商品描述
A new, updated edition of the 1979 classic from one of the foremost authors in cognitive science and theoretical biology, with the original text as well as more than 200 citations to current scientific developments. Francisco Varela's
Principles of Biological Autonomy was a groundbreaking text when it was first published in 1979, putting forth a novel theory of how living systems produce and maintain themselves. This new edition, edited and annotated by cognitive scientists Ezequiel Di Paolo and Evan Thompson--revised and complemented with introductory essays for each part of the book--contains a wealth of ideas relevant to current projects in theoretical biology, cognitive science, systems theory, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of biology. Over 220 margin annotations supplement the reading of the text, linking to subsequent research and broader contemporary debates.
This foundational book introduces the key concept of autonomy derived as an elaboration of the idea of autopoiesis (the self-production and self-distinction) of living organisms. Varela covers topics in systems theory, neuroscience, theories of perception, and immune networks and offers a participatory epistemology that goes on to be further developed in later enactive literature. These ideas are compelling not only for historical reasons but also because they still illuminate current efforts in developing the enactive approach toward wider and more challenging goals (including language, human cognition, ethics, and environmentalism).
商品描述(中文翻譯)
這是1979年經典著作的新修訂版，作者是認知科學和理論生物學的領軍人物，包含原文及超過200個當前科學發展的引用。
Francisco Varela的
生物自主原則在1979年首次出版時是一部開創性的著作，提出了一種新穎的理論，解釋了生物系統如何自我產生和維持。這個新版本由認知科學家Ezequiel Di Paolo和Evan Thompson編輯和註釋，並為書中每個部分增添了引言文章，包含了大量與當前理論生物學、認知科學、系統理論、心靈哲學和生物哲學相關的思想。超過220個邊註補充了文本的閱讀，並連結到後續研究和更廣泛的當代辯論。
這本基礎書籍介紹了自主性的關鍵概念，這是對自我產生（autopoiesis）生物體的自我生產和自我區分思想的延伸。Varela探討了系統理論、神經科學、知覺理論和免疫網絡等主題，並提供了一種參與式的認識論，這在後來的行動文獻中得到了進一步發展。這些思想不僅因歷史原因而引人注目，還因為它們仍然照亮了當前在發展行動方法以達成更廣泛和更具挑戰性目標（包括語言、人類認知、倫理和環保）方面的努力。
作者簡介
Francisco J. Varela (1946-2001) was Director of the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique; Professor of Cognitive Science and Epistemology, CREA, at the Ecole Polytechnique; and Cofounder of the Mind and Life Institute.
Ezequiel A. Di Paolo is Ikerbasque Research Professor at the Basque Foundation for Science and Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics at the University of Sussex.
Evan Thompson is Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, where he is also Associate Member of the Department of Asian Studies and the Department of Psychology. He is a coauthor of
The Embodied Mind and
The Blind Spot (both MIT Press), an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and a past President of the Pacific Division of the American Philosophical Association.
Amy Cohen Varela is Chairperson of the Mind & Life Europe Board and involved with Mind and Life since its inception. She is also a clinical psychologist specialized in psychodynamic therapy and philosophy. Amy studied comparative literature at Brown and Columbia Universities before moving to Paris in the early '80s, where she received her degree in clinical psychology at the University of Paris 7, with a specialty in psychodynamic theory and practice, and in parallel, completed psychoanalytic training.
作者簡介(中文翻譯)
Francisco J. Varela（1946-2001）曾任法國國家科學研究中心（Centre National de Recherche Scientifique）主任；在法國高等工藝學院（Ecole Polytechnique）擔任認知科學與認識論教授（Professor of Cognitive Science and Epistemology, CREA）；並且是心智與生命研究所（Mind and Life Institute）的共同創辦人。
Ezequiel A. Di Paolo是巴斯克科學基金會（Basque Foundation for Science）的Ikerbasque研究教授，並且是薩塞克斯大學（University of Sussex）計算神經科學與機器人中心的訪問研究員。
Evan Thompson是英屬哥倫比亞大學（University of British Columbia）的哲學教授，同時也是亞洲研究系（Department of Asian Studies）和心理學系（Department of Psychology）的副會員。他是《具身心智》（The Embodied Mind）和《盲點》（The Blind Spot）（均由MIT Press出版）的共同作者，加拿大皇家學會（Royal Society of Canada）選舉成員，並曾擔任美國哲學協會（American Philosophical Association）太平洋分會的會長。
Amy Cohen Varela是心智與生命歐洲董事會的主席，自該機構成立以來一直參與其中。她也是一位專注於心理動力治療和哲學的臨床心理學家。Amy在布朗大學（Brown University）和哥倫比亞大學（Columbia University）學習比較文學，之後於80年代初搬到巴黎，在巴黎第七大學（University of Paris 7）獲得臨床心理學學位，專攻心理動力理論與實踐，同時完成了精神分析訓練。
