Living Cognitive Society: A ‘digital’ World of Views

Abstract

The current social reality is characterized by all-encompassing change, which disrupts existing social structures at all levels. Yet the approach based on the ontological primacy of stable and often hierarchical structures is still prevalent in theoretical and, most importantly, practical thinking about social systems.We propose a conceptual framework for thinking about a dynamically changing social system: the Living Cognitive Society. Importantly, we show how it follows from a much broader philosophical framework, guided by the theory of individuation, which emphasizes the importance of relationships and interactive processes in the evolution of a system.The framework addresses society as a living cognitive system – an ecology of interacting social subsystems – each of which is also a living cognitive system. We argue that this approach can help us to conceive sustainable social systems that will thrive in the circumstances of accelerating change. The Living Cognitive Society is explained in terms of its fluid structure, dynamics and the mechanisms at work. We then discuss the disruptive effects of Information and Communication Technologies on the mechanisms at work.We conclude by delineating a major topic for future research – distributed social governance – which focuses on processes of coordination rather than on stable structures within global society.