Series context: In the previous posts, we explored how meaning creates non-meaning, how phenomena emerge, how perception unfolds temporally, and how relational phasing reconciles immanent and transcendent perspectives. Here, we turn to the social and cognitive implications: how meaning scales from individuals to collective formations.
Language as a System of Lanterns
Language is a powerful way of lowering lanterns into the ocean of potential. Words, phrases, and symbols do more than describe:
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They structure attention, guiding perception and thought.
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They stabilise phenomena, creating shared constellations of meaning.
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They generate gradients of non-meaning, opening spaces for novelty and reinterpretation.
In Hallidayan terms, language is a semiotic system that actualises potential—it phases phenomena into experience while simultaneously shaping the field of potential for further construals.
Cognition as Relational Phasing
Cognition is not just internal processing; it is a continuous negotiation with the field of potential:
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Memory, expectation, and prior knowledge act as pre-lit lanterns.
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New thoughts and perceptions are additional lanterns interacting with existing patterns.
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Novel ideas emerge in the dark patches, where structured potential allows new phenomena to stabilise.
Perception, thought, and language are all co-phasing processes: each shapes and is shaped by the relational field of meaning and non-meaning.
Collective Perception and Shared Patterns
Groups of people can co-actualise lanterns:
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Shared language and symbols align perception across individuals.
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Collective memory and expectation stabilise phenomena in similar ways for multiple observers.
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Social formations are emergent constellations of phased meaning, where alignment allows coordinated action, shared understanding, and cultural continuity.
Non-meaning remains generative: the dark ocean of potential allows novelty, innovation, and reinterpretation, ensuring that collective perception is never entirely rigid or fixed.
Implications for Society and Communication
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Experience is relational and shared: Reality is co-constituted through aligned perception and language.
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Meaning is both stabilising and generative: It provides structure while leaving space for novelty.
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Social formations are patterned fields of actualisation: Norms, knowledge, and culture emerge from phased meaning.
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Communication is active phasing: Every utterance, text, or gesture is a lantern influencing the ocean of potential, shaping both perception and future possibilities.
Looking Ahead
In the final post of the series, we will conclude by reflecting on how relational phasing reframes knowledge, truth, and the symbolic cosmos itself. We will tie together individual perception, collective alignment, and the continuous dance between meaning and non-meaning.
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