Autopoiesis

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/autopoiesis

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the conceptual originators?Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela
2. What is the publication year?1972
3. What does "autopoiesis" mean?It means a system that makes itself. It is like a tiny machine that builds its own parts and keeps itself alive.
4. Who first talked about autopoiesis?Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela said it in 1972. They wanted to explain what makes living things alive.

Autopoiesis: The self-producing and self-maintaining organization characteristic of living systems.
Operational Closure: A system whose internal dynamics determine its functioning, independent of external inputs.
Structural Coupling: The ongoing interaction between a system and its environment that leads to reciprocal adaptation.
Enactivism: A theory of cognition that emphasizes the role of the body and action in shaping mental processes.