---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wherever we find orderly, stable systems…"
description: "\"Wherever we find orderly, stable systems in Nature, we find that they are hierarchically structured, for the simple reason that without such structurin..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/arthur-koestler-1903_assembly_wherever-we-find-orderly-stable-systems_706776.jpg"
---

#  Wherever we find orderly, stable systems in Nature, we…

![“Wherever we find orderly, stable systems in Nature, we find that they are hierarchically structured, for the simple reason that without such structuring of complex systems into sub-assemblies, there could be no order and stability- except the order of a dead universe filled with a uniformly…” quote by Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/arthur-koestler-1903_assembly_wherever-we-find-orderly-stable-systems_706776.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/arthur-koestler-1903_assembly_wherever-we-find-orderly-stable-systems_706776.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/arthur-koestler-1903_assembly_wherever-we-find-orderly-stable-systems_706776.jpg)

> “Wherever we find orderly, stable systems in Nature, we find that they are hierarchically structured, for the simple reason that without such structuring of complex systems into sub-assemblies, there could be no order and stability- except the order of a dead universe filled with a uniformly distributed gas.”

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Complex systems need hierarchical organization to maintain order and stability; without sub-structures, only a uniform, lifeless state remains.

**In simple terms:** Hierarchy creates order in complex systems.

Key Takeaway

Structure systems for stability.

Themes

complexity order hierarchy systems

Mood

analytical thoughtful

Type

philosophical scientific

When to use this quote

- engineering design
- ecology
- software architecture
- organizational management

Key Concepts

systems theory emergence self‑organization

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance hierarchy with flexibility?
- When does hierarchy hinder innovation?

A Different Perspective

Hierarchy can become rigid, stifling adaptability.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Assembly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assembly/) [Complex systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complex-systems/) [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Filled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filled/) [Gas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gas/) [Hierarchically Structured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchically-structured-5583360/) [Nature Hierarchically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-hierarchically-5583358/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Orderly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orderly/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Stability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stability/) [Stable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stable/) [Stable Systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stable-systems-4487639/) [Systems Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/systems-nature-5583359/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/)

## Related quotes

> [“Organs are supple and capable of adapting to different situations and domains. Finally, they are open to development, and this is precisely what “stable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/organs-are-supple-and-capable-of-adapting-to-different-situations-and/)

[Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/)

> [Consciousness, like a complex system of software, has thousands of levels of nested, self-accessing subroutines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/consciousness-like-a-complex-system-of-software-has-thousands-of/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [A rough rule in life is that an organization foolish in one way in dealing with a complex system is all too likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/a-rough-rule-in-life-is-that-an-organization-foolish-in-one-way-in/)

[Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/)

> [What seems interesting to me is to reproduce in the figurative representation of an object the whole complex system of impressions we receive in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/what-seems-interesting-to-me-is-to-reproduce-in-the-figurative/)

[Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/)

> [I believe the evidence strongly supports common descent. But the root question remains unanswered: What has caused complex systems to form?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-behe/i-believe-the-evidence-strongly-supports-common-descent-but-the-root/)

[Michael Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-behe/)

> [“What’s the point of making predictions if they cannot change anything? Some complex systems, such as the weather, are oblivious to our predictions. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/what-s-the-point-of-making-predictions-if-they-cannot-change-anything/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [You show me a successful complex system, and I will show you a system that has evolved through trial and error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/you-show-me-a-successful-complex-system-and-i-will-show-you-a-system/)

[Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/)

> [The first proponent of cortical memory networks on a major scale was neither a neuroscientist nor a computer scientist but .. a Viennes economist:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-fuster/the-first-proponent-of-cortical-memory-networks-on-a-major-scale-was/)

[Joaquin Fuster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-fuster/)

> [It is important to understand that while oxytocin may be the hub of the evolution of the social brain in mammals, it is part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-churchland/it-is-important-to-understand-that-while-oxytocin-may-be-the-hub-of/)

[Patricia Churchland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-churchland/)

> [Global terrorism is extreme both in its lack of realistic goals and in its cynical exploitation of the vulnerability of complex systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/global-terrorism-is-extreme-both-in-its-lack-of-realistic-goals-and/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [“Interpretation of Complex Systems Kenyon B. De Greene All systems evolve, although the rates of evolution may vary over time both between and within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-douglas-kiel/interpretation-of-complex-systems-kenyon-b-de-greene-all-systems/)

[L. Douglas Kiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-douglas-kiel/)

> [Implicit in the activist conception of government is the assumption that you can take the good things in a complex system for granted, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/implicit-in-the-activist-conception-of-government-is-the-assumption/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

> [We don't live in a capitalist totality. Capitalism couldn't survive as a totality anyway. We live in this complex system and we already live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/we-don-t-live-in-a-capitalist-totality-capitalism-couldn-t-survive-as/)

[David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/)

> [When discussing complex systems like brains and other societies, it is easy to oversimplify: I call this Occam's lobotomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-j-good/when-discussing-complex-systems-like-brains-and-other-societies-it-is/)

[I. J. Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-j-good/)

> [The only way to know how a complex system will behave-after you modify it-is to modify it and see how it behaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-e-p-box/the-only-way-to-know-how-a-complex-system-will-behave-after-you/)

[George E. P. Box](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-e-p-box/)

## More by Arthur Koestler

> [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [The temptations of God were always more dangerous for mankind than those of Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-temptations-of-god-were-always-more-dangerous-for-mankind-than/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [The greatest temptation for the like of us is: to renounce violence, to repent, to make peace with oneself. Most revolutionaries fell before this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-greatest-temptation-for-the-like-of-us-is-to-renounce-violence-to/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [The revolutions of thought which shape the basic outlook of an age are not disseminated through text-books- they spread like epidemics, through contamination by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-revolutions-of-thought-which-shape-the-basic-outlook-of-an-age/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [The moment of truth, the sudden emergence of a new insight, is an act of intuition. Such intuitions give the appearance of miraculous flushes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-moment-of-truth-the-sudden-emergence-of-a-new-insight-is-an-act/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [Coincidence may be described as the chance encounter of two unrelated causal chains which - miraculously, it seems - merge into a significant event.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/coincidence-may-be-described-as-the-chance-encounter-of-two-unrelated/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [The more original a discovery, the more obvious it seems afterwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-more-original-a-discovery-the-more-obvious-it-seems-afterwards/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [“Revolutionary theory had frozen to a dogmatic cult, with a simplified, easily graspable catechism, and with No. 1 as the high priest celebrating the Mass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/revolutionary-theory-had-frozen-to-a-dogmatic-cult-with-a-simplified/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [Coincidence may be described as the chance encounter of two unrelated causal chains which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/coincidence-may-be-described-as-the-chance-encounter-of-two-unrelated-2/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [The more backwoodish a social group, juvenile or adult, the stricter its conception of the normal, and the readier it will ridicule any departure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-more-backwoodish-a-social-group-juvenile-or-adult-the-stricter/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [As modern physics started with the Newtonian revolution, so modern philosophy starts with what one might call the Cartesian Catastrophe. The catastrophe consisted in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/as-modern-physics-started-with-the-newtonian-revolution-so-modern/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [If one looks with a cold eye at the mess man has made of history, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/if-one-looks-with-a-cold-eye-at-the-mess-man-has-made-of-history-it/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [The ultimate truth is penultimately always a falsehood. He who will be proved right in the end appears to be wrong and harmful before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-ultimate-truth-is-penultimately-always-a-falsehood-he-who-will-be/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [The real achievement in discoveries... is seeing an analogy where no one saw one before... The essence of discovery is that unlikely marriage of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-real-achievement-in-discoveries-is-seeing-an-analogy-where-no-one/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [The jester is brother to the sage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-jester-is-brother-to-the-sage/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

[Explore all 199 Arthur Koestler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

## More Assembly quotes

> [We can see nothing whatever of the soul unless it is visible in the expression of the countenance; one might call the faces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/we-can-see-nothing-whatever-of-the-soul-unless-it-is-visible-in-the/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [ Mac \[Barnett\] and I prank each other during our presentation. We show baby pictures of each other looking completely ridiculous. I can't believe the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jory-john/mac-barnett-and-i-prank-each-other-during-our-presentation-we-show/)

[Jory John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jory-john/)

> [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [We stand today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of mankind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/we-stand-today-at-the-threshold-of-a-great-event-both-in-the-life-of/)

[Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/)

> [Club: An assembly of good fellows, meeting under certain conditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/club-an-assembly-of-good-fellows-meeting-under-certain-conditions/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Yet if anyone cares to read over the now crumbling minutes giving an account of the meetings at which the Italian Fasci di Combattimento…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/yet-if-anyone-cares-to-read-over-the-now-crumbling-minutes-giving-an/)

[Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/)

> [To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/to-that-world-assembly-of-sovereign-states-the-united-nations-our/)

[John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/)

> [“Liberalism is a creation of the seventeenth century, fathered by British philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). For Locke, liberalism means limited government, the rule of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-boghossian/liberalism-is-a-creation-of-the-seventeenth-century-fathered-by/)

[Peter Boghossian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-boghossian/)

> [Well I'm not dancing," Will said through gritted teeth. "I don't know how." Oh yes you are," Alyss told him. "Let's hope you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/well-i-m-not-dancing-will-said-through-gritted-teeth-i-don-t-know-how/)

[John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/)

> [For you deal here above all with human life, and human life is sacred; no one may dare make an attempt upon it. Respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-paul-vi/for-you-deal-here-above-all-with-human-life-and-human-life-is-sacred/)

[Pope Paul VI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-paul-vi/)

> [I was a star campaigner for the Aruvikkara byelection and the assembly elections. They were very valuable experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suresh-gopi/i-was-a-star-campaigner-for-the-aruvikkara-byelection-and-the/)

[Suresh Gopi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suresh-gopi/)

> [One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/one-cannot-walk-through-an-assembly-factory-and-not-feel-that-one-is/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [If you wait for a perfect church, you must wait until you get to heaven; and even if you could find a perfect assembly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-you-wait-for-a-perfect-church-you-must-wait-until-you-get-to/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [No harm will come to me. The Assembly is prepared to treat us leniently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoinette/no-harm-will-come-to-me-the-assembly-is-prepared-to-treat-us-leniently/)

[Marie Antoinette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoinette/)

> [Every year, the United Nations General Assembly votes on a resolution entitled 'Peaceful resolution of the Palestine conflict.' Every year, the vote is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-finkelstein/every-year-the-united-nations-general-assembly-votes-on-a-resolution/)

[Norman Finkelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-finkelstein/)

[Browse all 409 Assembly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assembly/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Wherever we find orderly, stable systems in Nature, we find that they are hierarchically structured, for the simple reason that without such structuring of complex systems into sub-assemblies, there could be no order and stability- except the order of a dead universe filled with a uniformly distributed gas.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Arthur Koestler"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/wherever-we-find-orderly-stable-systems-in-nature-we-find-that-they/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Assembly"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/wherever-we-find-orderly-stable-systems-in-nature-we-find-that-they/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/arthur-koestler-1903_assembly_wherever-we-find-orderly-stable-systems_706776.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/arthur-koestler-1903_assembly_wherever-we-find-orderly-stable-systems_706776.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/arthur-koestler-1903_assembly_wherever-we-find-orderly-stable-systems_706776.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Wherever we find orderly, stable systems in Nature, we find that they are hierarchically structured, for the…” — Arthur Koestler",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Arthur Koestler",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Wherever we find orderly, stable systems...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/wherever-we-find-orderly-stable-systems-in-nature-we-find-that-they/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/wherever-we-find-orderly-stable-systems-in-nature-we-find-that-they/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
