Self-Organizing Systems, 1963

"Self-Organizing Systems" edited by James Emmett Garvey is a scientific publication written in the early 1960s. This work compiles papers presented at a symposium focusing on emerging research in self-organizing systems, particularly in relation to neural modeling and electrical behavior in biological systems. The book explores various approaches and methodologies in the field, including the Ionic Hypothesis, neuron models, and adaptive learning networks. The opening of the book introduces the foreword by Garvey, which outlines the symposium's objectives and emphasizes the relevance of the collected papers to a broader scientific audience. The text highlights the significance of self-organization as a concept in understanding complex systems, particularly in relation to biological processes. It sets the stage for the subsequent papers, focusing first on the Ionic Hypothesis and neuron models, which discuss the behavior and modeling of neurons, based on empirical data and theoretical frameworks developed by early scientists. The introduction paves the way for a deeper inquiry into the principles of self-organization in both biological and artificial systems.