I have always found it interesting how those of us studying people who have something to say or write take their writings as fixed.
Theories emerge within a world.
And, in terms of your point of self-referentiality, The Embodied Mind does quote Maturana and Varela but also many others. Secondly, I know Maturana has written somewhere that the theory of autopoeisis doesnt apply to communities or societies. It seems to me that theories, once written or shared, are out there for all of us to play with and, yes, apply. Otherwise, they would stay within the purview of theoreticians rather than stretched to see if they fit with application as they emerge. All rights reserved.