| Chapter 1: | Distinctions: Observation, Meaning, and the Reduction of Complexity |
|
|
observers how to make meaningful choices presented by the forms of meaning used in their operations.
Symbols
For a psychic system, meaning may, for example, be recursively indexed by a string wrapped around a wrist. To the conscious mind, the string might be a sign that indicates the imaginary message: “remember to email your aunt and wish her a happy birthday.” The meaningful connection between the string and the aunt is self-referential and depends on a psychic system's own potential to use signs to help recall memories. One sees the string and remembers, hopefully, an aunt who ought to be e-mailed. If the string “works,” rendering the intended connection, its meaning is understood. If the message is received and understood, it is not because the string is tied to a particular message. In fact, the string might just as easily be used to help convey a completely different message: “remember to buy milk on the way home.” The actual meaning of the string can be observed in opposition to other possible meanings only by the person who wrapped it around their wrist. The string could potentially mean anything else besides, “e-mail your aunt.” The indicated side of the distinction is differentiated through self-reference. Without the meaning supplied by self-reference, the string is just a string and the aunt may be forgotten.
In 1927 Alfred North Whitehead presented a series of lectures at the University of Virginia on the meaning and effect of “symbolism.” His ideas foreshadowed the way social system theorists now conceive of meaning and language. Whitehead's formal definition of symbolism included both the notion of distinction and of self-reference: