic and (M,R) systems. He attended the first Artificial Life conference in 1987 at Los Alamos.
Prof. Jorge Soto-Andrade
Jorge Soto-Andrade is a Full Professor at the Department of Mathematics, Universidad de Chile. His research spans group representation theory, applied category theory, systems theory, and relational biology — including autopoiesis and self-reference. A longtime advocate for enactivist approaches to mathematics education, he brings a rare capacity to make deep mathematical ideas viscerally intuitive, working at the intersection of cognition, metaphor, and the formal structures underlying living systems.
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