Conditions for Self-Organizing in Human Systems

Glenda Eoyang received her doctorate in human systems dynamics from The Union Institute and University in 2001. Her research explored questions about the conditions that made some human systems organize quickly and as expected, while others took a long time to end up in unpleasant or unproductive patterns.

She drew from many fields of complexity, including agent-based modeling, thermodynamics, ecology, philosophy, and mathematics to find three conditions that influence the self-organizing processes of all human systems.

Her discovery, the CDE Model, sets the foundation for human systems dynamics praxis. This foundation informs perception, meaning making, and action to influence the conditions and, therefore, influence patterns that emerge. Many parts of this site explore applications of implications of the CDE Model, but this dissertation lays out the logic and derivation of the work.

Related Resources

The CDE Model explains the three system conditions that influence the speed, path, and direction of self-organizing systems. The conditions shape the patterns that make up the reality of your world.
This brief paper describes the basic principles of CDE and demonstrates in examples how they inform meaning making and action.
This extract from Eoyang's dissertation gives the foundation for the CDE Model of Conditions for Self-Organizing in Human Systems.
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