[2] Maturana (2002) insisted that autopoiesis exists only in the molecular domain, and he did not agree with the extension into sociology and other fields: The molecular domain is the only domain of entities that through their interactions give rise to an open ended diversity of entities (with different dynamic architectures) of the same kind in a dynamic that can give rise to an open ended diversity of recursive processes that in their turn give rise to the composition of an open ended diversity of singular dynamic entities.

After completing secondary school at the Liceo Manuel de Salas in 1947, he enrolled at the University of Chile, studying first medicine in Santiago, then biology in London and Cambridge, Mass.

Young (the “discoverer” of the squid giant axon and who later wrote the foreword to The Tree of Knowledge) at University College London.

Nonetheless, he did research and produced a paper(1) investigating the possibility of the presence of efferent fibers running from the brain to the retina.

Amphibians, unlike avian and reptile species, lacked a distinct isthmo-optic nucleus located in the caudal part of the midbrain with direct connections to the retina.

Maturana's thesis revealed the frog optic nerve contains thirty times more fibers than previously estimated (3).

Several sets of optic nerve fibers form visuotopic maps of visual space in the tectum.

Their work was distinguished from other similar studies at the time by using “natural” visual stimuli rather than spots of light of various sizes and durations.

One of these types is insensitive to spots of light but are exquisitely sensitive to small, dark, convexly-shaped moving objects that they dubbed "bug detectors".

Maturana was appointed Assistant Prof in Dept of Biology of Medical School of University of Chile Santiago, at the age of 32.

He worked in neuroscience at the University of Chile, in the Biología del Conocer (Biology of Knowing) research center.

[5][6] Maturana's research interests concern concepts like cognition, autopoiesis, languaging, zero time cybernetics and structurally determined systems.

Aside from making important contributions to the field of evolution, Maturana is associated with an epistemology built upon empirical findings in neurobiology.