If genotypes are theories and phenotypes are individuated instances, then evolution is not just the selection of traits. It is the historical transformation of the structured potential itself — the reshaping of what is possible, not only what is realised.
In other words, evolution acts on the architecture of individuation, not merely on outcomes. This perspective reframes adaptation, innovation, and major transitions in the living world.
From Instances to Potential
Every phenotypic actualisation — every individuated organism — feeds back into the structure of possibilities for its population. A population is not just a collection of instances; it is a field of structured potential, continuously reshaped by differential survival, reproduction, and constraint reconfiguration.
Key points:
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Actualisations reveal which trajectories are viable under current conditions.
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Selection stabilises certain potential trajectories while discarding others.
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New mutations or developmental innovations expand or shift the architecture of potential.
Evolution is thus a meta-process: it does not merely prune phenotypes; it transforms the theory that generates them.
Major Transitions as Reconfigurations of Individuation
Sometimes, evolution produces more than novel traits — it reorganises the unit of individuation itself:
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Single cells → multicellular organisms: the individual shifts from a single cell to a coordinated cellular collective.
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Organisms → eusocial colonies: selection operates at the level of the colony, reshaping constraints and potentials.
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Neural complexity → symbolic cognition: the potential for construal emerges, foreshadowing semiotic systems.
These major transitions illustrate that the architecture of potential can change qualitatively, producing new modes of individuation. Evolution is not linear; it is stratified, punctuated, and relationally deep.
Population-Level Dynamics and Collective Potential
At the population scale, actualisations interact:
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Competition and cooperation shape which trajectories are accessible.
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Ecological feedbacks redefine constraints on individuation.
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Collective behaviour may stabilise or destabilise subsets of potential.
Thus, the field of structured potential is co-constructed by both individual and population-level dynamics, with evolution as the historical process of reshaping that field.
Implications for Understanding Evolution
Viewing evolution as transformation of structured potential:
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Moves beyond trait-centric thinking.
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Emphasises relational individuation across levels.
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Explains why populations can explore and stabilise multiple viable pathways.
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Prepares us for the eventual emergence of semiotic systems, where structured potential is reflexively accessible.
In this sense, evolution is a history of possibilities, not merely a history of outcomes.
Transition to Post 4
In the next post, we will explore collective potential in more detail. How do populations embody a field of possibilities that shapes future individuation? This will also set the stage for understanding how semiotic systems emerge as a further deepening of structured potential.
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