Self-Organization and Self-Organizational Degree

Self-organization, as defined by Wikipedia, also known as spontaneous order in the social sciences, is a process in which local interactions among parts of an initially disordered system create some form of overall order. With sufficient energy supply, this process occurs spontaneously without external control. It is typically triggered by seemingly random fluctuations, amplified by positive feedback. The resulting organization is fully decentralized, distributed across all system components, making it robust, capable of withstanding significant disturbances, and self-repairing.

I agree with Wikipedia’s definition of self-organization and will base this section’s discussion on it. Per the Balance, Fit, and Structural Features of Intelligence section in On Intelligence, the world’s construction is a process of individuals seeking external fit and internal-external balance. According to the Intelligence Degree Definition section, higher intelligence enables better adaptability to external environments. Thus, intelligence in nature is a manifestation of self-organization, with spontaneous order being a prerequisite for the construction of organizational intelligence. Self-organization naturally possesses better resilience and self-repairing capabilities. When exploring the introduction of intelligence concepts into human organizations or constructing connectionism-based organizations under Intelligenism, attention must be paid to the self-organization attributes and degree, as a higher degree of self-organization may expand organizational intelligence potential, which is the core goal of Intelligenism.

However, self-organization and non-self-organization are not binary, as it is not a black-and-white distinction. Since self-organization is spontaneous, a completely self-organized entity should not be formed by any individual’s (including those who endorsing Intelligenism) deliberate framework. An organization heavily influenced by a specific individual’s will is not purely self-organized. Thus, I propose the concept of self-organization degree, ranging from (0,1). Human organizations fall within this range, never achieving complete self-organization due to human will’s influence. If an organization’s individuals have completely decentralized wills (no specific individual influencing others) while maintaining normal operations, its self-organization degree approaches 1. No human organization can achieve complete non-self-organization (degree 0). Under the Intelligenism framework, cognizing the link between self-organization and organizational intelligence necessitates exploring how to evolve organizations toward higher self-organization degrees for greater intelligence potential and performance.