Re: Need help on organizational behaviors of matter and energy

Mike - this is a very broad question, so I'll just mention a few things involved in the answer.

The most important "organizing force" in the universe is certainly gravity. As far as we can tell, it's responsible for the formation of the largest-scale structures we see in the universe (boringly referred to as 'structure formation'), and also for the formation of galaxies and stars. The reason that gravity is so important is that, unlike the electromagnetic force, (which is actually much stronger), gravity is always an attractive force.

The electromagnetic force is important as you go to smaller scale; although the details aren't well-understood, it is thought that magnetic fields may play an important role in the formation of stars. And certainly, the electromagnetic force - which accounts for basically all of chemistry -- is very important in the formation of life.

For further reading, I would suggest The Inflationary Universe by Guth, A Short History of the Universe by Silk, and The Little Book of the Big Bang by Hogan and Rees. On the biology side you might like Climbing Mount Improbable by Dawkins. Be warned, though - once you get into the "origin of life" question, you can find yourself in a theological thicket. Evolution vs creationism arguments start popping up, and you want to read with a critical eye for the authors' personal biases. It you enjoy this sort of argument, the Talk.origins archive provides lots of it.

Pauline