Polyphony and embodiment: a critical approach to the theory of autopoiesis
Paulo César de Amorim Chagas · Trans : Transcultural Music Review = Revista Transcultural de Música · 2005
The term autopoiesis was invented by the neurobiologists Maturana and Varela (1980) as a definition of life. Living systems are autopoietic systems as they produce and reproduce their own constitutive elements including the boundaries that separate them from the environment. Luhmann extends the concept of autopoiesis to social systems, which use communication as their particular mode of autopoietic reproduction. Art is a functional subsystem of the society that operates in the boundary between consciousness and social systems. This article approaches the theory of autopoiesis through the relationship between polyphony and embodiment. It discusses some ideas about sound, aural perception and music in terms of autopoiesis.