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Towards the autopoiesis of imagination

Open Access
|Aug 2021

Abstract

Already in the romantic it has been assumed, that there is an existential interrelation between nature, human being and mind. According to this idea, there is a narrow interrelation of creation between literature, science, dream and reality, which should be expressed in a progressive universal poetry. Gestalt theory and the concept of autopoiesis, developed by Maturana and Varela, could be regarded as a scientific enhancement of this approach and are united in that sense. By analyses of dreams, it becomes evident, that neurobiological and mental processes are determined by the same principles of self-constitution and gestalt production. They are attending in equal measures to homeostatic conditions. The interaction of living systems with their environment as well as their evolution base on recursive reorganisation. Following this principle, imagination, speech and self-reflection are developed. The observer comes to existence by his own distinctions. Phenomenal appearance and real existence, poetry and scientific findings are results of the autopoietic organisation of living, of which we form a part.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gth-2021-0013 | Journal eISSN: 2519-5808 | Journal ISSN: 0170-057X
Language: English, German
Page range: 167 - 178
Published on: Aug 31, 2021
Published by: Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications (GTA)
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 3 issues per year

© 2021 Andreas Bäcker, published by Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications (GTA)
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.