SELF-ORGANIZATION (Two meanings for)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2977 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
There are two clearly distinguishable meanings for self-organization:
1- The progressive process by way of which a new autopoietic system with inherited and closely limiting characters constitutes its repertory of possible alternative states, all of them compatible with its organizational closure.
2. The progressive emergence of a system of a new type by dissipative structuration during a process of progressively overwhelming giant fluctuations, when over-abundant energy is at disposal.
An interesting comment on this second case by D. HERSHEY: “To describe the behavior of a self-organizing system we need some kind of index of the intensity of energy dissipation, which will provide us with a clue as to its organizing proclivity” (1986, p.6).
W. EBELING and R. FEISTEL add still a third type of self-organization, i.e. “dispersive self-organization (formation of a soliton structure) (1982, p.11).