COHESION

Charles François (2004). COHESION, International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(1): 489.

Collection	International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics
Year	2004
Vol. (num.)	2(1)
ID	◀ 489 ▶
Object type	Human sciences, Methodology or model

The result of selective interactions between the elements or subsystems of a system.

“Cohesion is a gestalt property of a system” (M. BUNGE, 1988, p.7).

In effect any system is governed by a global dynamic law (J. THIERIE, 1990, p.442).

M. BUNGE comments:“Interestingly enough, cohesion turns out not to be proportional to overall participation. Instead, it is maximal for middling participation — which is reasonable, since nil participation is incompatible with communality, whereas the participation of everyone in everyone else's affairs results in anarchy.

“Cohesion…emerges and submerges from interactions among the members of the group. It is a good illustration of the claim that systemism is a sort of synthesis of holism and individualism” (1988, p.7).

This explains altogether why complex systems are semi'''-decomposable (H. SIMON, 1958). Cohesion is centered around a set, more or less specific and localized, of basic interactions, eventually at different hierarchic levels.

See also