#67: Autonomy, Autopoiesis & the Enactive Approach with philosopher Ezequiel Di Paolo (Mirko Prokop)

Send a love messageAfter Andrea’s introduction, Mirko Prokop talks to Ezequiel Di Paolo about the enactive approach in cognitive science and its roots in Francisco Varela’s work on biological autonomy. They explore the ideas of autonomy and autopoiesis, the deeper meaning of enaction, how biological, sensorimotor and social dimensions of embodiment drive the ongoing, creative process that is human becoming, and what this implies about the meaning of love, authenticity, and the importance of staying true to your questions.GiveSupport with a paid subscriptionEzequiel is a Research Professor at Ikerbasque, the Basque Science Foundation and member of the IAS-Research Centre for Life, Mind and Society at the University of the Basque Country as well as the Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics at the University of Sussex. He is known for key developments of the enactive approach and has published numerous articles and books on this and related topics in cognitive science and philosophy. Most recently, together with Evan Thompson he has reedited the new, annotated edition of Francisco Varela’s book Principles of Biological Autonomy, first published in 1979.00:00 Intro by Andrea05:02 Varela’s Principles of Biological Autonomy: From First Encounter to New Edition11:25 Autopoiesis and Autonomy19:20 Enaction: Bringing Forth a World26:38 The Co-Construction of Organism and Environment33:46 Dimensions of Embodiment38:35 Enactive Becoming43:57 The Primordial Tension of Participatory Sense-Making52:32 What’s Love Got to Do With It?1:00:36 Authentic Becoming1:04:40 Staying True to Your QuestionsLinks to mentioned work by Varela & Co:Principles of Biological Autonomy (Varela, F., E. Di Paolo and E. Thompson (eds.), 1979/2025, MIT Press)The Embodied Mind (Thompson, E. Varela, F., and Rosch, E. 1991/2018, MIT Press)Organism: A Meshwork of Selfless Selves (Varela, F., 1991)Patterns of Life: Intertwining Identity and Cognition (Varela, F., 1997)Life after Kant: Natural Purposes and the autopoietic foundations of biological individuality (Weber, A. and Varela, F., 2002)Autopoiesis, Adaptivity, Teleology, Agency (Di Paolo, E., 2005)Participatory sense-making: An enactive approach to social cognition (De Jaegher, H., and Di Paolo, E., 2007)Sensorimotor Life (Di Paolo, E., Buhrmann, T., Barandiaran, X., 2017, OUP)Linguistic Bodies (Di Paolo, E., De Jaegher, H., and Cuffari, E., 2018, MIT Press)Enactive Becoming (Di Paolo, E., 2021)F/acts: Ways of Enactive Worldmaking (Di Paolo, E., 2023)Mirko Prokop is currently a PhD student at the IAS-Research Centre for Life, Mind and Society at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU).Full intro and notes here.Care is not the opposite of love. It is the very urge of life. 'Caring for what?' is the primary question. That we have a choice about what we care for and how is what makes us human, but it's quite the challenge and responsibility. Let's help one another handle it.Support the showBuy Holding Paradox: The Navigational Approach to Mind and Consciousness by Andrea HiottSign up for Making Ways newsletter and projects.Please rate and review with love. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Substack.