What if life isn't a special substance, a program, or a machine with a designer-but a self-sustaining loop that runs without anyone in charge?
In Life Without a Manager, readers are taken on a radical yet lucid journey from the chemistry of a single bacterium to the stubborn inertia of bureaucracies, from bacterial chemotaxis to human consciousness, and from ancient Buddhist insights to the future of artificial intelligence.
Drawing on the groundbreaking work of Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, this book presents autopoiesis-the idea that a living system is defined by a network of processes that continuously produce and maintain the very components (and boundary) that allow those processes to continue. No external blueprint. No supervising intelligence. Just an organizational loop that either keeps running or collapses into death.
Along the way, the book dismantles many comfortable assumptions:
• Life is not "in" the DNA, the membrane, or any single part-it exists in the relations that keep remaking themselves.
• Cognition begins with bacteria, not brains: every living system makes sense of its world according to what sustains (or threatens) its own continuation.
• The self is not a thing you have; it is something you do-a fragile, history-dependent maintenance process.
• Institutions, legal systems, and economies behave like autopoietic unities: they reproduce themselves through communications, often at the expense of the people inside them.
• Today's most powerful AI is extraordinarily capable-but not alive. It lacks the closed production loop that defines even the simplest cell.
Written in clear, compelling prose that moves effortlessly between microbiology, philosophy, sociology, and speculative futures, this book is both an intellectual adventure and a quiet revolution in how we understand ourselves, our societies, and the machines we build.
If you've ever wondered why living things feel different from everything else, why organizations resist change, why meaning seems both fragile and real, or whether AI could ever truly be "alive," Life Without a Manager offers the most precise and far-reaching answer available today.
No manager required. The loop has been running for four billion years. We're just beginning to understand how.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Bensenville, IL, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. What if life isn't a special substance, a program, or a machine with a designer-but a self-sustaining loop that runs without anyone in charge?In Life Without a Manager, readers are taken on a radical yet lucid journey from the chemistry of a single bacterium to the stubborn inertia of bureaucracies, from bacterial chemotaxis to human consciousness, and from ancient Buddhist insights to the future of artificial intelligence.Drawing on the groundbreaking work of Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, this book presents autopoiesis-the idea that a living system is defined by a network of processes that continuously produce and maintain the very components (and boundary) that allow those processes to continue. No external blueprint. No supervising intelligence. Just an organizational loop that either keeps running or collapses into death.Along the way, the book dismantles many comfortable assumptions: - Life is not "in" the DNA, the membrane, or any single part-it exists in the relations that keep remaking themselves.- Cognition begins with bacteria, not brains: every living system makes sense of its world according to what sustains (or threatens) its own continuation.- The self is not a thing you have; it is something you do-a fragile, history-dependent maintenance process.- Institutions, legal systems, and economies behave like autopoietic unities: they reproduce themselves through communications, often at the expense of the people inside them.- Today's most powerful AI is extraordinarily capable-but not alive. It lacks the closed production loop that defines even the simplest cell.Written in clear, compelling prose that moves effortlessly between microbiology, philosophy, sociology, and speculative futures, this book is both an intellectual adventure and a quiet revolution in how we understand ourselves, our societies, and the machines we build.If you've ever wondered why living things feel different from everything else, why organizations resist change, why meaning seems both fragile and real, or whether AI could ever truly be "alive," Life Without a Manager offers the most precise and far-reaching answer available today.No manager required. The loop has been running for four billion years. We're just beginning to understand how. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9798232010379
Seller: California Books, Miami, FL, U.S.A.
Condition: New. Seller Inventory # I-9798232010379
Seller: CitiRetail, Stevenage, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. What if life isn't a special substance, a program, or a machine with a designer-but a self-sustaining loop that runs without anyone in charge?In Life Without a Manager, readers are taken on a radical yet lucid journey from the chemistry of a single bacterium to the stubborn inertia of bureaucracies, from bacterial chemotaxis to human consciousness, and from ancient Buddhist insights to the future of artificial intelligence.Drawing on the groundbreaking work of Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, this book presents autopoiesis-the idea that a living system is defined by a network of processes that continuously produce and maintain the very components (and boundary) that allow those processes to continue. No external blueprint. No supervising intelligence. Just an organizational loop that either keeps running or collapses into death.Along the way, the book dismantles many comfortable assumptions: - Life is not "in" the DNA, the membrane, or any single part-it exists in the relations that keep remaking themselves.- Cognition begins with bacteria, not brains: every living system makes sense of its world according to what sustains (or threatens) its own continuation.- The self is not a thing you have; it is something you do-a fragile, history-dependent maintenance process.- Institutions, legal systems, and economies behave like autopoietic unities: they reproduce themselves through communications, often at the expense of the people inside them.- Today's most powerful AI is extraordinarily capable-but not alive. It lacks the closed production loop that defines even the simplest cell.Written in clear, compelling prose that moves effortlessly between microbiology, philosophy, sociology, and speculative futures, this book is both an intellectual adventure and a quiet revolution in how we understand ourselves, our societies, and the machines we build.If you've ever wondered why living things feel different from everything else, why organizations resist change, why meaning seems both fragile and real, or whether AI could ever truly be "alive," Life Without a Manager offers the most precise and far-reaching answer available today.No manager required. The loop has been running for four billion years. We're just beginning to understand how. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9798232010379
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: AHA-BUCH GmbH, Einbeck, Germany
Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. nach der Bestellung gedruckt Neuware - Printed after ordering - What if life isn't a special substance, a program, or a machine with a designer-but a self-sustaining loop that runs without anyone in charge In Life Without a Manager, readers are taken on a radical yet lucid journey from the chemistry of a single bacterium to the stubborn inertia of bureaucracies, from bacterial chemotaxis to human consciousness, and from ancient Buddhist insights to the future of artificial intelligence.Drawing on the groundbreaking work of Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, this book presents autopoiesis-the idea that a living system is defined by a network of processes that continuously produce and maintain the very components (and boundary) that allow those processes to continue. No external blueprint. No supervising intelligence. Just an organizational loop that either keeps running or collapses into death.Along the way, the book dismantles many comfortable assumptions:¿ Life is not 'in' the DNA, the membrane, or any single part-it exists in the relations that keep remaking themselves.¿ Cognition begins with bacteria, not brains: every living system makes sense of its world according to what sustains (or threatens) its own continuation.¿ The self is not a thing you have; it is something you do-a fragile, history-dependent maintenance process.¿ Institutions, legal systems, and economies behave like autopoietic unities: they reproduce themselves through communications, often at the expense of the people inside them.¿ Today's most powerful AI is extraordinarily capable-but not alive. It lacks the closed production loop that defines even the simplest cell.Written in clear, compelling prose that moves effortlessly between microbiology, philosophy, sociology, and speculative futures, this book is both an intellectual adventure and a quiet revolution in how we understand ourselves, our societies, and the machines we build.If you've ever wondered why living things feel different from everything else, why organizations resist change, why meaning seems both fragile and real, or whether AI could ever truly be 'alive,' Life Without a Manager offers the most precise and far-reaching answer available today.No manager required. The loop has been running for four billion years. We're just beginning to understand how. Seller Inventory # 9798232010379
Seller: preigu, Osnabrück, Germany
Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Life Without a Manager | Autopoiesis from Cells to Civilizations | Nbm House | Taschenbuch | Englisch | 2026 | NBM House | EAN 9798232010379 | Verantwortliche Person für die EU: Libri GmbH, Europaallee 1, 36244 Bad Hersfeld, gpsr[at]libri[dot]de | Anbieter: preigu Print on Demand. Seller Inventory # 134858866