Emergence and Dissolvence in the Self-organisation of Complex Systems
Abstract
:1. Introduction
“He escapes from his ego by this merger and acquires an impersonal immortality in the association; his identity dissolving into greater identity.”[1] (italics added)
2. The Synergetic Process
2.1. Describing a System
2.2. Forming a System of Higher Level
3. Dissolvence -- the Word and the Concept
- "…we simply do not know what the inner relations and restrictions between the parts of a complex molecule are." [25].
- "For example, water is not present in a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. It has a new unity which, in effect, sacrifices the "parts" hydrogen and oxygen." [29].
- "Each higher stage of organization occurs by fusion and by internal rearrangement of the component parts …" [30].
- "Fusion involves more than a simple addition of several individual units. A melding takes place, a reworking of the material to produce a new and larger whole with properties that transcend those of its parts." [30].
- "The subsidiary systems themselves do not gain any higher characteristics and may even lose some …" [31].
- "Hierarchical control systems […] involve specific constraints on the motion of the individual elements. […] The control constraints […] limit the individual cells' freedom […]. [The] structural constraints reduce the possible number of states available to a system of particles […]. A control hierarchy constrains the behavior of the elements of a collection so that they perform some coherent activity." [32].
4. Dissolvence at the Chemical and Biochemical Levels
4.1. The Level of Molecules and Aggregates of Molecules
4.2. The Level of Biological Macromolecules
4.3. Biological Aggregates
5. Dissolvence at the Biological Levels
5.1. The Subcellular Level
5.2. The Levels of Cells, Tissues, Organs and Organisms
6. Dissolvence at the Social Levels
6.1. Social Insects
6.2. Human Societies, Nations, and beyond
7. Emergence, Dissolvence, and Self-organisation
7.1. Dissolvence is not Destruction
7.2. Dissolvence is Part of the Creative Process of Self-organisation
7.3. Dissolvence and Top-down Causation
7.4. Synchronisation
8. Conclusion
- Complex systems are adaptable, meaning that their evolution is driven by their environment. The relation between the adaptability of a complex system and the dissolvence experienced by its components has not been examined here and should be established. However, it can be noted that the sequence leading from a weakly integrated to a strongly integrated system (Figure 3, Figure 4 and Figure 6) can or must be context-driven. This would suggest that dissolvence is one of the mechanisms that allow adaptability.
- A system can break down or simply revert to a lower state (Figure 5). Whereas dissolvence is seen as a forward process, its reversibility must be elucidated. Throughout the examples discussed above, we have hinted at cases of either facile or improbable reversibility. This is equivalent to considering the degree of autonomy of the parts, i.e. their degree of independent existence [69, 70].
Acknowledgements
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Testa, B.; Kier, L.B. Emergence and Dissolvence in the Self-organisation of Complex Systems. Entropy 2000, 2, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.3390/e2010001
Testa B, Kier LB. Emergence and Dissolvence in the Self-organisation of Complex Systems. Entropy. 2000; 2(1):1-25. https://doi.org/10.3390/e2010001
Chicago/Turabian StyleTesta, Bernard, and Lemont B. Kier. 2000. "Emergence and Dissolvence in the Self-organisation of Complex Systems" Entropy 2, no. 1: 1-25. https://doi.org/10.3390/e2010001