COORIENTATION

Charles François (2004). COORIENTATION, International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(1): 721.

Collection	International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics
Year	2004
Vol. (num.)	2(1)
ID	◀ 721 ▶
Object type	General information, Human sciences, Methodology or model

The behavior of elements trying to harmonize their interactions or relationships in conformity with the global ordering of the system they are part of.

This implies the necessity to perceive — at least up to a point — this global ordering. Coorientation is thus an important aspect of autopoietic catalytic cycles (M. EIGEN). In animal sociosystems, the needed perception is biochemical (bees, ants) or visual (fish shoals) or auditive (cetaceans). In human systems, the main coorientation mechanisms are values and norms, shared mainly through spoken or bodily language.

Coorientation derives ultimately into a global constraint, or order parameter, that synchronizes the collective behavior.