Preface to the second edition of “De Máquinas y Seres Vivos ‐ Autopoiesis: La organización de lo vivo” by Humberto Maturana

Translators' note: In 1974, Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela published “De Máquinas y Seres Vivos ‐ Autopoiesis: La organización de lo vivo” as a little book in Santiago, Chile. To commemorate 20 years of its first publication, a second edition was published in 1994, and the present document is a recent translation of Maturana's reflections ‘Twenty years after’, Paucar‐‐Caceres and Harnden (2011). The book clearly ennunciates what it means that living systems are molecular autopoietic systems, and this Preface reflects on the shift of understanding from earlier notions of self‐referred or auto‐referred systems to the concept of autopoiesis. The underlying understanding implicit in this document outlines in great clarity the implications of Maturana's fundamental insights. It presents both a logical and passionately argued case for mutual respect, grounded in scientific findings in biology (Paucar‐Caceres and Harnden). Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.