Barbara Mauthe and Thomas E. Webb examine whether it is possible to engage the theories of autopoiesis, complexity, and actor-network theory in dialogue. To do so, the authors challenge each approach and their individual understanding of reality as one that manages to capture the total reality. The authors contend instead that each theory offers only a partial account of the social and that by engaging the theories in dialogue the limitations of the respective approaches of each theory can be identified, creating the possibility for self-reflection in the light of the newly discovered viewpoints