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Symbolism, mythology and correspondences


Having Bought into a Wreck -- What Now? (Part #6)

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Twelvefold pattern? Patterns of categories (as partially noted as a consequence of their multiplicity) are characteristic of the current wreckage. There are thousands of them -- undocumented and unclassified -- with hundreds scattered around my yard. They are the mark of academic endeavour as well as being monuments to it -- if their significance has not already been forgotten.

There is therefore a case for recognizing the extent to which a 12-fold pattern has been widely valued over centuries in many domains for reasons which remain obscure (Checklist of 12-fold Principles, Plans, Symbols and Concepts: web resources, 2011). Especially intriguing have been the mythological invocations of a 12-fold pattern of deities, most notably:

Other archetypal variants -- typically valued beyond any reasonable challenge -- include:

Systemic relations: It should however be stressed that 12-fold patterns are typically only "checklists" and do not venture to indicate the systemic relationships and interactions between the elements of the list. This notably applies to their use in the many 12-fold strategic plans (as noted in that collection of web resources).

Missing is any recognized procedure for confronting such sets in terms of their implied significance. In principle this would both elicit what was common (however subtle) and enable identification of distinctive nuances enriching any overly simplistic interpretation of commonality. The possibility is discussed separately (Representation, Comprehension and Communication of Sets: the role of number, 1978; Patterns of N-foldness: comparison of integrated multi-set concept schemes as forms of presentation, 1980).

In that light, the 12-fold patterns can be understood as "holding patterns" for disparate insights into cultural coherence, as separately discussed (Eliciting a 12-fold Pattern of Generic Operational Insights: recognition of memory constraints on collective strategic comprehension, 2011). The latter notably evoked the challenge of Engaging with the symmetry of "bloodless categories" and Collective comprehension and communication of a 12-fold set.

In an effort to enable comprehension of 12-fold categories otherwise -- through their "geometry" -- the fourfold sets distinguished by Arthur Young are presented separately in spherical animations (Spherical mapping of conditions traditionally associated with the zodiac, 2014).

Process phases and quantum consciousness? Any emphasis on the distinctiveness of the elements in a 12-fold set (for example) may well inhibit recognition of their condition as phases in a pattern of processes. As suggested by the learning process emphasis of Young, this is a complex of cycles in which each "element" functions as a particular nexus.

This recalls the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics in that, to the extent that the element is perceived as distinct, recognition of the process in which it is embedded is inhibited. Conversely, to the extent that the process is recognized, any recognition of the distinctiveness of the processes composing it is inhibited.

The possible implications may be taken further in the light of the challenges to conventional understandings of identity emerging from considerations of quantum reality as articulated by Alexander Wendt (Quantum Mind and Social Science: unifying physical and social ontology, 2015; video; interview). He argues that quantum consciousness theory is speculative, but compared to the alternative its simplicity is hard to beat (p. 292). He concludes with a bold claim: "whatever their current force as explanatory virtues, the coherence, breadth, and simplicity of the quantum hypothesis make it too elegant not to be true". (p. 293).

Wendt argues for a contrasting perspective, variously stressing that humans are effectively walking wave functions, as discussed separately (On being "walking wave functions" in terms of quantum consciousness? 2017). As he notes:

In this book I explore the possibility that this foundational assumption of social science is a mistake, by re-reading social science "through the quantum". More specifically, I argue that human beings and therefore social life exhibit quantum coherence -- in effect, that we are walking wave functions. (p. 16)

Wendt develops this argument from various perspectives in response to existing schools of thought:

Quantum consciousness theory suggests that human beings are literally walking wave functions. Most quantum decision theorists would not go that far, and indeed -- perhaps wary of controversy -- they generally barely mention quantum consciousness, and then only to emphasize that they are making no claims about what is going on deep inside the brain (much less about consciousness), but are only interested in behavior. (p. 164)

With respect to how humans exist over time, beyond any patterned slice in the moment, Wendt argues:

If we are walking wave functions, then even though our experiences at each moment are actualities, at the quantum level of the unconscious, "there are many histories that are there as potentialities". (p. 211)

Correspondences? The connectivity between seemingly disparate cognitive modalities, and its credibility, can be explored through understandings of "correspondences". In a period of fragmentation of knowledge and disciplines, correspondences acquire notable significance where unsubstantiated conjectures within the dominant mindset are given serious consideration, despite being deprecated as "moonshine" and being comprehensible (if at all) to only the very few.

A striking example highlighting the cognitive challenges is offered by an abstruse branch of mathematics which has given rise to so-called moonshine theory. Its exploration would seem to have surreptitiously called upon processes characteristic of a deprecated theory of correspondences (Potential Psychosocial Significance of Monstrous Moonshine: an exceptional form of symmetry as a Rosetta stone for cognitive frameworks, 2007).

As discussed separately, the challenge of comprehending the connectivity of "moonshine" is well-illustrated by use of any web search for "theory of correspondences" (Theories of Correspondences -- and potential equivalences between them in correlative thinking, 2007). Two contrasting sets of references emerge from some 9,400 hits (at that time):

  • "algebraic" theory of correspondences: This is summarized in a standard work (E. Klein and A. C. Thompson, Theory of Correspondences, 1984) but has a long history in relation to group theory (cf Joseph Edmund Wright, Correspondences and the Theory of Groups. Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, 7, 3 1906, pp. 391-400). It is curious that the challenge of algebraic correspondences is associated in category theory with what is termed the theory of motives. A commonly applied technique in mathematics is to study objects carrying a particular structure by introducing a category whose morphisms preserve this structure. When two given objects are isomorphic, a "particularly nice" representative may be selected in each isomorphism class. A current problem in this approach is that of having 'enough' morphisms. An as yet unfulfilled hope is that development of the category of motives would lead to a universal Weil cohomology.

  • "symbolist" theory of correspondences: As indicated by J. E. Cirlot (A Dictionary of Symbols, Dover Publications, 2002), this is founded on the assumption that: "all cosmic phenomena are limited and serial and that they appear as scales or series on separate planes; but this condition is neither chaotic nor neutral, for the components of one series are linked with those of another in their essence and in their ultimate significance. It is possible to marshal correspondences by forcing the components of any given scale or scales into a common numerical pattern: for example, it is not difficult to adapt the colour-scale from seven to eight colours, should one wish to equate it with the scale of temperaments laid down by modern character-study..."

In the surreal real world of today, the two variants are notably distinguished in that the authors of one set would find the content of the other to be quite meaningless, if not dangerously so, as separately argued (Transcending mechano-linearity versus fruit-loopery, 2015; Knowledge Processes Neglected by Science: insights from the crisis of science and belief, 2012). Will such extremes come to be recognized as collective learning phases in their own right?

For science in general, and mathematics in particular, progress in knowledge -- of which the algebraic variant is a generic feature -- has involved the progressive construction of a model for understanding the world that specifically disproved the validity of the premises of previous eras and notably the symbolist theory of correspondences central to those worldviews. Curiously it can be argued that the prevailing algebraic approach to understanding the world (by the few) has failed significantly to offer the coherence and comprehensibility traditionally offered (to the many) by the symbolist approach. Comprehensibility is not a factor in the algebraic modality, whereas it is a central feature of the symbolist modality.

It is in this sense that Young's use of dimensions from the 12-fold astrological pattern is indeed a "cheat" -- except to the extent that it evokes some form of mythological coherence which offers greater experiential engagement with a pattern and -- through metaphor -- with an environment threatened with collapse. To what degree this is illusory may be irrelevant if it seems to "work" -- unlike many other patterns (with which I have sought to fix my "automobile" !). Ironically it can be readily assumed to "work" for many -- at least to some degree -- given the widespread reference to this pattern of symbols, in contrast to others such as the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (for example).

Mining myth? The tales of the relationships between the iconic entities within each mythical pattern (to the extent the tales exist) presumably offer pointers or frames which could enable greater insight between any static pattern of 12-categories. Metaphorical use of "mining", as with data mining, highlights the need for special processing of texts to extract valuable meaning for subsequent refinement.

More intriguing therefore are the cognitive developmental insights which might be offered by the "linear" succession of the mythical 12 Labours of Hercules, (Stephen A. Diamond, Why Myths Still Matter: Hercules and his twelve healing labors, Psychology Today, 25 October 2009; Learn the classics? It's all Greek to me, Financial Times). However questionable -- in terms of credibility (second row of Young's table) -- especially intriguing are efforts to recognize the correspondences between them and those of the "non-linear" astrological pattern. Recognizing any degree of correspondence is of course rendered problematic in the light of probable biases, agendas and worldviews of those who venture to do so, especially given the extreme difficulties of balancing succinctness and minimal ambiguity. Such interpretations of the sequence of "labours" could be usefully challenged by equivalents from the Indian and Chinese Zodiacs. Examples include:

Indication of complementary insights into the sequence of 12 Labour of Hercules

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