Self-Organization

Self-organization is emergence. In emergence, the fact that there is a limitation on the possible paths to equilibrium, entropy acts on a small number of possible paths .This smaller number of slots for entropy makes entropy into a different animal. Then self-organizing means the patterns are restricted (so there is a pattern) but allowing variations (so it is not determinism). Thus self organizing, through entropy, allows for a new pattern of behavior to “appear”.

Self-organization always involves a limit on the possible (energy) states that a system can proceed through (toward equilibrium). Because there is at least a small amount of randomness about the occurrence, a functional definition is not possible. Because the random choices are limited to a small set of options, a pattern emerges. Thus new capabilities arise (the patterns that emerge) without a functional link.

Dr. Jerome Heath