Editing Heterarchy

{{Short description|System of organization where the elements of the organization are unranked}}
A '''heterarchy''' is a system of organization where the elements of the organization are unranked (non-[[Hierarchy|hierarchical]]) or where they possess the potential to be ranked a number of different ways.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Crumley | first = Carole L. | title=Heterarchy and the Analysis of Complex Societies| journal = Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association | volume = 6| issue = 1 |date=January 1995  | pages = 1–5 | url= http://www.sonoma.edu/users/p/purser/Anth590/crumley%20heterarchy.pdf| access-date = 26 February 2014 | doi=10.1525/ap3a.1995.6.1.1| citeseerx = 10.1.1.502.397 }}</ref> Definitions of the term vary among the disciplines: in social and information sciences, heterarchies are [[Network theory|networks]] of elements in which each element shares the same "horizontal" position of power and authority, each playing a theoretically equal role. In biological taxonomy, however, the requisite features of heterarchy involve, for example, a species sharing, with a species in a different [[Family (biology)|family]], a common ancestor which it does not share with members of its own family. This is theoretically possible under principles of "[[horizontal gene transfer]]".

A heterarchy may be orthogonal to a [[hierarchy]], subsumed to a hierarchy, or it may contain hierarchies; the two kinds of structure are not mutually exclusive. In fact, each level in a hierarchical system is composed of a potentially heterarchical group.

The concept of heterarchy was first employed in a modern context by [[cybernetics|cybernetician]] [[Warren Sturgis McCulloch|Warren McCulloch]] in 1945.<ref>McCulloch (1945), "A heterarchy of values determined by the topology of nervous nets", pp. 89–93</ref> As Carole L. Crumley has summarised, "[h]e examined alternative [[Cognition|cognitive]] structure(s), the collective organization of which he termed heterarchy. He demonstrated that the human brain, while reasonably orderly was not organized hierarchically. This understanding revolutionized the neural study of the brain and solved major problems in the fields of [[artificial intelligence]] and computer design."<ref>Crumley (1995), "Heterarchy and the analysis of complex societies", p. 3.</ref>

==General principles, operationalization, and evidence==
In a group of related items, heterarchy is a state wherein any pair of items is likely to be related in two or more differing ways. Whereas hierarchies sort groups into progressively smaller categories and subcategories, heterarchies divide and unite groups variously, according to multiple concerns that emerge or recede from view according to perspective. Crucially, no one way of dividing a heterarchical system can ever be a totalizing or all-encompassing view of the system, each division is clearly partial, and in many cases, a partial division leads us, as perceivers, to a feeling of contradiction that invites a new way of dividing things. (But of course the next view is just as partial and temporary.) Heterarchy is a name for this state of affairs, and a description of a heterarchy usually requires ambivalent thought, a willingness to ambulate freely between unrelated perspectives.

However, because the requirements for a heterarchical system are not exactly stated, identifying a heterarchy through the use of archaeological materials can often prove to be difficult.<ref>O’Reilly, D.J.W. 2003. Further evidence of heterarchy in Bronze Age Thailand. Current Anthropology 44:300–306.</ref>

In an attempt to operationalize heterarchies, Schoenherr and Dopko<ref name=Schoenherr/> use the concept of reward systems and [[Relational models theory]]. [[Relational models theory#The four relational models|Relational models]] are defined by distinct expectations for exchanges between individuals in terms of authority ranking, equality matching, communality, and market pricing. They suggest that discrepancies in the kind of reward that is used to assign merit and differences in merit assigned to specific groups of individuals can be used as evidence for heterarchical structure. Their study demonstrates differences in the number of women assigned PhDs, the number of women receiving academic appointments in high status academic institutions, and scientific awards.

Examples of heterarchical conceptualizations include the [[Gilles Deleuze]]/[[Félix Guattari]] conceptions of [[deterritorialization]], [[Rhizome (philosophy)|rhizome]], and [[body without organs]].

==Information studies==
Numerous observers{{who|date=January 2015}} in the information sciences have argued that heterarchical structure processes more information more effectively than hierarchical design. An example of the potential effectiveness of heterarchy would be the rapid growth of the heterarchical [[Wikipedia]] project in comparison with the failed growth of the [[Nupedia]] project.<ref>Bruns (2008), ''Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond: From Production to Produsage'', pp. 108–9.</ref> Heterarchy increasingly trumps hierarchy as complexity and rate of change increase.

Informational heterarchy can be defined as an organizational form somewhere between hierarchy and network that provides horizontal links that permit different elements of an organization to cooperate whilst individually optimizing different success criteria.  In an organizational context the value of heterarchy derives from the way in which it permits the legitimate valuation of multiple skills, types of knowledge or working styles without privileging one over the other. In information science, therefore, heterarchy, [[responsible autonomy]] and [[hierarchy]] are sometimes combined under the umbrella term [[Triarchy (theory) | Triarchy]].

This concept has also been applied to the field of [[archaeology]], where it has enabled researchers to better understand social complexity. For further reading see the works of Carole Crumley.

The term heterarchy is used in conjunction with the concepts of [[holon (philosophy)|holon]]s and [[holarchy]] to describe individual [[system]]s at each level of a holarchy.

== Brain science ==
A heterarchical network could be used to describe [[neuron]] connections or democracy, although there are clearly hierarchical elements in both.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spagna |first=Alfredo |last2=Heidenry |first2=Zoe |last3=Miselevich |first3=Michelle |last4=Lambert |first4=Chloe |last5=Eisenstadt |first5=Benjamin E. |last6=Tremblay |first6=Laura |last7=Liu |first7=Zixin |last8=Liu |first8=Jianghao |last9=Bartolomeo |first9=Paolo |date=2024-03-01 |title=Visual mental imagery: Evidence for a heterarchical neural architecture |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S157106452300218X |journal=Physics of Life Reviews |volume=48 |pages=113–131 |doi=10.1016/j.plrev.2023.12.012 |issn=1571-0645}}</ref>

==Sociology and political theory==
[[Anthropologist]] [[Dmitri Bondarenko]] follows Carole Crumley in her definition of heterarchy as "the relation of elements to one another when they are unranked or when they possess the potential for being ranked in a number of different ways" and argues that it is therefore not strictly the opposite of hierarchy, but is rather the opposite of '''[[homoarchy]]''',<ref>Bondarenko (2005), [https://www.sociostudies.org/journal/files/seh/2005_2/homoarchic_alternative_to_the_homoarchic_state.pdf "A homoarchic alternative to the homoarchic state"], page 18 - "The opposite of heterarchy, then, would be a condition in a society in which relationships in most contexts are ordered mainly according to one principal hierarchical relationship. This organizational principle may be called 'homoarchy'."</ref> itself definable as "the relation of elements to one another when they possess the potential for being ranked in one way only".<ref>Bondarenko, Grinin, Korotayev (2002), ""Alternative pathways of social evolution", p. 55.</ref>

[[David C. Stark]] (1950- ) has been contributing to developing the concept of heterarchy in the [[sociology of organizations]].

Political [[hierarchy| hierarchies]] and heterarchies are systems in which multiple dynamic power-structures govern the actions of the system.  They represent different types of [[network (mathematics)|network]] structures that allow differing degrees of connectivity. In a ([[Tree structure|tree-structured]]) [[hierarchy]] every [[node (networking)|node]] is connected to at most one [[parent node]] and to zero or more [[child node]]s. In a heterarchy, however, a node can be connected to any of its surrounding nodes without needing to go through or to get permission from some other node.

Socially, a heterarchy distributes [[Social privilege| privilege]] and decision-making among participants, while a hierarchy assigns more power and privilege to the members "high" in the structure. In a systemic perspective, Gilbert Probst, Jean-Yves Mercier and others describe heterarchy as the flexibility of the formal relationships inside an organization.<ref>Probst, Mercier, et al. (1992), ''Organisation et management'' {{Page needed|date=September 2010}}.</ref> Domination and subordination links can be reversed and privileges can be redistributed in each situation, following the needs of the system.<ref>{{cite journal|last1= White|first1= Joyce |editor1-last= Ehrenreich|editor1-first= Robert|title= Incorporating Heterarchy into Theory on Socio-Political Development: The case from Southeast Asia|journal=Heterarchy and the Analysis of Complex Societies|date= 1995 |pages= 101–123|series= Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association Number 6|display-editors= etal}}</ref>

Researchers have also framed higher-education staff as operating in a heterarchical structure. Examining [[sex discrimination | sex-based discrimination]] in psychology, Schoenherr and Dopko<ref name=Schoenherr>{{cite journal|last1= Schoenherr|first1= Jordan|last2= Dopko|first2= Raelyne |title=Heterarchical social organizations and relational models: Understanding gender biases in psychological science|date= 2019|pages= 258–281|journal= Theory and Psychology|volume= 29|issue= 2|doi= 10.1177/0959354318825307|s2cid= 150893628}}</ref> identify discrepancies between the number of women awarded PhDs, the number of professorships held by women, and the number of scientific awards granted to women in the behavioral sciences and by the American Psychological Association. They argue that this data supports difference reward systems, representing heterarchies. They go on to connect the notion of heterarchy to contemporary models of relational structures in psychology (i.e., relational models theory). Schoenherr<ref>
{{cite journal|last1= Schoenherr|first1= Jordan|title= Moral Economies and Codes of Conduct: the Social Organization of Canadian Experimental Psychology|date= 2019|pages= 31–54|journal= Scientia Canadensis, 41|volume= 41|doi= 10.7202/1065958ar|s2cid= 212761522|doi-access= free}}</ref> has argued that this is also reflected in divisions within professional psychology, such as those between clinical psychologists and experimental psychologists. Using the history of professional psychology in Canada and the United States, he provides quotations from professional organization to illustrate the disparate identities and reward-systems. Rather than just reflecting a feature of psychological science, these{{which?|date=March 2023}} case studies were presented as evidence of heterarchies in academia and in social organizations more generally.

==See also==
* [[Adhocracy]]
* [[Directed set]]
* [[Distributed republic]]
* [[Hierarchy]]
* [[Hierarchical organization]]
* [[Homoarchy]]
* [[Folksonomy]]
* ''[[Gödel Escher Bach]]'' – discussed in chapter five{{Citation needed|date=February 2020|reason=Move to body of the article, explaining how it is discussed with a citation}}
* [[Panarchy (political philosophy)|Panarchy]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Bruns, Axel (2008). ''Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production to Produsage'', New York: Peter Lang.
*{{Cite journal|last=Crumley |first=Carole L. |year=1995 |title=Heterarchy and the Analysis of Complex Societies |journal=Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association |volume=6| issue =  1 |pages=1–5 |doi=10.1525/ap3a.1995.6.1.1|citeseerx=10.1.1.502.397 }}
*{{Cite journal| author=[[Dmitri Bondarenko|Bondarenko, D.M.]] |year=2005 |title=A Homoarchic Alternative to the Homoarchic State: Benin Kingdom of the 13th – 19th Centuries |journal=[[Social Evolution & History]] |volume=4| issue =  2 |pages=18–88}}
*{{Cite encyclopedia |author=[[Dmitri Bondarenko|Bondarenko, D.M.]] |year=2007 |title=What Is There in a Word? Heterarchy, Homoarchy and the Difference in Understanding Complexity in the Social Sciences and Complexity Studies |editor=K.A. Richardson |editor2=[[Paul Cilliers|P. Cilliers]]|encyclopedia=Explorations in Complexity Thinking: Pre-Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Complexity and Philosophy |location=Mansfield, MA |publisher=ISCE Publishing |pages=35–48}}
*{{Cite journal |author1=[[Dmitri Bondarenko|Bondarenko, D.M.]] |author2=[[Leonid Grinin|Grinin]], L.E. |author3=[[Andrey Korotayev|Korotayev, A.V.]] |year=2002 |url=http://www.uchitel-izd.ru/data/stat1.zip |title=Alternative Pathways of Social Evolution |journal=[[Social Evolution & History]] |volume=1 |pages=54–79 |access-date=2008-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927072856/http://www.uchitel-izd.ru/data/stat1.zip |archive-date=2007-09-27 |url-status=dead }}
*{{Cite book|author1=[[Gilbert Probst|Probst, Gilbert]] |author2=[[Jean-Yves Mercier]] |author3=[[Olivier Bruggimann]] |author4=[[Aina Rakotobarison]]  |year=1992 |title=Organisation et management, Tome 3: guider le développement de l'entreprise |pages=127–32 |publisher=Editions d'Organisation |location=Paris}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Kontopoulos |first1=Kyriakos M. |title=The Logics of Social Structure |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521032698 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7M0nlQ4dL0C |access-date=24 October 2019 |language=en}}
*{{Cite journal|author=[[Warren Sturgis McCulloch|McCulloch, Warren]] |year=1945 |title=A Heterarchy of Values Determined by the Topology of Nervous Nets |journal=Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=89–93 |doi=10.1007/bf02478457|s2cid=247941145 }}
* [[David C. Stark|Stark, David]] (2011). ''The Sense of Dissonance: Accounts of Worth in Economic Life'', Princeton University Press
* O’Reilly, D.J.W. (2003). Further evidence of heterarchy in Bronze Age Thailand. Current Anthropology 44:300–306.
*{{cite journal|last1=White|first1=Joyce|editor1-last=Ehrenreich|editor1-first=Robert|title=Incorporating Heterarchy into Theory on Socio-Political Development: The case from Southeast Asia|journal=Heterarchy and the Analysis of Complex Societies|date=1995|pages=101–123|series=Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association Number 6|display-editors=etal}}"[http://seasiabib.museum.upenn.edu:8001/pdf_articles%5Cbookchapters%5C1995_White1.pdf]"

==External links==
* [http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail1080.html IT Conversations podcast with Dr. Karen Stephenson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122014927/http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail1080.html |date=2008-11-22 }}

* [https://heterarchy.org Heierarchy, Heterarchy, and other Structural Diagrams] 

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[[Category:Hierarchy]]
[[Category:Patterns]]
[[Category:Structure]]
[[Category:Social systems concepts]]
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