We now have, in principle, the possibility of construal.
A system may:
- differentiate roles,
- constrain their substitution,
- bind them to what they construe,
- and stabilise these bindings across time.
This is sufficient for:
- individual instances of meaning.
It is not sufficient for:
- meaning as a system.
1. The limitation of isolated binding
An isolated binding establishes:
- that something can function as the construal of something else.
But in isolation, this achieves very little.
Each binding:
- stands alone,
- operates locally,
- and lacks relation to other construals.
Such a system would be:
- fragmented,
- discontinuous,
- and incapable of extended organisation.
2. The problem of independence
If bindings remain independent:
- there is no constraint on how they relate,
- no structure linking one construal to another,
- no coherence across meanings.
The system may:
- produce construals,
- but cannot organise them.
This is not yet a semiotic system.
3. The necessity of interrelation
For meaning to exist as such:
construals must be related to one another within a structured organisation.
This requires:
- that bindings do not stand alone,
- but participate in a network of relations,
- where each construal is positioned relative to others.
Meaning is not:
- a collection of independent pairings,
but:
a system of differences among construals.
4. From binding to system
We can now name the shift.
The system must move from:
- isolated role–reference bindings,
to:
a structured network in which these bindings are coordinated and differentiated.
In such a network:
- the identity of a construal depends not only on what it construes,
- but on how it relates to other construals.
5. The emergence of contrast
A critical feature appears at this point:
contrast.
Construals are not merely:
- linked to what they construe,
but are:
- distinguished from one another within the system.
This allows:
- differentiation of meaning,
- organisation of alternatives,
- and structured variation.
Without contrast:
- construal collapses into undifferentiated binding.
6. The role of opposition and similarity
Within this system:
- some construals are opposed,
- others are related by similarity,
- others are organised hierarchically or compositionally.
These relations:
- structure the system,
- constrain how meanings interact,
- and enable the extension of construal beyond isolated instances.
Meaning becomes:
relational in a new sense—not just between role and referent, but among construals themselves.
7. System as condition of meaning
We can now state the requirement directly:
there is no meaning outside a system of construals.
An isolated binding:
- may instantiate construal,
- but does not constitute a semiotic system.
Meaning, as such, requires:
- organisation across construals,
- structured relations among them,
- and coherence at the level of the system.
8. Integration across the system
This system must also be:
- integrated into the ongoing activity of the organism.
That is:
- construals must participate in trajectories,
- influence and be influenced by system dynamics,
- and be maintained across operation.
Meaning is not:
- a static structure,
but:
a dynamically sustained system of relations.
9. Still not complete
Even with a system of construals, something remains unresolved.
Because:
- a system may exist,
- construals may be related,
- contrasts may be organised,
and yet:
the system may lack the capacity to extend itself.
That is:
- it may be closed,
- fixed in its organisation,
- unable to generate new construals.
10. The next requirement
We must now ask:
how does a semiotic system expand, adapt, and generate new meanings?
This introduces:
- the problem of productivity,
- the capacity for recombination,
- and the organisation of meaning beyond fixed sets.
11. The position advanced
We can now extend the sequence:
- Selection does not yield construal.
- Relation does not yield construal.
- Substitution without constraint does not yield construal.
- Constraint without reference does not yield construal.
- Reference without stabilisation does not yield construal.
- Stabilisation without system does not yield meaning.
Because meaning requires:
a structured system of interrelated construals, organised through contrast and coordination.
12. What follows
The next step will move beyond system as structure to:
system as generative capacity.
We will examine:
- how construals can be combined,
- how new meanings are formed,
- and how semiotic organisation extends beyond what is already given.
Only then will the full scope of meaning begin to appear.
And with it, the conditions for language.
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