From: jimruttshow8596
Membranes and boundaries are fundamental concepts in understanding how systems, particularly social structures, operate and define themselves [01:35:19]. The philosophical discipline dedicated to their study is called “membranics” [01:36:11]. Membranics focuses not on what is inside a system, but on how a system’s boundary interacts with its outside environment [01:37:42].
Characteristics of Membranes
A membrane defines how a system intelligently and interactively isolates itself from its outside environment [01:36:20]. Unlike a solid wall, a membrane is “semi-permeable” [01:36:51], meaning it allows certain things to pass through while restricting others [01:37:06]. This permeability can be “lawfully semi-permeable,” where specific rules dictate what enters or exits, and at what rate [01:36:54]. The critical aspect of a membrane is that it creates a fundamental difference between an “inside” and an “outside” [01:39:07], which may be characterized by different properties like heat or composition [01:39:01].
For a system to operate in its self-interest, the membrane must allow nutrition to come in and waste to go out [01:39:50]. If a system’s internal elements possess memory, the membrane can learn and be pre-programmed, allowing it to adapt its permeability based on past experiences – accepting beneficial elements and rejecting harmful ones [01:39:31]. This adaptive process is dialectical, constantly modifying the membrane’s permeability based on feedback [01:42:00].
Applications in Social Structures
The principles of membranics are applicable across various systems, from biology (e.g., cell walls) to economics (e.g., national borders and tariffs) [01:37:00]. In social structures, membranes enable communities to form and define their boundaries, allowing for diverse internal rules and values [01:43:00].
For instance, in the context of creating and implementing communities with proper membranics and protocols, a membrane enables a small community (e.g., a Dunbar number-sized clan of 150 people) to establish unique, even “cranky,” rules that would be difficult to implement at a larger scale [01:43:27]. This allows for what is termed “coherent pluralism,” where a small number of agreed-upon principles exist, but the content of internal protocols offers a tremendous degree of freedom for members to live and increase their well-being [01:44:31].
The concept of “tribopoiesis” suggests that human beings, being social creatures, organize themselves collectively within a specific social grouping called a “socion,” which is the origin of purpose and meaning [01:29:49]. This bottom-up organization, facilitated by membranes, allows for the self-organization of collectives [01:29:59].
Membranes and Power
Membranes also relate to power dynamics and the structure of governance. The discussion of the “barred absolute” highlights that certain knowledge or experiences might be inaccessible or inappropriate for individuals unless they are prepared, like restricting child pornography from children [01:22:30]. This concept suggests that societies might use membranes to define who has access to certain information or spaces, potentially leading to forms of control or exploitation if not handled ethically [01:26:31]. However, it also allows for the creation of “experimental laboratories” – contained social environments where radical experiments can occur without leaking out and disrupting the wider society [01:46:57].
In the context of current socioeconomic systems, especially those tending towards a surveillance state, membranes are crucial for decentralization [01:50:02]. The fear of politicians consolidating power and creating models similar to China’s surveillance state necessitates the creation of competing forces and the division of power, emphasizing decentralization [01:49:17]. Technology, particularly open source, can serve as a force for good in this struggle for decentralization [01:50:53].
Evolution and the Future of Membranic Societies
Historically, larger social entities like nations, cities, and empires, which exceed the natural “socion” size, required police forces, law and order, and military protection to maintain cohesion [01:13:30]. These structures suggest that humans are not inherently loyal to anything larger than their “socion” [01:13:53].
However, the advent of the network world provides new “affordances” for social organization [01:48:34]. The ability to build societies based on dynamically defined membranes, where the “code inside the membrane defines the membrane,” allows for continuous adaptation and evolution [01:41:26]. This offers a path to creating a more complex and adaptive social system, potentially leading to a new “emergent vector for society” [01:48:50]. Such systems, even at global scales, could be designed to disenfranchise the emergence of powerful individuals or “boy pharaohs” by fostering decentralized and adaptive social operating systems [01:53:50].