Having traced the emergence of symbolic horizons, we now turn to how these horizons evolve. Semiotic systems are not static—they are dynamic ecologies of relational potential, where new symbolic affordances arise, drift, and occasionally collapse. Understanding this evolution clarifies why semiosis is generative yet non-teleological.
1. Emergence of Symbolic Affordances
A symbolic affordance is a relational opportunity within a semiotic ecology: a potential construal that can be stabilised, transmitted, and aligned across horizons.
Affordances emerge when:
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A relational cut produces a new distinction that is legible to future construals.
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The distinction propagates across symbolic horizons, enabling recursive semiotic events.
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The distinction reshapes local and cross-scale alignments, expanding the semiotic landscape.
Examples include:
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A new morpheme, gesture, or sign in language.
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A novel narrative trope in culture.
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A mythic archetype stabilising across generations.
Each affordance is not arbitrary; it arises from relational ecology but is not determined. Its emergence reflects possibility actualised, not preordained function.
2. Semiotic Drift
Over time, symbolic affordances drift:
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Construals stabilised in one context may shift in meaning across horizons.
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The relational field modulates interpretations, creating gradual transformations in semiotic potential.
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Drift is not random; it is context-sensitive, guided by ecological alignment and horizon dynamics.
Semiotic drift demonstrates the flexibility of symbolic systems, allowing horizons to adapt without requiring teleological guidance or top-down control.
3. Semiotic Innovation
Innovation occurs when:
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A construal activates previously latent potentials, generating new symbolic affordances.
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Cross-horizon interactions produce novel alignments not predictable from prior cuts.
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The system self-extends, recursively increasing semiotic richness.
Innovation is a direct consequence of the openness of relational horizons: a semiotic ecology with many potential alignments can generate novelty purely through internal dynamics.
Innovation demonstrates that meaning is not imposed but emergent.
4. Semiotic Collapse
Not all affordances persist. Some distinctions fail to stabilise:
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Alignments may conflict, creating incoherence.
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Horizons may shrink, reducing relational potential.
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External pressures (ecological, social, cognitive) may render a construal irrelevant.
Collapse is not failure; it is a natural aspect of semiotic evolution:
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It prunes symbolic potentials that cannot sustain coherence.
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It redistributes energy and attention to viable affordances.
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It maintains the flexible, adaptive structure of semiotic ecologies.
5. Semiosis Evolves Without Teleology
Across drift, innovation, and collapse, one principle is clear:
Semiotic evolution is inherently non-teleological.
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There is no end-goal, no optimal symbolic form, no preordained semiotic structure.
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Semiotic potentials are generated, stabilised, and modulated locally within relational fields.
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Recursive patterns emerge naturally, without invoking purpose.
The semiotic cosmos evolves like a living ecology, guided by alignment, coherence, and recursive interaction—not by design or intentionality.
6. Takeaway
Semiotic ecologies are dynamic, open-ended, and generative:
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Affordances introduce new possibilities.
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Drift allows meaning to transform across contexts.
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Innovation extends the horizon of potential.
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Collapse prunes unsustainable pathways.
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No teleology directs the process; evolution is emergent from relational alignment.
In relational terms, this is simply the semiotic field performing its own recursive actualisation—meaning generating more meaning, unconstrained by external purpose.
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