17 Of Intrinsic Dynamics and Functional Information

Consider the self-organizing, intrinsic coordination dynamics of your body~mind. You first perceived your body as an infant, discovering you could direct it as your agency and self-awareness emerged. And you have directed it ever since. But now as ever, to survive and thrive, your awareness must interact with and relate to the world. For this, you depend on your body~mind to perceive movement, space, surfaces, textures, weight, sounds, smells, temperature, time, the phases of the moon—all of which inform your awareness. You use this information to know what's going on, to guide, navigate, and coordinate your intrinsic dynamics (ID) with the world. In Coordination Dynamics (CD), such useful, meaningful information that you use to enhance your ability to adapt and change—ultimately your fitness for survival—is called functional information (FI).