STRUCTURE

the actual relations which hold between the components which integrate a concrete machine in a given space. (Maturana and Varela, 1979)

There are at least three near synonymous definitions. (1) The complex of concurrent relations among a set of objects with the number of objects more numerous than the ordinality of the relations connecting them, e.g. a graph, a network. (2) A multitude of coocurrances or values, n-tuples, that deviate from chance in some but not all respects. Here structure is manifest in the probability distribution that a system with a structure as defined in (1) is capable of generating. (3) A pattern that connects the components of a machine or organism, e.g., the command structure of a military unit see (3), the distribution of obligations and responsibilities in a formal organization see (2), the wiring in a piece of electronic equipment see (1). The components which are connected within a concrete system, machine, organism or society, enter the description of that system's structure but not that system's organization. (Krippendorff)

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