The autopoietic fold

critical autopoiesis between Luhmann and Deleuze

Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos

pp. 60-81

in: Anders la Cour, Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos (eds), Luhmann observed, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013

Abstract

The following is an experiment: what happens when the system folds into the system, environment into environment, and autopoiesis into autopoiesis? I hope to show that, more than mere duplication, the process of folding gives rise to an infinity of repetition, in its turn generating a proliferation of autopoiesis. Deleuze folded in Luhmann, Luhmann folded in Deleuze. The folding does not displace the theories but allows them to go further into their own folds and deepen their immanence. To fold is nothing more than to push the theory deeper into its creative potential while at the same time bringing it to an encounter with a radical outside. The theory confronting the theory.

Cited authors

Deleuze Gilles