The order of form

In chapter 3 we again look at the symbiotic relationship between form and content but this time from the perspective of form. The chapter starts with an examination of how form is used in Nature. Examples in evolutionary development biology (Evo Devo) are examined, as is the use of form in animal architecture. This survey leads to the understanding that the ordering principles in Nature are not unrelated to the innate ordering systems of human perception identified by the gestalt psychologists and in turn, this understanding helps to explain the basic organising principles of cultural disciplines. It is revealed that natural systems are both precise and even mathematical, whilst simultaneously embracing imprecision, inexactness and error. Later in the chapter the symbiotic relationship between form and content is explored and it becomes possible to explain that the creation of ‘good gestalt’ is a creative process that combines the ‘order of content’ with the ‘order of form.’ Finally I return to the more precise gestalt principle of balance that will be explored further in the next chapter.