Vita e Natura

The last thirty years in the cutting edge of science has seen a new systemic conception of life emerge.

This book merges the ideas, models and theories that underpin this new approach into a single coherent theoretical framework.

Providing a deep dive into history and numerous scientific disciplines, the authors analyse the appearance of key terms such as autopoiesis, dissipative structures, social networks and the systemic understanding of evolution. They also discuss the implications of the systems approach to life for healthcare, management, and global ecological and economic crises.

Accessible and informative, the book is also essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the new systemic conception of life and its implications for the various natural and social sciences: from economics and politics to medicine, psychology, ecology and law.

"If, at times, it occurs to you that humanity is travelling towards self-destruction, here is a book in which you will find the confirmation…but also the strategy to change course." La Repubblica

Fritjof Capra, internationally renowned physicist and systems theorist, is the author of several influential and acclaimed books, including Il Tao della fisica (Adelphi, 1982). He has published several books for Aboca Edizioni, including: Crescita qualitativa (with Hazel Henderson, 2013), Leonardo e la botanica (2018), and Discorso sulle erbe (with Stefano Mancuso, 2019).

Pier Luigi Luisi is Professor of Biochemistry at Roma Tre University. He began his career at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ). His main research interests are into the experimental, theoretical and philosophical aspects of the origin of life and the self-organisation of natural and synthetic systems.