The preceding analyses have introduced a series of distinctions: co-instantiation in song, reconstitution in notation, second-order coupling in theory, and dominant coupling in religion and related domains. These are not isolated cases. They are instances of a more general phenomenon:
the relation between value systems and semiotic systems is itself variable, structured, and typable.
The aim of this chapter is to bring these configurations into systematic relation—not to collapse them into a single framework, but to differentiate them precisely.
1. From Systems to Relations
The initial distinction between value and meaning remains foundational. Music, ritual coordination, and embodied synchrony operate as value systems; language, notation, and theory operate as semiotic systems.
But this distinction, on its own, is insufficient. It tells us what kinds of systems we are dealing with, but not how they relate.
The present typology shifts the focus:
from identifying systems
to mapping the relations between them
This requires a vocabulary capable of distinguishing not just presence, but mode of coupling.
2. Four Primary Types
On the basis of the preceding chapters, four primary types of coupling can be identified. These are not exhaustive, but they establish a workable field of contrast.
(i) Co-Instantiation (Anchored Coupling)
Configuration: value and meaning are actualised together in a shared event
Relation: reciprocal, non-hierarchical
Unit: coupled instance (e.g. song performance)
Constraint: mutual, without reduction
Here, systems remain distinct but are temporally anchored to the same unfolding coordination. Neither system claims ontological priority.
(ii) Reconstitution (Transpositional Coupling)
Configuration: value is construed as a semiotic system of potential instances
Relation: perspectival shift from event to system
Unit: structured potential (e.g. score)
Constraint: selective, enabling and limiting
Here, meaning does not accompany value, but reorganises it under a new regime. The result is not a hybrid, but a reconfigured system.
(iii) Second-Order Coupling (Meta-Semiotic Coupling)
Configuration: meaning operates on semiotic construals derived from value
Relation: abstraction over abstraction
Unit: meta-system (e.g. theoretical framework)
Constraint: internal to semiotic systems
Here, value is no longer directly in play. The coupling occurs between layers of meaning, producing generalisations and explanatory structures.
(iv) Dominant Coupling (Asymmetrical Coupling)
Configuration: semiotic systems organise and regulate value systems
Relation: hierarchical, normative
Unit: regulated practice (e.g. ritual under doctrine)
Constraint: imposed, legitimising
Here, meaning asserts authority over value, prescribing and evaluating its instantiation.
3. Axes of Variation
These types can be further clarified by identifying key axes along which coupling varies.
(a) Temporal Relation
Co-temporal (co-instantiation)
Displaced (reconstitution)
Abstracted (second-order)
Regulated (dominant)
(b) Direction of Constraint
Mutual (co-instantiation)
Selective (reconstitution)
Internal to meaning (second-order)
Asymmetrical (dominant)
(c) Ontological Status of Systems
Distinct and co-present (co-instantiation)
Reconfigured (reconstitution)
Layered abstraction (second-order)
Hierarchically ordered (dominant)
(d) Unit of Instance
Coupled event
Structured potential
Meta-system
Regulated coordination
These axes do not reduce the types to a single dimension. Rather, they provide a way of mapping differences without collapsing them.
4. Gradients and Hybrids
No empirical domain instantiates a type in pure form. Song may exhibit moments of dominance (e.g. strongly text-driven forms), while religious practice may include elements of co-instantiation (e.g. music and chant operating without explicit doctrinal framing).
The typology must therefore accommodate:
gradients, where one mode predominates but others are present
hybrid configurations, where multiple couplings intersect
This does not undermine the distinctions. It makes them analytically necessary. Without them, variation cannot be described.
5. Against Reduction
The primary function of the typology is negative: to resist reduction.
It allows us to avoid:
treating all couplings as multimodal meaning
collapsing value into semiotic terms
projecting theoretical abstractions onto lived coordination
By maintaining distinct types, we preserve the specificity of each relation.
6. Reversibility and Perspective
An important feature of coupling is its perspectival reversibility.
From the perspective of value:
co-instantiation appears as coordinated variation under constraint
reconstitution appears as external structuring
dominance appears as imposed regulation
From the perspective of meaning:
co-instantiation appears as multimodal expression
reconstitution appears as representation
second-order coupling appears as analysis
dominance appears as interpretation and prescription
Neither perspective is neutral. Each construes the relation differently.
The typology does not eliminate this variability; it makes it explicit.
7. The Status of Meaning
Across these types, one principle holds:
meaning is not the default condition of organised systems.
It emerges, operates, and extends under specific forms of coupling. In some cases, it accompanies value; in others, it reorganises it; in still others, it regulates it.
This variability challenges any account that treats meaning as foundational.
8. Toward a General Framework
The typology developed here is provisional. It is intended not as a closed system, but as a framework for further analysis.
Future work may:
identify additional types of coupling
refine the distinctions between existing types
explore domains not yet considered
What matters is not the finality of the classification, but the recognition that relations themselves are structured and analysable.
9. Repositioning Music
Within this framework, music occupies a clarified position.
As value, it operates independently of meaning
In song, it participates in co-instantiation
In notation, it is reconstituted under semiotic construal
In theory, it is indirectly engaged through second-order coupling
Music is thus not a special case, but a central instance through which the variability of coupling can be observed.
10. The Work of Distinction
The typology does not resolve the relation between value and meaning. It articulates its forms.
By distinguishing:
co-instantiation
reconstitution
second-order coupling
dominance
it becomes possible to analyse domains without collapsing their internal relations.
This is the work of distinction: not to divide arbitrarily, but to make visible the structure of relation.
The analysis now turns to its final task: to draw out the broader implications of this framework for how meaning itself is to be understood.
If meaning is not primary, but emerges through specific couplings with value, then its status must be reconsidered—not as a universal condition, but as a situated and variable regime.
It is to this reconsideration that the concluding chapter is addressed.
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