Self-Organization and Artificial Life: A Review

Self-organization has been an important concept within a number of disciplines, which Artificial Life (ALife) also has heavily utilized since its inception.  The term and its implications, however, are often confusing or misinterpreted.  In this work, we provide a mini-review of self-organization and its relationship with ALife, aiming at initiating discussions on this important topic with the interested audience. We first articulate some fundamental aspects of self-organization, outline its usage, and review its applications to ALife within its soft, hard, and wet domains. We also provide perspectives for further research.