Living Systems: An Introductory Guide to the Theories of Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, introduces the thinking of the two great Chilean biologists. Written to make their body of work more accessible for both academic and non-academic readers, topics include the ontology of the observer, the operation of living systems, living systems and the environment, the construction of worlds and the constitution of cultures (the patriarchal and an alternative, a matristic culture).