These ideas relate closely to the concept of autopoiesis (pronounced ‘auto-poi-ee-sis’, from the Greek words for ‘self’ and ‘creation’), developed by Chilean biologist Humberto Maturana. An autopoietic system is one that is capable of maintaining and reproducing itself, which includes producing the physical components needed for its continued existence as a system. Although autopoeisis is first and foremost a theory of the cell, there are intriguing links between cellular autopoiesis and the free energy principle (see chapter 10). Both suggest a strong continuity between ‘life’ and ‘mind’,
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