The Family as a Living System, integrating Autopoiesis, Homeostasis, Allostasis, and Hormesis. A Bio-Inspired framework for therapeutic interventions

Fontanini, Walter (2025) The Family as a Living System, integrating Autopoiesis, Homeostasis, Allostasis, and Hormesis. A Bio-Inspired framework for therapeutic interventions. KALEIDOSCOPE: MŰVELŐDÉS- TUDOMÁNY- ÉS ORVOSTÖRTÉNETI FOLYÓIRAT, 15 (30). pp. 192-206. ISSN 2062-2597

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Abstract

Despite being a cornerstone of human society, the concept of the family encompasses a polysemous nature, shaped by diverse cultural, social, and legal interpretations. This perspective article differs from prior approaches by proposing a novel framework for understanding family dynamics through the application of biological and physiological concepts, including autopoiesis, homeostasis, hormesis, and allostasis. Viewing the family as a living system through these integrated lenses provides a bio-inspired framework for comprehending family resilience. The autopoietic perspective conceptualises the family as a self-organising entity that sustains its identity and functionality through internal interactions while adapting to external challenges. The hormesis model highlights that moderate levels of stress or adversity within the family system can elicit adaptive responses, enhancing resilience and emotional regulation for individual members and the collective unit. The paper introduces the concept of homeostasis to describe the family's effort to preserve its core values, ensuring stability and continuity. In contrast, allostasis encapsulates the family's adaptive capacity, enabling negotiable values to adjust in response to dynamic external or internal pressures. Together, these dual processes illuminate how families achieve stability through both constancy and adaptability. This framework emphasises the critical role of stress, communication patterns, and adaptive mechanisms in fostering resilient family dynamics. The discussion extends to the therapeutic implications of this framework, demonstrating how understanding these principles can inform interventions aimed at enhancing family resilience. It is argued that therapists can assist families in identifying their core and negotiable values, managing stress effectively, and fostering adaptive communication. By adopting this interdisciplinary approach, the paper expands conventional understandings of family systems, offering novel insights into the interplay between stability and adaptability that defines family resilience.

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