THE STUDY OF HUMANITY VIA EMERGENT PHENOMENA
EMERGENT ANTHROPOLOGY
Emergent anthropology is the study of humanity as a complex system, acknowledging that the physical universe, individual perspectives, and social norms influence each other simultaneously in an emergent causal web.
PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
The physical universe is constantly shifting, offering diverse climates and an endless slew of natural disasters between them all.
Changes in the physical universe can have drastic outcomes on human behavior, and given we're all technically part of the physical universe, its worth acknowledging the physical determinism behind much of what humanity experiences.
INDIVIDUALS
PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
Individually, we're locally conscious chunks of the universe, interacting with it and each other to produce the human experience.
As individuals, we can change the universe, change ourselves change our relationships, influence society, or do nothing at all.
While we don't have completely free will, we do have freedom and are still responsible for our choices.
RELATIONSHIPS
PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
LEVELS OF SOCIETY
Each relationship has its own abstract, emergent existence. A relationship between two people can reveal traits not present in either individually.
With smaller groups, adding or removing a single person can have drastic impacts on the overall interactions that take place within a group.
Because of this, we only see people as they are presenting themselves to us, not as they may generally be.
LEVELS OF SOCIETY
PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
LEVELS OF SOCIETY
Beyond small groups, there are various societal tiers with varying levels of impact depending on how personally involved someone is.
Neighborhoods, towns, states, countries, and humanity as a whole make up the basic civic structure hierarchy, all having influence over complex society.
Beyond that, there are identitive groups, such as engineers or Swifties.
COMPLEX SOCIAL MODELS
UNDERSTANDING HUMANITY AS A COMPLEX SYSTEM
A complex social model (CSM) is a holistic approximation of the interconnected causal relationships that exist in a social environment.
A CSM can be established for groups of all sizes; from just a couple of people all the way through to the entirety of humanity.
This explanation of human social behavior is a natural extension of the emergent causal framework (ECF) and emergent awareness theory (EAT), but has independent explanatory power.
THE SOCIAL SOUP
The first thing to note when considering CSMs is the permeability of all the different layers of interactions within many complex systems. Individual classification and reduction allows for some more detailed understandings, but in a complex system, everything is interacting with everything in a causal web.
This causal web serves as a sort of soup that breaks down the firm system barriers and behaviors of individual entities. Just because something appears to operate one way 100% of the time in isolation, doesn't mean that we can expect the same thing from the lawlessness of chaotic interactions within complex systems.
Complex social models (CSMs) should be iterative and actively tuned with this understanding in mind, reviewing each behavior and interaction to determine if it is simple behavior compounding, or if truly new interactions are occurring.
THE COMPONENTS OF COMPLEX SOCIETY
At its core, human society is an emergent system composed of an incalculable number of interacting entities—including individual people, relationships between people. collective institutions, and even non-human elements such as technology, cultural artifacts, and information systems.
Individual People – The base units of the system, each with constrained will and emergent agency.
Interpersonal Relationships – Structured interactions between people, forming relational systems with independent influence.
Social Groups and Institutions – Persistent, organized structures that shape behavior beyond the level of individual relationships (e.g., families, communities, governments, corporations).
Cultural and Ideological Systems – Shared narratives, traditions, moral frameworks, and symbolic structures that shape collective identity and behavior.
Technological and Infrastructural Systems – Non-human entities that shape human behavior through tools, communication networks, economies, and environmental modifications.
The Physical Universe - The ever-present, deterministic backdrop that amplifies some human activity and dampens others as we interact with the delicate balance sustaining life, all while tossing in some chaotic natural disasters
These layers form a recursive feedback loop, where:
- Agents shape their relationships, which in turn…
- Form larger social structures, which then…
- Influence agents and relationships, reinforcing or reshaping behavior over time.
EXISTENCE BEYOND SINGLE COMPONENTS
One of the most critical insights of CSMs is that social groups are not just an aggregate of individuals but self-sustaining systems with emergent properties that transcend any single participant.
~ Social norms and institutions persist beyond individual lifespans.
~ Collective behaviors emerge that no individual explicitly intends.
~ Structural inertia constrains the agency of individuals.
~ Information flows and media ecosystems shape emergent narratives.
A key takeaway from EBS is that no single individual “controls” society, but all contribute to its emergent shape. Understanding society as a complex, self-sustaining system reveals both its constraints and its potential for transformation.
DEFINITIONS
complex social model (CSM) - a holistic approximation of the interconnected causal relationships that exist in a social environment
emergent causal framework (ECF) - a universal description of causality that can be applied at any scale, physical or metaphysical
emergent awareness theory (EAT) - an extension of the ECF that describes the progression of awareness to agency and the nature of constrained will
complex systems - a collection of components whose interactions produce new behaviors that are unpredictable based on component behavior in isolation
causal web - the interdependent causal relationships within a complex system considered holistically; generally incalculable but is the theoretical ideal for a CSM