The evolutionary dynamics of social systems via reflexive transformation of external reality

Abstract

One of the main challenges of the social sciences is to explain metasystem transitions from biological to social systems in the process of evolution. These transitions correspond to the emergence of the structure of the subject in which the external world is internalized as a symbolic image. This structure has the potential of rationally reflecting the external world and encoding it in human language. The structure of the subject was defined by Freud and Lacan within the framework of psychoanalysis and modeled by Vladimir Lefebvre using the algebra of simple relations. In that context, the binary oppositions of the Western (W) and Eastern (E) types of cognitive reflection generate not only opposite types of societies but also form the spatiotemporal pattern within a society as a whole underlying its homeostasis and internal dynamics. This opposition between Western and Eastern types is not identical to, but mirrors the probably genetically determined opposition between individuals with primarily selfish or altruistic behavior. The structure of the reflexive subject represents the basis of a sociotype that can be considered as the third component of biosocial being in addition to genotype and phenotype; it is defined a social form of the individual bonded by the social environment and social interactions. The transition to a different type of social relations and structure is based on an anticipated reflexive choice by an individual that is accompanied by a coherent response from the society. This change is defined as a "social transaction" and can be modeled by the logic of the transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics. In the history of human civilization, social transactions have resulted in the advancement and distribution of new knowledge and technologies, and in the formation, merging, splitting and decline and re-emergence of particular types of societies.

Keywords: Externality; Frame of reference; Reflexivity; Social evolution; Structure of subject; Transaction.