Harrison said Good thought! But I might suggest a different phrasing. In the beginning there were self-organizing systems to which there has been a continuum of response -- ranging from tyrannical to democratic. Self-organization is intrinsically neither, and is prior to both. However, it seems to function much better at the democratic end of things if only because it is then free to be itself.
Is anyone else wondering whether there is a link between what we mean by "self-organization" and what we mean by "free will?" Clarification about the similarities and/or differences between these two concepts would help me understand this conversation more fully. Julie
