Allopoiesis

(see autopoiesis, apoptosis, sympoiesis and other glossary entries)

A definition

• The process whereby an organization produces something other than the organization itself.
• E.g. The usual example is a factory assembly line, but we might regard a young forest as 'allopoietic' if it is planted as a monoculture, purely to maximise the production of timber in a short timescale.
• Here, we are describing the plantation system, rather than the living trees that constitute it.
• The final intended outcome (i.e. the product as timber) is distinct from the living trees that do the producing.