Self-Production Is Not Self-Reference.

In their article, Totaro and Ninno attempt to solve the problem of the continuum, using Maturana and Varela's theory of autopoiesis and biology of cognition to draw parallels with abstract mathematical number and set theories. All of these are held to involve recursive, self-production, self-referential processes and operations such that they can be regarded as isomorphic to one another. However, the cited mathematical theories they cite involve unobservable platonic-realist entities that bear little or no relation to concrete, limited, embodied observers, biological organisms, or cognitive-psychological processes in minds and brains. Fundamental problems in Maturana's theory of observers and of consciousness are discussed. The proposed approach conflates processes of recursion, self-production, self-reference, and observation, thereby eliminating critical distinctions between embodied, observable processes and platonic mathematical ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]