Concepts of synergy and self-organization form a common cognitive apparatus and allow us to highlight the basic principles of a synergistic approach to modeling. Made the most significant impact on the concept development. Usually, development it seems to be an irreversible, directed, natural change of matter and consciousness, their universal property; as a result of development, a new qualitative state of the object arises - its composition or structure. In our opinion, in this definition there is a provision that requires significant adjustment:
- Irreversible are the processes of change in open systems, and although these are the majority, there are still closed systems in which reversible changes occur.
- As a result of development, not only the structure of the system changes, but also its behavior and functioning. In systemic and even some synergetic definitions of development, these shortcomings are present, and its advantages are often not realized.
Views on the development of self-organization
All the diversity of views on development can be represented in the form of four groups.- First group researchers associate development with the implementation of new goals, the purposefulness of changes. This approach is implemented by cybernetics, in which development is opposed to functioning, which occurs without changing the goal. In synergetics, it is assumed that purposefulness is not a necessary condition, much less an attribute of development.
- Second considers it as a process of adaptation to the environment, which is also only its condition - necessary, but by no means sufficient.
- Third the group replaces development with its source - the contradictions of the system.
- Fourth- identifies development with one of its lines - progress, or the complication of systems, or one of its forms - evolution.
The essence of the concept of "self-organization"
Under self-organization is understood as the process of establishing order in a system, occurring solely due to the cooperative action and connections of its components and in accordance with its previous history, which leads to a change in its spatial, temporal or functional structure. In fact, self-organization is the establishment of organization, order due to the coordinated interaction of components within the system in the absence of ordering actions from the environment. This requires a clarification of the concept of "organization", or rather, a division into organization as the interaction of parts of the whole, due to its structure, which can be set both by the system itself and by the external environment, and organization as an action of the environment, ordering; as well as the organization as an object of such influence. In the concepts of self-organization, the organization is understood in the last two meanings.Relationship between development and self-organization
As for the relationship between the concepts of development and self-organization, the former should be recognized more broadly, since it includes both the organizing influences of the environment and self-organization; both progressive processes (which are mostly explored) and regressive ones.Requirements for a self-organizing system
In order for a system to be self-organizing and, therefore, to be able to develop progressively, it must satisfy at least the following requirements:- the system must be open, i.e. exchange matter, energy or information with the environment;
- taking place in it must be cooperative (corporate), i.e. the actions of its components must be consistent with each other;
- the system must be dynamic;
- stay away from the state of equilibrium.
Each organization has regulatory documents for the organization's management system (statutory documents, laws and regulations, etc.). However, along with the regular management process in the organization, there are processes associated with unauthorized management and organization, i.e. self-government and self-organization.
The term "self-organization" was introduced into science in 1947 by the American scientist Ashby W. R. Self-management and self-organization are characteristic of living and inanimate matter. In some cases, self-management and self-organization are more effective than artificial management and organization. In some cases, they initiate the development of artificial management in the organization, or they function together. Sometimes it is difficult to determine what was the source of professional management: it itself or elements of self-government.
Self-organization can be considered as a process and as a phenomenon. Its essence as a process consists in the formation of a set of actions leading to the creation of stable reactions in the system. The essence of self-organization as a phenomenon is the combination of elements for the implementation of a program or goal and acting on the basis of internal rules and procedures.
Self-organization is a property inherent in any system.
At present, a system is understood as a set of functionally interconnected elements (objects), which is a holistic formation or has the property of integrity.
Self-organizing systems are open systems, they freely exchange energy, matter and information with the external environment. One of the main features of self-organizing systems is the ability to resist entropy tendencies, the ability to adapt to changing conditions, transforming their structure if necessary.
An integral formation is considered to be such a formation, in which, in the process of functional interaction of elements, new system properties appear, or a system result that is absent from its constituent elements and which is not derived from the properties of the elements and is not reduced to them.
Thus, the presence of structured elements and functional links between them and the environment are the main features of the system, and the following can be distinguished as the main system-forming principles:
- a) the integrity or system result of the functioning of the system;
- b) the functional dependence of each element, part of the system, properties and relations of these elements on their place and purpose within the aggregate;
- c) structure, i.e., the possibility of describing the static state of the system through the establishment of its structure;
- d) the interdependence of the system and the environment;
- e) hierarchical structure, i.e., the possibility of a functionally ordered division of the system into subordinate parts.
Integrity as a manifestation of the special system properties of artificial objects can manifest itself in social (human) systems of activity in the form of a synergistic effect of the organization.
Moreover, without exception, all artificial products of human activity (clothes, utensils, equipment, food, factories, plants, etc.) can only function, i.e., perform certain functions due to their design and technological features, not themselves by itself, but only as a result of human use. Thus, artificial systems can only be social objects of the type "man-machine (any artificial product of human activity)", "man-man (a group of people)" in the process of their functioning or dynamics, when the integrity of the system is manifested only as a result of their use, consumption, or rational human activity.
As applied to objects of animate and inanimate nature of the objective world, the concept of a system can be considered as follows. Undoubtedly, an anthill, a bee swarm, a termite mound and other communities of the living and organic world have the property of integrity, since the main condition for their life is coexistence. And from this point of view, they can be defined as biosystems, only here there is no artificial rational basis for their systemic association.
The basis of their systemic organization is natural (physical and chemical processes), unconscious, elemental forces of nature, instincts and reflexes.
The main procedures of the systematic approach are:
- a) identification of an object or subject of study of a set of elements as a system, i.e., determining the boundaries of the system, separating it from the environment by establishing functional relationships with the environment. With regard to the subject of activity - a person included in organizational activities, to information used in social systems, energy exchange of living biosystems with the environment, all living and social systems are open systems;
- b) modeling, i.e., a physical, analog model representation of a system or a formalized abstract (ideal) description of a system using various sign systems (verbal descriptions, economic and mathematical models, symbolic, logical schemes, etc.).
In addition to the process of organization in a wide variety of sciences that study various phenomena of nature and society, one often encounters self-organization process- the appearance and development of structures in an initially homogeneous environment. In this case, there is no need for three elements, which is typical for the organization process. It is enough for two who have the desire and ability to interact with each other.
Self-organization is the ability of a system to independently, thanks to internal factors, without outside influence, increase its orderliness. Self-organized are processes that take place "on their own" due to interaction with the external environment, but relatively independently of it. In contrast, organizational processes are carried out or directed by someone. The processes of self-organization are purposeful, spontaneous, natural.
A. Prigogine one of the first to establish that "systems, left to themselves, can reduce entropy contrary to all previously known ideas" . This effect has been called "order out of chaos". The most obvious manifestations of this effect, first in the natural sciences, and then in the economic and social sciences, are associated with self-organizing tendencies. A characteristic condition for self-organizing behavior is the property autonomy, which means that the reactions of the system are determined mainly by its structure, internal connections, and not by external forces and signals.
Regarding self-organization G. Haken wrote: “We call a system self-organizing if it acquires some kind of spatial, temporal functional structure without specific external influence. By specific influence we mean that which imposes structure or functioning on the system.
The mechanism of action of a self-organizing system in favorable conditions, as it were, closes the output with the input, cutting it off from the external environment, mixing cause and effect. N. Moiseev suggests that in the evolution of self-organizing systems, negative feedbacks maintain homeostasis (a state of dynamic equilibrium), and positive feedbacks help maintain the desired level of variability and consume external energy. He calls these two contradictory tendencies the most important characteristics of the world process of self-organization. The constant compromise between them is realized by structural changes, strengthening of disequilibrium and entering a new range of homeostasis.
By A. Bogdanov“the self-organization of mankind is a struggle with its internal spontaneity, biological and social; in it tools are no less necessary for him than in the struggle with external nature - the tools of organization.
The first tool is word. Through the word, any conscious cooperation of people is organized: a call to work, in the form of a request or order, uniting employees; distribution between them of a role in work; an indication of the sequence and connection of their actions, encouragement to work, concentrating their forces.
Another tool, more complex and subtle, is - idea. An idea is always an organizational chart, whether it is in the form of a technical rule, or scientific knowledge, or an artistic concept, whether it is expressed in words, or other signs, or images of art. Idea technical directly and obviously coordinates the labor efforts of people; scientific - does the same thing only more indirectly and on a larger scale, as an instrument of a higher order, which is a vivid illustration - scientific technology of our era; idea artistic serves as a living means of rallying the team in the unity of perception, feeling, mood, - educates the unit for its life in society, preparing the organizational elements of the team, introducing them into its internal structure.
Third gun - social norms. All of them - custom, law, morality, decency - establish and formalize the relationship of people in the team, consolidate their ties.
Self-organization can be considered as a process and as a phenomenon. As a process, self-organization consists in the formation, maintenance or elimination of a set of actions leading to the creation of stable connections and relationships in the system based on the free choice of rules and procedures. As a phenomenon, self-organization is a set of elements that serve to implement a program or goal. Depending on the object, technical, biological and social self-organization is distinguished (Fig. 2.3).
Technical self-organization as a process is an automatic change in the program of action when the properties of the controlled object, the control goal or environmental parameters change (for example, a missile homing system, self-tuning of software resources of modern computing systems). Technical self-organization as a phenomenon is a set of alternative intelligent adaptive systems that provide a given performance regardless of the operating conditions (for example, a set of redundant communication devices, fire extinguishing, etc.). Such self-organization occurs in the event of a device failure. Then another duplicating device or a new scheme of interaction of elements is connected to replace it.
Biological self-organization as a process represents actions based on the genetic program for the conservation of the species, and is designed to ensure the somatic (bodily) construction of the object. As a phenomenon, biological self-organization is specific changes in wildlife (mutations) to adapt to specific conditions of existence.
Social self-organization how the process is based on activities to harmonize social relations, including actions to change the priorities of needs and interests, values, motives and goals of a person and a team. The carriers of social self-organization are people with increased social responsibility. Social self-organization is a trait of a person's character, along with responsiveness, sensitivity, modesty, courage, etc. It can be innate or acquired through upbringing and taking into account the moral norms of society. Social self-organization is realized through: self-education, self-training and self-control (Fig. 2.4).
Rice. 2.4. Types of social self-organization
Examples of self-organization processes in nature are: self-pollination of plants, crystal growth, self-oscillating processes, turbulent flow of liquid. In society, examples of self-organization are the transition from one class system to another through revolutions, conflicts between classes. Self-organizing can also be called a private commercial firm, which, unlike the state, chooses the type of activity, goals, tasks, and its own structure.
The development of self-organization processes is significantly influenced by evolutionary transformations that occur not only in animate and inanimate nature, but also in society. If in the course of biological evolution purely genetic properties and factors are inherited and transferred, then in the process of social evolution skills, knowledge, rules of behavior and other social experience are transferred, i.e. socio-cultural traditions. At the same time, both biological and social changes are determined by the state of the environment and are the result of adaptation to it of both living organisms and social forms of their existence.
There are three types of self-organization processes:
■ processes of spontaneous generation of the system (eg development of multicellular organisms from unicellular ones);
■processes to maintain a certain level of organization (e.g. a mechanism homeostasis(maintaining the internal environment of a living organism at a constant level);
■processes of improvement and self-development of the system (human development, social organizations).
If self-organization in nature excludes organization in principle and in this sense coincides with organization, then in a society where people with consciousness act, self-organization is supplemented by an external organization, which is guided by the consciousness and will of people.
QUESTIONS AND TASKS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Describe the essence of the process approach as one of the general scientific ones.
2. Give examples of organizational processes in nature and society.
3. Define the concepts of self-organizing, organized and mixed processes.
4. Is the activity of people always of an organizational nature, and of nature - of a disorganizational one?
5. Formulate the concept of "self-organization".
6. Describe the types of self-organization processes.
7. What is the mechanism of self-organization?
8. What does self-organization mean in society? How is it different from an organization?
9. Describe the relationship and interaction between the market in nature and the market in the economy.
10. Give examples of the organization of production, organization of labor and organization of management.
11. Consider the classification of processes according to the phases of the life cycle of a self-selected specific system (technical, biological or social). Describe them in terms of changes occurring in the system. Fill the table.
System: (for example a person)
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Process type |
Process characteristics |
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System formation processes | |
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System Growth Processes | |
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System development processes | |
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Functioning processes | |
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Decline processes | |
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Regression processes | |
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System destruction processes |
SELF-ORGANIZATION- the process during which the organization of a complex dynamic system is created, reproduced or improved. Self-organization processes can take place only in systems with a high level of complexity and a large number of elements, the links between which are not rigid, but probabilistic. The properties of self-organization reveal objects of a different nature: a cell, an organism, a biological population, a biogeocenosis, a human collective, etc. The processes of self-organization are expressed in the restructuring of existing and the formation of new connections between the elements of the system. A distinctive feature of the processes of self-organization is their purposeful, but at the same time natural, spontaneous character: these processes, which occur when the system interacts with the environment, are autonomous to one degree or another, relatively independent of the environment.
There are 3 types of self-organization processes. The first is the spontaneous generation of an organization, i.e., the emergence from a certain set of integral objects of a certain level of a new integral system with its own specific laws (for example, the genesis of multicellular organisms from single-celled ones). The second type is the processes by which the system maintains a certain level of organization when the external and internal conditions of its functioning change (here we study mainly homeostatic mechanisms, in particular, mechanisms operating on the principle of negative feedback). The third type of self-organization processes is associated with the development of systems that are able to accumulate and use past experience.
A special study of the problems of self-organization was first initiated in cybernetics. The term "self-organizing System" was introduced by the English cyberneticist W. R. Ashby (1947). A broad study of self-organization began in con. 50s in order to create computers capable of simulating various aspects of human intellectual activity. From the 70s->s. The apparatus of thermodynamics of open systems is widely used in the study of self-organization. The behavior of such systems under conditions far from equilibrium is an irreversible process - a successive transition from one non-equilibrium stationary state to another, occurring with a decrease in entropy, i.e., an increase in the organization of the system. In modern research on self-organization, the problem of the relationship between chaos (disorder) and space (order), first posed in ancient philosophy, is being studied.
CYBERNETICS (from the Greek kybernetike - the art of control) is the science of self-governing machines, in particular, machines with electronic control ("electronic brain"). Cybernetics received the most widespread use in the last third of the 20th century. and is now widely used in biology and sociology. "Father of Cybernetics" Amer. The scientist Norbert Wiener in his work "Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in Animal and Machine" (1948) showed that the human brain acts like electronic computers with a binary system of calculation.
The term "cybernetics" was originally introduced into scientific circulation by Ampère, who in his fundamental work "An Essay on the Philosophy of Sciences" (1834-1843) defined cybernetics as the science of government, which should provide citizens with various benefits. And in the modern sense - as a science about the general laws of the processes of control and transmission of information in machines, living organisms and society, it was first proposed by Norbert Wiener in 1948.
It includes the study of feedback, black boxes, and derived concepts such as control and communication in living organisms, machines, and organizations, including self-organizations. It focuses on how something (digital, mechanical, or biological) processes, responds to, and changes or can be changed to better perform the first two tasks. Stafford Beer called it the science of effective organization, and Gordon Pask expanded the definition to include flows of information "from all sources" from the stars to the brain.
A more philosophical definition of cybernetics, proposed in 1956 by L. Cuffignal (English), one of the pioneers of cybernetics, describes cybernetics as "the art of ensuring the effectiveness of action." A new definition was proposed by Lewis Kaufman (English): "Cybernetics is the study of systems and processes that interact with themselves and reproduce themselves."
Cybernetic methods are used to study the case when the action of the system in the environment causes some change in the environment, and this change manifests itself on the system through feedback, which causes changes in the way the system behaves. It is in the study of these "feedback loops" that the methods of cybernetics are based.
Modern cybernetics originated as interdisciplinary research, combining the areas of control systems, the theory of electrical circuits, mechanical engineering, mathematical modeling, mathematical logic, evolutionary biology, neurology, and anthropology. These studies appeared in 1940, mainly in the works of scientists on the so-called. Macy conferences.
Other areas of research that influenced or were influenced by the development of cybernetics are control theory, game theory, systems theory (the mathematical equivalent of cybernetics), psychology (especially neuropsychology, behaviorism, cognitive psychology), and philosophy.
Systems capable of self-organization are characterized by such properties as openness, disequilibrium, non-linearity, presence in them dissipative, scattering processes .
openness means a mode of existence characterized by constant exchange with the external environment. There may be an exchange of matter, energy or information, or both at the same time (in different combinations, for example, matter and energy or energy and information, etc.).
Disequilibrium suggests that the system is out of equilibrium, usually far from it. Then it becomes sensitive to small perturbations, insignificant fluctuations, leading to the birth of macroscopic ordered structures.
The most important thing for a self-organizing system is its nonlinearity, which characterizes, first of all, the ability of the system to self-action. A linear system differs from a non-linear one in its passive character, i.e. the ability to experience only external influences. Linear systems respond proportionally to external influences: small influences lead to small changes in state, and large ones lead to large ones (hence the term "linearity", which implies the linear nature of proportional dependence).
Self-action nonlinear systems leads to a violation of this proportionality: small impacts can now cause very large consequences (“small causes of large historical events”), and large ones can lead to completely insignificant ones (“the mountain will give birth to a mouse”). Self-action of nonlinear systems leads to the effect self-organization.
Self-organization differs from the organization process in that the essence of the process is already explained here. the nature of the system itself(rather than external factors). That is, a system is said to be self-organizing if it without any external influence acquires a certain spatial, temporal or functional structure.
The disproportionality of the dependence of the state of the system on the state of the environment makes such systems, on the one hand, remarkably resilient in relation to large-scale adverse impacts at certain stages of their development, far from the moments of instability (bifurcation points), and on the other hand - unusually sensitive to very slight changes in the state of the medium near the bifurcation points. That is, due to nonlinearity, complex systems acquire very wayward character, which differs sharply from conventional linear systems. And managing them requires a whole range of new knowledge for a manager to get the result you need.
Nonlinearity- a property of complex self-organizing systems, which has a deep worldview meaning.
Nonlinearity means:
- threshold sensitivity (below the threshold, everything is erased, forgotten, and above - on the contrary, it is multiplied many times);
- the possibility of "growth of the small", "amplification of fluctuations", revealing the huge internal potential of the system;
- the emergence of a whole range of possible ways of development;
- a change in the pace of development, a change in the modes of accelerated growth and a significant slowdown in processes.
Thus, self-organizing systems are open, non-linear, essentially non-equilibrium systems. In the scientific literature, they are often referred to by one of these characteristics. For example, they say: a non-linear system, and this means that we are talking about an open system capable of self-organization and self-development.
So, self-organization is the key term of synergetics. Synergetics is often called that - theory self-organizing systems.
Necessary conditions for self-organization are openness, non-linearity, non-equilibrium of the system, the presence of dissipative processes in it.
Self-organizing systems retain their integrity and dynamically develop due to the ability to switch to a different, opposite, mode in order to avoid the threat of disintegration and disintegration at moments of their instability, and this switching occurs due to the presence of chaotic elements in them. In addition, elements of disorganization and chaos prepare systems for a multivariate future, make them flexible and plastic, able to adapt to changing environmental conditions.