The work of Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francesco Varela underpin the new science thinking around autopoietic systems.

They observed how different species perceive their environment depending on the complexity of their structures for obtaining feedback, including making sense of it and their ability to respond to it. All species are limited by their biological structure, dertermining what they are aware of and how they deal with or can adapt to the daily issues of living in their environments.

When looking at cognition they saw sensemaking as a way of being in the world. For human beings, language seems to be critical in enabling them to understand and create reality from their observations and adaptations to the world around them.

"Even today, when an Aboriginal mother notices the first stirrings of speech in her child, she lets it handle the 'things' of that particular country: leaves, fruit, insects and so forth. We give our children guns and computer games, they give their children the land." Bruce Chatwin The Songlines

Language seems to be the structure human beings use to coordinate and communicate action with each other. Cats do not appear to be able to coordinate action by making future arrangements to say ... meet behind the garden shed at nine o'clock ?

As a species we are continuously changing our structures, including our body tissue and our language whilst still retaining our identity. Biologists refer to this capacity of structures to change as "plasticity".

Structural Coupling emerges as a useful concept arising from the work of Maturana and Varela. When we look at the relationship between a human being and its environment, the emerging conditions of the 'system in focus' becomes all important in determining how people interact and communicate.

As Fernando Flores points out in his 'Promise Cycle' when relationships provide mutual satisfaction for both entities in a shared environment, then important survival and adaptive needs of each are met by the other. This is the principle of 'coevolution'.

For example, Don Beck's work on 'memtic coding' shows us how the conditions prevailing in the environment can have a profound effect on the way people think about what's possible and decide on their priorities. The more options they see open to them, the higher they rise up the "dynamic spiral" of cultural sophistication. This is also true of individuals - see 'Spiritual Coaching'.

In Steve Trivett's Model of Dynamic Change the structural coupling is affected by the energy drivers of change as the environment shapes our ability to act and our our actions shape our environment. This is when we observe change happening or seek change something through our own actions and look for the evidence. We live in language so these are conversations in action.

Return to top