Self-Organizing Systems: The Emergence of Order

ISBN-13: 9781461282273 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 684 str.

F. Eugene Yates

Opis

Technological systems become organized by commands from outside, as when human intentions lead to the building of structures or machines. But many nat- ural systems become structured by their own internal processes: these are the self- organizing systems, and the emergence of order within them is a complex phe- nomenon that intrigues scientists from all disciplines. Unfortunately, complexity is ill-defined. Global explanatory constructs, such as cybernetics or general sys- tems theory, which were intended to cope with complexity, produced instead a grandiosity that has now, mercifully, run its course and died. Most of us have become wary of proposals for an "integrated, systems approach" to complex matters; yet we must come to grips with complexity some- how. Now is a good time to reexamine complex systems to determine whether or not various scientific specialties can discover common principles or properties in them. If they do, then a fresh, multidisciplinary attack on the difficulties would be a valid scientific task. Believing that complexity is a proper scientific issue, and that self-organizing systems are the foremost example, R. Tomovic, Z. Damjanovic, and I arranged a conference (August 26-September 1, 1979) in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, to address self-organizing systems. We invited 30 participants from seven countries. Included were biologists, geologists, physicists, chemists, mathematicians, bio- physicists, and control engineers. Participants were asked not to bring manu- scripts, but, rather, to present positions on an assigned topic. Any writing would be done after the conference, when the writers could benefit from their experi- ences there.

Spis treści

General Introduction.- I Examples of Evolving Physical Systems.- 1 On Origins: Galaxies, Stars, Life.- 2 On Rivers.- II Genesis and Evolution of Life.- 3 A Hardware View of Biological Organization.- 4 The Origin of Self-Replicating Molecules.- 5 Self-Organization of Macromolecules.- 6 Is a New and General Theory of Evolution Emerging?.- III Differentiation, Morphogenesis, and Death of Organisms.- 7 Virus Assembly and Its Genetic Control.- 8 Molecular Biology in Embryology: The Sea Urchin Embryo.- 9 Developing Organisms as Self-Organizing Fields.- 10 The Slime Mold Dictyosteliumas a Model of Self-Organization in Social Systems.- 11 The Orderly Decay of Order in the Regulation of Aging Processes.- IV Networks, Neural Organization, and Behavior.- 12 On a Class of Self-Organizing Communication Networks.- 13 Neural Circuits for Generating Rhythmic Movements.- 14 Ordered Retinotectal Projections and Brain Organization.- 15 A View of Brain Theory.- V Epistemology of Self-Organization.- 16 Biological Reductionism: The Problems and Some Answers.- 17 Instabilities and Information in Biological Self-Organization.- 18 Programmatic Phenomena, Hermeneutics, and Neurobiology.- VI Control Theory View of Self-Organization.- 19 Control Paradigms and Self-Organization in Living Systems.- 20 Control Theory and Self-Reproduction.- VII Physics of Self-Organization.- 21 Synergetics: An Approach to Self-Organization.- 22 Role of Relative Stability in Self-Repair and Self-Maintenance.- 23 Broken Symmetry, Emergent Properties, Dissipative Structures, Life: Are They Related?.- 24 Thermodynamics and Complex Systems.- VIII Extensions of Physical Views of Self-Organization.- 25 A Thermodynamic Approach to Self-Organizing Systems.- 26 Interfaces between Quantum Physics and Bioenergetics.- 27 A Physics for Complex Systems.- 28 A Physics for Studies of Civilization.- IX TopologicaL Representation of Self-Organization.- 29 Dynamics: A Visual Introduction.- 30 Dynamics and Self-Organization.