Semiosis is dynamic. It is living, growing and vibrant. For this reason I use terms like phase, flow and formation. However, this dynamism has been left a bit underdeveloped, as we have mainly explored, rather statically, the logical structure of semiosis.
In this post, I will introduce the idea of feedback cycles and the semiotic term semiostasis. These concepts bring to the fore the dynamic nature of Semiosis. However, I must admit that my understanding of this term is not completely free from mist. That said, let’s begin with the feedback cycle.
A feedback cycle refers to a process in which the output (often an action) of a system influences its own behavior. It involves a continuous loop of information where the system is constantly self-regulating and self-adjusting itself based on the feedback. The feedback received is the basis for assessing whether the habits of the system are working as intended or if adjustments are required.
In nature, feedback cycles are often associated with the concept of homeostasis. Homeostasis refers to the ability of an organism or system to maintain its internal stability and balance despite external changes.
For instance, when the body gets too hot, the feedback mechanism comes into play to cool down the body and bring it back to its optimal temperature. And if the body temperature drops too low, a similar feedback loop occurs to generate heat and bring the temperature back to the set point.
We are talking about sign-action. Our body perceives various sensations as signs of temperature changes, which are then interpreted by certain actions to either warm or cool the body. Therefore, we may call this phenomena of semiotic self-regulation Semiostasis.
Semiostasis is the self-regulation process of habits. In every phase we have a feedback cycle, that can potentially be governed by a habit, whose self-regulation can be called Semiostasis. Before this gets too confusing, let’s look at the diagram:
We see four feedback cycles stacked on top of one another. These are the Four Phases.
We see that each feedback cycle contains an upward and downward arrow. These are the Two flows of Semiosis — ampliative and deductive reasoning.
Habits seek to form into these feedback cycles. In other words Semiostasis is trying to develop in the Four Phases. This is the idea of the Four Levels of Habits.
Notice, how the previous posts come together to form a more coherent picture of the dynamic structure of Semiosis. Next, we are going to explore the nature of this dynamism in the four feedback cycles corresponding to the Four Phases.
Nature of the Semiostasis
One point that I emphasize in nearly every post is the notion of continuity. The fundamental nature of reality is not discrete, digital, or linear; rather, it is continuous, analog, and non-linear. Keep this idea constantly in mind.
Semiotic loops are continuous, analog and non-linear processes. While in previous posts we have identified, differentiated, and logically separated for instance the two flows of Semiosis, in reality they are completely intertwined.
So when we talk about the two directions of flow in these semiotic loops, these are not two existentially different flows. They are part of a one continuous movement, where these two flows can be only logically separated.
Therefore, this loop should not be conceptualized as linear process:
Perception → Action → Perception → Action → etc.
But as a continuous loop:
We are both perceiving and acting at the same time. For this reason I use the terms perceiving and acting instead of perception and action.
A good example of this continuity is musical improvisation. The musician must simultaneously listen the music and play the instrument.
Within this loop of listening and playing, the musician is both discovering new musical ideas (upward flow) inspired by the played music itself (downward flow), and adjusting the playing (downward flow) based on hearing the music (upward flow). In this way, a musician is an example of simultaneous perceiving and acting.
A professional musician can do this without deliberate thinking. This is achieved through thousands of hours of practice, through which the musician forms a habit governing this loop. In other words, the musician has Semiostasis governing the feedback loop.
Four Semiotic Loops
Perceiving/Acting
The perception-action cycle refers to the continuous and dynamic interaction between an organism's perception of its environment and its actions in response to that perception. Both of these happen at the same time. Your perception is action (movements of eyes, sensation organs reacting to stimuli), and your action determines your perceptions (where you look, what do you do).
We are on the Perception phase, so everything is still very elemental. There is no conscious interpretation of sensory stimuli and no information. This loop is the first fundamental aesthetical contact with reality.
The organism perceives its environment as qualitative whole (1stness) through its sensory systems, such as vision, hearing and touch. Then the sensory system picks up something forceful acting on the organism (2ndness).
The forceful sensation is processed automatically and unconsciously producing a rudimentary, often an instinctual response. The organism’s action affects the environment, which is again perceived by the organism producing yet another action, and so the loop continues until the organism dies.
Examples: You hear completely unexpected and unknown sound, which results in flinching, where after you seek to perceive the source of sound, and adjust your action further. Perceiving pain and pulling your finger from a hot stove. Perceiving something close to your eyes and closing your eyes before something hits them.
When habit is governing the perception/action, i.e. when there is Semiostasis, we move to the next phase. In practical terms the perceived world has gained stability, forming a foundation for further inquiry. The chaos has ceased.
Experiencing/Executing
As we perceive something separating itself forcefully from the qualitative continuum and gaining stability, it becomes a sign. The perceived world develops into something that can be inquired.
In this phase the perception does not result in a completely unconscious instinctual reaction (perception-action cycle), but it becomes a sign to be experienced and factored in our execution of actions. We enter the Experience phase.
The perception becomes a sign of something. It is recognized as something familiar. The perception evolves into an experience.
Likewise the blind action evolves into deliberate execution. Based on the experienced sign an appropriate execution of action is selected. The response to perceived sign becomes more developed and conscious.
Examples: Recognizing the sound as the ringtone of your phone and executing the action of answering. Finding the TV to be too loud and turning down the volume. Recognizing the need to drink or eat.
When we have a habit of interpreting signs and responding to them by deliberately executed actions, we have Semiostasis in the second semiotic loop of Exprience/Execution.
Understanding/Instructing
Now the recognized individual sign becomes a sign of something larger and more general. We move from the sign’s immediate presentation to the patterns, laws and tendencies governing the sign. We understanding the sign as a manifestation and instantiation of some pattern and concentrate not on the sign, but on the pattern itself.
These habits guiding the signs are not only to be understood, as they also instruct our behavior. As children we were instructed how to behave in various situations. There are habits governing the way we eat, the way we behave in public places, where we should walk etc.
Again, these two flows happen simultaneously. When you understand the patterns you also let those pattern instruct you. You understand how objects and people behave in certain situations and you yourself are also participating with those same habits.
Think about a social situations and how people behave. The behavior of people is primarily guided by social habits. Most of the time people are not manifesting their unique personality, but the larger social conventions and patterns. In these social situations, you too are participating in the patterns and habits that guide the situation, just like the rest of us.
We have a habit of viewing everything from the point of view of individuals. But this leads into self-deception. We are at the most fundamental level social entities and our inner world and unique personality are second order phenomena. Outgrowths of a more fundamental communicational process — Semiosis.
Example: Understanding and obeying traffic rules and social norms. Learning new skills and applying them in the process (learning by doing).
When we move fluidly in our environment, that is, when perceptions are experienced as signs, and understood as regularities, which in turn instruct us to execute deliberately our actions, then we are ready to move to the Sharing phase.
Sharing/Controlling
Sharing phase is all about sharing information, communicating with others. If you can read this text, you are currently in the Sharing phase as I’m currently sharing information with you.
The other side of sharing is controlling. In order for you to be able to read this text, we must set up common rules of grammar and interpretation. For instance this sequence of letters — CAR — means a type of vehicle that moves on wheels. We must adhere to this interpretative rule in order for sharing to be possible.
Without a common and shared rule book controlling us, sharing becomes difficult. Two persons without any common symbolic language cannot share meaning. More often however it is the case that the meaning of words is mixed up or words become battlegrounds.
Language is a vehicle for power. For this reason tyrants seek to control with the use of language. Certain words are banned. New meanings and words are constructed. Some words are repeated ad nauseam. Words and symbols become battlegrounds where opposing sides try to capture them, aiming to establish their own interpretation as the prevailing one.
It isn’t immediately clear why words are so central in this. But from the diagram we see how controlling affects every other type of action below it. The words control our habits in our day to day life, which in turn instruct our execution of action.
For instance, advertisers carefully choose words and phrases to create persuasive messages that influence our buying habits. Perhaps the phrase "reduce plastic waste" is featured on the bottle itself, guiding our actions and ultimately transferring our money to the advertised company.
You see how language and symbolic systems control us. We embody various ideologies (liberalism, socialism, materialism, capitalism) that shape our understanding and even perception of reality.
But there is also the upward flow of sharing. Life is not deterministic. Although the culture we live in shapes and influences our experiences, it also facilitates the fluid sharing of meaning within the community.
In communities with strict communication control, such as sports teams, special forces teams, or jazz bands, the ability to quickly and effectively share meaning is enhanced. Control is not necessarily a negative aspect, especially when Semiostasis is maintained in a balanced manner.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post! I would greatly appreciate it if you could share it with others.
Sincerely,
Markus