Interdisciplinary Group CLE Self-Organization

In recent decades, the development of information theory and systems theory in general, as well as its contributions to the areas of physical, mathematical, biological and human sciences, have given rise to scientific and philosophical reflections on the notions of order, organization, self-organization, information and creation. The idea of ​​a naturally organized world, because it is subject to laws, seems to be being replaced by another approach: the organization is increasingly seen as consisting of self-regulation, self-reproduction, and creation phenomena.

The emphasis on organization and disorganization, order and disorder, seems to signal the advent of a new philosophical and scientific paradigm: to the consideration of linear causal chains - or of linear logical connections between principles and consequences - comes the consideration of complex phenomena characterized by nonlinear causal chains, which can be more or less organized or unorganized, ordered or disordered.

The focus on complexity has never ceased to be present. However, between the end of the 18th century and the 1950s, the tendency of dominant thinking was to identify order with the existence of laws in the universe. From this perspective, there was not much to be said about order, other than stating it, and, with deterministic or probabilistic laws everywhere, not much room could be given to the notion of disorder, except in specific fields.

In the last decades, however, there seems to be a certain approximation between the scientific disciplines and their epistemologies, with regard to the use of the notions of order and disorder: scientists, in general, admit that the ideas of order imply a hierarchy between the phenomena from the same area of ​​knowledge - but simultaneously reject the conception of order or organization as being a "ought to be", that is, a requirement that nature or society would have to fulfill. Such reflections, however, do not necessarily alter the basic principles that define rationality; they represent something more and make possible a new style of thinking, at the same time scientific and philosophical, that contemplates complexity – in this sense, it seems to be a broadening of the horizon of rationality.

The Interdisciplinary Group CLE Self-Organization, since 1986, has been studying problems related to the notions of order, organization, autopoiesis, complexity, self-organization, information, creation and other related concepts.

In 1987, members of the CLE Group organized a Session on “Order and Disorder” during the 39th Annual Meeting of the SBPC, held in Brasília. In the same year, the “10 years CLE Colloquium - Ordem e Desordem” was held, commemorating the 10th anniversary of its creation, coordinated by Debrun, with the participation of specialists from different areas of knowledge and from different Brazilian universities; among the trends that emerged during the debates, one prevailed, identifying “self-organization” as a process of possible order generation.

In this sense, since 1990 and after a systematic study of part of the literature on order and disorder, the CLE Group has centered its debate around the notions of self-organization, information and their interrelationships, information being seen as a fundamental ingredient of certain processes of self-organization; and, more recently, it has been incorporating the study of self-organization in the systemic context, particularly in dynamic systems theory and complex systems theory. Recently, members of the group have studied the relationship between self-organization and Big Data.

The academic production of Grupo CLE can be verified in the sessions of this site: Seminar, Publications, Events, Lectures and Videos. However, it is important to mention that in the period 1996-1998, FAPESP supported the Project “The Concept of Self-Organization and its Applications in Various Areas of Knowledge” (Process n.1996/01429-3), which allowed consolidating the activities of the CLE Group in its different aspects. From 2011 to 2017, the CLE Group once again had the support of FAPESP with the development of the Thematic Project “Systems, Self-Organization and Information” (Proc. n.2010/52627-9). As a result of this support, it was also possible to create the 'Self-Organization Observatory', which enabled the dissemination of information concerning the various themes of the Project, and provided the maintenance of files for the availability of data and results produced during the evolution of the different lines of research. At the moment this Observatory is undergoing a reorganization.

It should also be noted that from 2017 onwards, the CLE Group also develops work related to the FAPESP Project “Understanding the Dynamics of Opinion and Language Using Big Data” (Process n.16/50256-0), valid until 2020, having as a researcher teacher Maria Eunice Quilici Gonzalez (UNESP-Marília) responsible.

Prof. Michel M. Debrun coordinated the activities of Grupo CLE until his death in early 1997. Since then, Prof. Itala Maria Loffredo D'Ottaviano (UNICAMP) took over the coordination of Grupo CLE, with the collaboration of professors Maria Eunice Quilici Gonzalez (UNESP) and Mariana Claudia Broens (UNESP) and professors Alfredo Pereira Junior (UNESP) and Ettore Bresciani Son (UNICAMP).

Self-Organization and Cognitive Science: Objective: The research aims to conduct studies on the concept of self-organization and the possibilities of its application in cognitive science, more specifically those related to mental states and processes. 

Self-Organization and Systems Science Objective: The research aims to conduct studies on the concept of self-organization and its relations with the concepts involved in systems science, more specifically seeking to identify phenomena characterized as self-organized in the different types of dynamic and complex systems. 

Self-Organization and Life Sciences Objective: The research aims to conduct studies on the concept of self-organization and the possibilities of its application in the life sciences, more specifically those related to biological processes. 

Self-Organization and Creative Processes Objective: The research aims to conduct studies on the concept of self-organization and the possibilities of its application in the study of creativity, more specifically seeking to identify phenomena characterized as self-organized in the creative process. 

Self-Organization and Big Data Objective: The research aims to conduct studies on the concept of self-organization and its application in the study of the dynamics of opinion formation, as well as the evolution of language that can affect such dynamics, based on the analysis of Big Data resulting from different media.