From benard cell to human organization

Abstract

Evolution and self-organization are the fundamental subjects of the complex system theory (CST). The knowledge developed in the field of CST can serve as a new foundation to enhance the human organization theory. However, CST consists of a family of sub-theories, each of which has its own specific perspective of investigation. Before the CST can be applied to human organizations, the underlying principles which govern the process of phase change have to be re-aligned and put into an integral framework so as to allow us to see, from all angles, the "whole elephant" of the behaviors of a complex system. This article takes Benard Cell phenomenon as the object; sub-theories of CST, including dissipative structure, synergetics, fractal, catastrophe and chaos, are applied to explain the phase change process of a complex system as well as the underlying effect of the self-organizing force. On this basis, theoretical implications to the study of human organization system are summarized.