ABSTRACT

Autopoiesis, meaning 'self-creating' or 'self-making', is characteristic of all organisms. The prevailing tendency in the human sciences makes history in 'social structures', in 'institutions', in 'ideologies', in 'collective representations', in 'cultural models', in 'social constructs' - which are represented as independent of the living persons whose actions make these abstractions material. Cognitive psychological models of mind suggest that rationality is given to the subject as the means whereby the subject is given purely to her- or himself. The struggle for effectiveness in relationship is implicit in hierarchical relations, explicit in relations of competitive equality. The term madua refers to a range of affects having to do with other people's blame or praise of one's actions; at one extreme it denotes a deep and abiding shame and at the other a mild embarrassment or shyness. An adult person is especially madua when his or her behaviour is brought into disrepute.