Autopoietic system

A system defined as a unity by a network of productions of components which through their interactions give rise to these same productions. Thus the production network produces the components, and the components through their interactions, constitute the system as a unity in the space in which they exist and make the network possible by defining and realizing its topology. Living systems are autopoietic and as such constitute a special case of homeostasis in which the variable of the system that is held constant is that system's own organization.