Paper type: Conceptual perspective. Background(s): Physics, biology, epistemology Perspectives: Theory of autopoietic systems, Popperian evolutionary epistemology and the biology of cognition. Context: This paper is a contribution to developing the theories of hierarchically complex living systems and the natures of knowledge in such systems. Problem: Dissonance between the literatures of knowledge management and organization theory and my observations of the living organization led to consideration of foundation questions: What does it mean to be alive? What is knowledge? How are life (...) and knowledge related? Method: The approach is synthetic and multidisciplinary. The concept of autopoiesis (as defined by Maturana) as a definition for life, and knowledge as a product of autopoiesis are developed from first principles regarding the behavior of dynamical systems in time. Results: Autopoiesis and the construction of knowledge are inseparable aspects of physical phenomena scalable to many levels of organization (e.g., cells, multicellular organisms, organizations, social systems, etc.). The result unifies theories of epistemology, physical dynamics, life, biological evolution, knowledge and social systems. Implications: Results highlight the importance to understand autopoiesis as first defined by Maturana and Varela – as a complex physical phenomenon persisting over time. Autopoietic “self-observation” is not paradoxical. As dynamic physical processes, any internal/external activities relating to “observations” are displaced in time. The worlds living systems act on are not those observed. “Circularly closed” systems are actually open spirals along the axis of time. (shrink)

The Big Bang is the most accepted theory of how the Universe was born. However, this theory explains only the development of the Universe, not its origination. This paper develops two main ideas: a) that a strong philosophical approach encourages innovative thinking through the sharing of new scientific enlightenment, and b) the origination of “something” from “nothing” without violating the conservation laws. The second idea underlies our Universal Theory of Origination. The Universe has evolved on cosmological, physical, biological, psychological, and (...) intellectual levels. Our UTO explains how upper-level substances originate from lower-level substances. The origination of the physical level based on the origination of the biological level is described stepwise using a unitary law. We also provide a scope for understanding the origination of the biological, psychological, and intellectual levels. Our hypothesis is supported by a) well-known formal research and experiments, and b) an inference proof that nature behaves in a unitary way from one level to another. In the UTO, a fact can be displaced to another level by changing only the adjectives. A known aspect at one level can be interpreted on another level, giving rise to unknown truths. This work provides the basis of UTO, in turn resolving many open questions such as the origination of the physical world, space expansion, expansion acceleration, looking back in time, and the differences between galaxies. (shrink)