Humberto Maturana (born September 14, 1928 in Santiago) is a Chilean biologist whose work crosses over into philosophy and cognitive science. September 14 is the 257th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (258th in leap years). ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The snowcapped Andes are a Santiago landmark Santiago (Spanish: ) is Chiles capital and largest city. ... A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of organisms. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Rendering of human brain based on MRI data Cognitive science is usually defined as the scientific study either of mind or of intelligence (e. ...

Maturana and his student Francisco Varela were the first to define and employ the concept of autopoiesis. Maturana is also a founder of radical constructivism, a relativistic epistemology built on empirical findings of neurobiology. He has also made important contributions to the field of evolution. Francisco Varela (Santiago, September 7, 1946 – May 28, 2001, Paris) was a Chilean biologist and philosopher who, together with his teacher Humberto Maturana, is best known for introducing the concept of autopoiesis to biology. ... Autopoiesis literally means auto (self)-creation (from the Greek: auto - αυτό for self- and poiesis - ποίησις for creation or production) and expresses a fundamental complementarity between structure and function. ... Constructivism is a recent development in philosophy which criticizes essentialism, whether it is in the form of medieval realism, classical rationalism, or empiricism. ... Epistemology or theory of knowledge is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature and scope of knowledge. ... Neurobiology is a branch of biology that is involved in the study of nervous systems of all animals from a biological and evolutionary perspective. ... A phylogenetic tree of all extant organisms, based on 16S rRNA gene sequence data, showing the evolutionary history of the three domains of life, bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes. ...

After completing secondary school at the Liceo Manuel de Salas in 1947, Maturana enrolled at the University of Chile, studying first medicine then biology. In 1954, he obtained a scholarship from the Rockefeller Foundation to study anatomy and neurophysiology at University College London. He obtained a PhD in biology from Harvard University in 1958. He works in neuroscience at the University of Chile, in the research center "Biología del Conocer" (Biology of Knowledge). 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Universidad de Chile may refer to: Universidad de Chile (university) Universidad de Chile (football club) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Rockefeller Foundation is a charitable organization based in New York City. ... Anatomical drawing of the human muscles from the Encyclopédie. ... Neurophysiology is a part of physiology as a science, which is concerned with the study of the nervous system. ... University College London, commonly known as UCL, is one of the colleges that make up the University of London. ... Harvard redirects here. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Neuroscience is a field of study that deals with the structure, function, development, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, and pathology of the nervous system, consisting of the myriad nerve pathways running throughout the body. ... Universidad de Chile may refer to: Universidad de Chile (university) Universidad de Chile (football club) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

Quote: "Living systems are cognitive systems, and living as a process is a process of cognition. This statement is valid for all organisms, with or without a nervous system."

Selected writings by Maturana

• 1972 (with F.G. Varela). De máquinas y seres vivos. Santiago, Chile: Editorial Universitaria. English version: "Autopoiesis: the organization of the living," in Maturana, H. R., and Varela, F. G., 1980. Autopoiesis and Cognition. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Reidel.
• 1978, "Biology of language: The epistemology of reality," in Miller, George A., and Elizabeth Lenneberg (eds.), Psychology and Biology of Language and Thought: Essays in Honor of Eric Lenneberg. Academic Press: 27-63.
• 1980, "Man and society" in Benseler, Hejl, and Köck: 11-32.
• 1982. Erkennen: Die Organisation und Verkörperung von Wiklichkeit. Wiesbaden: Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn Braunschweig.
• 1987 (with F. J. Varela). The Tree of Knowledge: The Biological Roots of Human Understanding. Boston: Shambhala. ISBN 0-87773-373-2
• (with F. J. Varela). Autopoiesis and Cognition: The Realization of the Living.
• 1988, "Ontology of Observing, The biological foundations of self-consciousness and the physical domain of existence," Conference Workbook: Texts in Cybernetics, American Society For Cybernetics Conference, Felton, CA. 18-23 October, 1988.
• 1988, "REALITY: The Search for Objectivity or the Quest for a Compelling Argument," The Irish Journal of Psychology 9: 25-82.
• 1991, "The origin of the theory of autopoietic systems," in Fischer, H. R. (ed.), Autopoiesis. Eine Theorie im Brennpunkt der Kritik. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp Verlag.
• 1993 (with G. Verden-Zöller), Liebe und Spiel, die vergessene Grundlage der Menschlichkeit. Carl Auer Verlag.
• 1996 (with G. Verden-Zöller), "Biology of love," in Opp, G., and F. Peterander, F. (eds.), Focus Heilpadagogik. Munchen/Basel: Ernst Reinhardt.
• 1999, "Autopoiesis, Structural Coupling and Cognition."
• 2000 (with J. Mpodozis). "The origin of species by means of natural drift," Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 73: 261-310.