"... presents the results of evolution, and in particular man, as a multi-level reality in which the evolutionary chain of autopoietic levels of existence appear in hierarchical order. However, it is essential that this hierarchy is not a control hierarchy in which information streams upward and orders are handed from the top down. Each level maintains a certain autonomy and lives its existence in horizontal relations with its specific environment. The organelles within our cells, the descendants of ancient prokaryotes, go about their business of energy exchange in a highly autonomous way and maintain their horizontal relationships within the framework of the world-wide Gaia system. There are many levels of self-organizing systems of cell populations, such as neural systems generating the rythm of motor activities or managing perception and apperception of an environmental situation. ... Each of the self-organizing cell systems is coordinated from a higher level from which it is inhibited or activated, or both alternately. The mind of an individual presents those levels of coordination which refer to the organism as a whole. But man is no 'higher' than other organisms in the sense that he stands at a higher level. Rather, he lives simultaneously at more levels than life forms that appeared earlier in evolution. We contain the entire evolution within us, but it is orchestrated to a fuller and richer extent than in less complex life forms."

Slots and Values
ref	p16-7
source	Unnamed