The Non-linear Dynamics of Meaning-Processing in Social Systems

Social order cannot be considered as a stable phenomenon because it contains an order of reproduced expectations. When the expectations operate upon one another, they generate a non-linear dynamics that processes meaning. Specific meaning can be stabilized, for example, in social institutions, but all meaning arises from a horizon of possible meanings. Using Luhmann's (1984) social systems theory and Rosen's (1985) theory of anticipatory systems, I submit equations for modeling the processing of meaning in inter-human communication. First, a self-referential system can use a model of itself for the anticipation. Under the condition of functional differentiation, the social system can be expected to entertain a set of models; each model can also contain a model of the other models. Two anticipatory mechanisms are then possible: one transversal between the models, and a longitudinal one providing the modeled systems with meaning from the perspective of hindsight. A system containing two anticipatory mechanisms can become hyper-incursive. Without making decisions, however, a hyper-incursive system would be overloaded with uncertainty. Under this pressure, informed decisions tend to replace the "natural preferences" of agents and an order of cultural expectations can increasingly be shaped

Human-aided dispersal has altered but not erased the phylogeography of the tench

Human-aided dispersal can result in phylogeographic patterns that do not reflect natural historical processes, particularly in species prone to intentional translocations by humans. Here, we use a multiple-gene sequencing approach to assess the effects of human-aided dispersal on phylogeography of the tench Tinca tinca, a widespread Eurasian freshwater fish with a long history in aquaculture. Spatial genetic analysis applied to sequence data from four unlinked loci and 67 geographic localities (38–382 gene copies per locus) defined two groups of populations that were little structured geographically but were significantly differentiated from each other, and it identified locations of major genetic breaks, which were concordant across genes and were driven by distributions of two phylogroups. This pattern most reasonably reflects isolation in two major glacial refugia and subsequent range expansions, with the Eastern and Western phylogroups remaining largely allopatric throughout the tench range. However, this phylogeographic variation was also present in all 17 cultured breeds studied, and some populations at the western edge of the native range contained the Eastern phylogroup. Thus, natural processes have played an important role in structuring tench populations, but human-aided dispersal has also contributed significantly, with the admixed genetic composition of cultured breeds most likely contributing to the introgression