We have arrived at a necessary condition.
For construal to exist:
- elements must be able to function as something other than themselves,
- roles must be detachable from the elements that realise them,
- substitution must be possible.
This is a decisive departure from value.
But it is not yet sufficient.
Because once substitution is introduced, a new problem emerges immediately:
what prevents collapse into arbitrariness?
1. The instability of substitution
If an element can:
- function as itself, and
- function as something else,
then:
- nothing, in principle, restricts what it may function as.
Without further organisation:
- any element could substitute for any other,
- roles could shift without constraint,
- and the system would lose all structure.
Substitution, without constraint, destroys itself.
2. The failure of free reassignment
It might be suggested that:
- patterns of usage could stabilise roles,
- repeated associations could constrain substitution.
But this returns us to:
- correlation,
- recurrence,
- and ultimately, selection.
And as established:
selection cannot determine construal.
Because it remains tied to:
- consequence,
- not role.
3. The need for constraint at the level of role
The requirement must therefore be sharper.
Not:
- constraint on elements,
- nor constraint on their consequences,
but:
constraint on the roles themselves.
That is:
- not every substitution is permissible,
- not every element can occupy every role,
- and these restrictions must be systematically organised.
4. The emergence of role systems
We can now state the next condition.
A system capable of construal must be organised such that:
- roles are not freely assignable,
- but are structured within a system of permissible substitutions.
This means:
- roles are defined not in isolation,
- but in relation to other roles,
- within a constrained network.
Substitution becomes:
- possible,
- but not arbitrary.
5. From substitution to rule
This introduces a new form of organisation.
Substitution is no longer:
- a free reassignment of elements,
but:
governed by constraints that determine what can function as what.
These constraints are not:
- imposed externally,
- nor derived from physical properties,
but are:
internal to the system’s organisation.
We may call them, provisionally:
rules of role assignment.
6. Why rules are not patterns
It is important to distinguish these constraints from mere regularities.
- A pattern describes what tends to occur.
- A rule constrains what can occur.
A system may exhibit:
- stable patterns of substitution,
without possessing:
- constraints that define permissible roles.
Only the latter can support construal.
7. The necessity of systemic constraint
We can now sharpen the requirement.
For construal to exist:
the system must be organised such that roles are constrained within a structured network that governs substitution.
This network:
- limits possible assignments,
- stabilises functional roles,
- and maintains coherence across operations.
Without it:
- substitution remains unstable,
- and construal cannot persist.
8. The difference from value (again)
This marks a further divergence from value.
In value systems:
- constraint operates on possibilities of continuation.
Here:
- constraint operates on possibilities of role.
This is not:
- a refinement of earlier constraint,
but:
a new domain of organisation.
9. The emerging structure
We now have the beginnings of a semiotic architecture:
- elements that can be substituted,
- roles that are functionally distinct,
- constraints that govern substitution among roles.
But even this is not yet meaning.
Because something further is required.
10. The remaining gap
Even with constrained roles, we have not yet secured:
the relation between role and what is construed.
That is:
- we may have a system of permissible substitutions,
- but not yet a system in which substitution functions as standing-for.
Roles may be:
- well-defined,
- tightly constrained,
and yet:
- remain internal to the system,
- without connecting to anything as something.
11. The next requirement
We must now ask:
how does a role come to function as the construal of something, rather than merely as a position within a system?
This requires:
- not just constraint,
- not just substitution,
but:
a linkage between roles and what they are roles of.
12. The position advanced
We can now extend the argument further:
- Selection does not yield construal.
- Relation does not yield construal.
- Substitution without constraint does not yield construal.
Because construal requires:
a system of constrained roles in which substitution is structured—but also directed beyond itself.
That final direction has not yet been achieved.
But it is now unavoidable.
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