Consistent concepts of self‐organization and self‐assembly

Abstract We critically review concepts of self‐organization and self‐assembly, and extract from this analysis consistent and workable definitions of both concepts that are applicable across many scientific disciplines. In essence, we distinguish self‐organization from self‐assembly on a thermodynamic basis, where self‐organization implies a nonequilibrium process and self‐assembly is reserved for spontaneous processes tending toward equilibrium. This discrimination is consistent with early uses of both terms. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 2008.