Frame Dynamics

FRAME Dynamics

FRAME Dynamics is an idea in philosophy of science and systems science proposed by British author Miles Furnell in his 2022 paper FRAME Dynamics: a theory of general evolution^[1] in the journal Foundations of Science. FRAME Dynamics is predicated on the idea that the physical world comprises not objects but manifestations of systemic selection processes arising from interaction, and that all such selection processes conform to the same, five-component dynamic framework.The theoretical model extends the basic concept of natural selection to all systems and describes a two-tendency universe, where Dynamic Kinetic Stability^[2], arising from the tensions that exist between syntropy and entropy, provides the context for functional synergies from which all matter and material systems emerge, supporting a theory of general, biotic and cognitive evolution.

Furnell observed that each conditioning force or factor influencing a system, whether nuclear, electromagnetic, gravitational, kinetic, thermodynamic, metabolic, genetic, trophic, ecological, physiological, psychological, socio-political or otherwise forms part of a dynamic hierarchy of structural coupling between the system and the conditioning forces acting upon it, with ‘higher level’ strata tending to be less deterministic than lower-level ones, but with each strata conforming to the same transactional selection dynamics that can be broken down into five hierarchical phases.

Furnell proposed the acronym F.R.A.M.E. as an identifier of the five phases, but also as a heuristic device in relation to the scalar and modal frame of reference of the particular interaction or selection process under analysis, enabling the identification and application of theoretical system boundaries that don't physically exist. The five phases represented by the acronym are; Fluctuation – a change to a system’s homeostatic pressures, arising from internal or external interaction; Resonance – the resultant oscillatory action of the system’s spatiotemporal co-operational framework of interacting components; Apotheosis – resultant syntropic / entropic production and culmination of the interaction; Metamorphosis – the post-apotheotic product expression and distribution that gives rise to systemic evolution; and Emergence – the resolution, synthesis and catalysis of subsequent interactions emerging from the process.

Component Phases

Fluctuation

When any system interacts with its environment, disturbances occur to the homeostatic pressure or pressures acting upon or within a system, which result in both a stress (potential), where energy waves, signals, or materials cannot flow freely and are met with resistance, and a stimulus (kinesis), where they are facilitated and can penetrate and thus interact and flow within the system. Systemic continuity requires that the fluctuation's duration (wavelength), regularity (frequency), intensity (amplitude), distribution structure (phasing) and resolution (waveform) remain within a requisite homeostatic range within the system’s flow network. This necessitates systemic stability arising from the requisite balance of resistance to potentially damaging interactions and penetrability or receptivity to potentially beneficial ones as a first principle of general evolution by natural section.

The dynamics of the proportional relationship between pressure, resistance and receptivity are present in all forms of interaction, across all networks and at all scalar and modal frames of reference, such as in the relationship between physical pressure, inertia and motion; electrical charge, electrical insulation and conduction; heat, thermal insulation and heat conduction; moisture, impermeability and permeation; chemical interaction, chemical inertia and chemical reaction; cellular stimulation, quiescence and proliferation^[3]; molecular signals, inhibition and activation; neural stimulation, neural inertia^[4] and neural induction and, in the context of superorganisms, populations and ecosystems, in examples such as viral transmission, immunity and infection; military force, resistance and surrender, or environmental change, resistance and adaptation.

Resonance

When the spatiotemporal operation of system mechanics (displacement) arising from a pressure fluctuation is such that compatibilities generate flow momentum where there is receptivity, balanced with a proportional amount of interference where there is incompatibility, tension occurs. Resonance can be said to be the homeostatic ‘sweet spot’ where interval and frequency of pressure fluctuation and system displacement correspond sufficiently enough to facilitate, contain and maintain a flow pattern for a sustained period. In complex systems, the shorter the fluctuation interval and the longer the delay between fluctuations, the greater the likelihood of contingencies giving rise to structural changes in the co-operational framework that disturb the flow pattern. This is particularly evident in interference theory, which inhibits the retrieval of long term memory. Resonance necessitates that the spatiotemporal relationships between interval and frequency of pressure fluctuation and the resultant displacement and regression of components maintain tension within a homeostatic or resonant range, giving rise to a resilient co-operational framework, based upon oscillatory action and reaction (vibration). Systemic resilience, arising from a requisite tension between flow incompatibility and compatibility, provides a second principle of general evolution by natural selection, and is evident in the orbit of moons, planets, stars and galaxies, where velocity and gravitational effects are balanced (resonant); giving rise to the tension that maintains the orbital motion.

Where there is resonance, i.e. requisite tension between continuing or repetitive pressure fluctuations, momentum and constraint within a flow network, positive feedback loops cause flow intensity to amplify, whereas negative feedback loops cause it to diminish, naturally establishing the maximal and minimal frequencies of pressure fluctuation and system displacement allowable for the flow to sustain the co-operational framework and for the co-operational framework to sustain the flow. This is evidenced in the way that the mating habits and mortality regulate predator and prey populations, as described by Lotka-Volterra equations.

Apotheosis

Resilient systems, irrespective of whether they are naturally forming or human made, are those that maintain homeostasis even in the context of erratic flow intervals, frequencies, amplitudes, distribution phases and cycles. This necessitates a tolerant disposition, or fitness as it is more commonly referred to in relation to biotic systems. During interaction, fundamental forces, physical, chemical, biological, ecological, psychological or sociological pressures give rise to syntropic and entropic production processes, during which inflows of energy, information, materials and other resources are transformed into usable and unusable resources. That which is compatible and usable is incorporated into the system in some way (syntropy) and that which is incompatible or unusable tends to be isolated and dispersed into the environment (entropy). Over the course of its life cycle, the syntropic / entropic ‘bank account’ of any system cycle must always balance with the energy inflow and outflow, as per Tellegen’s theorem.^[5]

Beyond the requisite proportional triadic balances described, tolerance also necessitates a proportional triadic balance between flow intensity (amplitude), system plasticity and system rigidity, a state that enables energy, information, substances or resources to be processed and / or stored in the most appropriate manner possible when necessary and/or available. The constraint of flows tends towards the compression or contraction of interstitial channels to their most efficient bandwidth (centripetality), and, as a consequence, the attenuation of non-essential excesses. Conversely, where there is flow momentum and channel compatibility, plasticity aids the expansion of channels, facilitating the amplification of flows (centrifugality).

Regardless of whether it is a regenerative flow cycle or a single life cycle, all syntropic and entropic production processes relating to a particular flow must eventually reach an apotheosis or climax, the point at which flow cycle’s intensity peaks due to system or flow limitation factors, which is followed by a regression, reduction or cessation of the flow. At the point of apotheosis, syntropic and entropic production flows are expressed and distributed within the system or discharged as outflow. Logically, where entropy is greater than syntropy, flows necessarily degenerate and the system decays, but where syntropy is greater than entropy, the system tends towards accumulation and continued growth. Where production is dependent upon finite resources, insufficient outflow can lead to the cessation of natural cycles and the eventual exhaustion of supply; the eutrophication of what is now known as the Gulf Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico being one such example^[6]. In general evolutionary terms, the third principle of general evolution by natural selection is systemic tolerance, arising from a requisite balance between the plasticity to maximise compatible, beneficial flows, and the rigidity to conserve resources and minimise harmful or incompatible flows.

Metamorphosis

Subsequent to the production process, syntropic production flows are expressed within the system while entropic flows are discharged. While systemic efficiency promotes the concentration and modulation of production flows, leading to denser, more unified flows and systemic homogeneity, plasticity promotes diffusion and more varied distribution, fostering heterogeneity. This might lead one to conclude that plasticity is necessarily more wasteful, but where the diffusion of flows gives rise to the initiation of autocatalytic subsystem processes (degeneracy) or influences environmental conditions for external systems, these entropic flows can be further broken down and utilised, as we observe in digestive processes that gradually reduce food materials, subsystem by subsystem, all the way down to compatible and incompatible water-soluble molecules that are then either integrated into or eliminated from the system accordingly. This suggests that successful systems are not necessarily the most efficient and unified, but rather those that benefit from a cohesive distribution network, balancing complexity with unity, exploiting available resources in a variety of ways and at different levels to maximise syntropic production that, in ecosystems, promotes biodiversity and mutualism. Successful biotic system tend to be those that benefit from a proportional balance of phased flow distribution, system complexity and system unity, providing the context for the hierarchical, symmetrical and branching flow networks and circulatory systems we observe in nature. Indeed, symmetry and even distribution are generally associated with system health and are believed to be key influencers of the perception of attractiveness in mate selection.^[7] But while symmetry is a symptom of health, it is asymmetry that drives emergence and evolution in the form of variation, mutation, degeneracy and contingency.^[5] These dynamics give rise to a fourth principle of general evolution by natural selection, which is systemic cohesion, produced by a requisite balance of adaptability and consistency.

Emergence

Successful systems or flow networks are those whose constitutional stability, operational framework, syntropic and entropic production process and network structure remain intact despite changes to the environment. But this is only possible where flows remain within a requisite homeostatic range, contingent upon the proportional balance of the flow’s interval, frequency, amplitude and phasing in relation to the network’s stability, resilience, fitness and cohesion, all of which are net products of the trade off between resistance to some fluctuations and receptivity to others; between the incompatibility that causes flow interference and compatibility enabling flow momentum; between efficiency for optimisation and plasticity for adaptation; and between unity for consistency and adaptability for diverse or complex functionality. A requisite proportional balance of these ultimately gives rise to the emergence of a self-regulating, regenerative system. Dynamic kinetic stability, the sustainability of the relationship between the overall flow cycle, syntropic integration and entropic disintegration, is contingent upon a requisite proportional balance between system integrity and dynamicity, which constitutes the fifth principle of general evolution by natural selection. Systemic growth occurs where there is more integration of material and retention of flows than there is disintegration, and this is the general tendency of systems until they reach the apotheosis of their life cycle, which is followed by metamorphosis (degeneracy) and emergence (catalysis), but where systemic changes disrupt natural processes of distribution and disintegration, systemic growth continues, often amplifying the effects of phenomena such as eutrophication, disease or exhaustion of supply.

The need to obtain resources necessary for survival and reproduction means that biotic systems are goal-driven in their behaviour, enforcing interaction and, thus, initiating the FRAME dynamics that underpin the processes of interaction, co-operation, production, organisation and integration, and these dynamics are fractal in nature, meaning that they apply equally to the functioning of constituent parts of the system as they do to the whole system and its functioning as a constituent part of a higher-level system. The functional synergies we observe at each dynamic phase of interaction not only drive the system’s development towards the next ‘level’ but also reinforce those of ‘lower-level’ phases, with the requisites for a stable constitution necessitating and being reinforced by a resilient co-operational framework, which necessitates and is reinforced by a tolerant disposition, balancing efficiency and plasticity proportionally for optimised production, which necessitates and is reinforced by consistency and complexity in terms of cohesive distribution across the network of system components, which in turn necessitates and is reinforced by the self-regulation of the proportional balance between system integrity and dynamicity, so as to facilitate regeneration.

Development

As a writer specialising in motivational and behavioural learning and development for multinational corporations and UK governmental organisations, Miles Furnell’s research has covered a diverse range of industry sectors and scientific disciplines, across which he observed a common theme among the leading ideas put forward by notable specialists in their respective fields, which was the use of a progressive, five-phase theoretical framework. These included but were not limited to Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychosexual development, Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory,Thomas S Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions, the Five-factor model of personality, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s Five stages of grief, Bruce Tuckman’s 5 stages of group development and Gustav Freytag’s Pyramid of Dramatic Structure Furnell observed that each of these five-phase models described a transformational process, and hypothesised that there may be some underlying principles in nature that connected them. With the guidance of systems science specialist Dr Sally J. Goerner and renowned theoretical ecologist Prof. Robert E. Ulanowicz, Furnell formulated FRAME Dynamics, based on the hypothesis that all transformational selection processes conform to the same fundamental selection process dynamics.

In concluding FRAME Dynamics: a theory of general evolution, Furnell introduced the concept of Narrative FRAME Dynamics, which extends FRAME Dynamics into the evolution of cognitive systems and provides the framework for the conceptual models of the self and the environment that provide living organisms with the agency to respond appropriately to changes to the environment or to the organism’s own state by detecting signals of fluctuations, interpreting signal sequences from resonance, discriminating sets of signal sequences from apotheoses, organising schemes of sets from metamorphoses, and instantiating systems from emergent effects of processes arising from interactions. Furnell proposed that these principles provide the evolutionary pathway for the development of senses to detect signals, sensitivity to interpret sequences, sensations to discriminate sets, sentiments to organise schemes and sensibilities to instantiate systems.

Applications

FRAME Dynamics facilitates systems thinking and enables systems architects and systems ecologists to better understand and apply the equivalence principle to systemic processes. This may be beneficial to the creation and management of sustainable and regenerative societal and ecological systems.

Associated fields

Theoretical fields

Chaos and dynamical systems

Main articles: Chaos theory and Dynamical systems theory

Complexity

Main article: Complex system

Control theory

Main article: Control theory

Affect control theory
Control engineering
Control systems

Cybernetics

Main article: Cybernetics

Autopoiesis
Conversation theory
Engineering cybernetics
Perceptual control theory
Management cybernetics
Second-order cybernetics

Systemic design

Main article: Systemic design

Systems dynamics

Main article: Systems dynamics

Systems engineering

Main articles: Systems engineering and Systems design

Aerospace systems
Biological systems engineering
Earth systems engineering and management
Electronic systems
Enterprise systems engineering
Software systems
Systems analysis

Theoretical ecology

Main article: Theoretical ecology

Applications in other disciplines

Earth system science

Main article: Earth system science

Climate systems
Systems geology

Systems biology

Main article: Systems biology

Computational systems biology
Synthetic biology
Systems immunology
Systems neuroscience

Systems chemistry

Main article: Systems chemistry

Systems ecology

Main article: Systems ecology

Ecosystem ecology
Agroecology

Systems psychology

Main article: Systems psychology

Frame Dynamics

Contents

FRAME Dynamics

Component Phases

Fluctuation

Resonance

Apotheosis

Metamorphosis

Emergence

Development

Applications

Associated fields

Theoretical fields

Chaos and dynamical systems

Complexity

Cybernetics

Information theory

General systems theory

Hierarchy Theory

Practical fields

Critical systems thinking

Operations research and management science

Soft systems methodology

Systems analysis