Self-organization in relation to several similar concepts: Are the boundaries to self-organization indistinct?

Self-organization is a concept and phenomenon whereby system-level patterns spontaneously arise solely from interactions among subunits of the system. Focusing on self-organization at the organismal level, I ask the question: are the boundaries to self-organization indistinct? After reviewing a number of published definitions of self-organization, I explore the conceptual boundaries among self-organization and two similar concepts, stigmergy and self-assembly. I highlight borderline cases that may blur the distinction among these and suggest that they may indeed be conceptually indistinct and difficult to separate in practice. Consequently, I propose a classification scheme based upon three aspects: whether the stimuli to which individuals respond are quantitative or qualitative, whether positive feedback is involved, and whether interindividual interactions are direct or indirect (stigmergic). In addition, I consider several other issues about self-organization, including (1) could a self-organized system use global information? (2) what is the role of the degree of correlation of activity among individuals? and (3) what is the role of positive feedback?.