“The symbolic cosmos is not a given but an ongoing creation — a vast, evolving web of meanings that shapes human existence and possibility.”
Building on our exploration of symbolic architectures, we now turn to the idea of the symbolic cosmos — the expansive, layered symbolic universe that frames our reality and opens the space of what can be.
What is the Symbolic Cosmos?
The symbolic cosmos is the totality of symbolic systems, practices, and meanings that collectively constitute the horizon of meaning for a social formation.
It includes mythic narratives, religious cosmologies, scientific paradigms, cultural traditions, language systems, and more.
It is dynamic, continuously reshaped through reflexive processes and symbolic innovations.
It forms the ontological horizon — the space in which meaning, identity, and possibility emerge and evolve.
Cosmos as Phasing Space
From a relational ontology perspective:
The symbolic cosmos is a phase space of symbolic possibilities.
It is structured by symbolic architectures that constrain and enable what can be meaningfully construed.
Social formations navigate this cosmos by phasing alignments, cutting and recombining symbolic topologies to actualise new possibilities.
Layered and Multiscalar
The symbolic cosmos is:
Layered: Different strata of symbolic systems interpenetrate — from local myths to global ideologies.
Multiscalar: It operates across multiple scales — individual, communal, societal, planetary.
Heterogeneous: It contains diverse, sometimes conflicting symbolic regimes, whose interactions produce tension and innovation.
Reflexivity at Cosmic Scale
Reflexive processes operate not only locally but cosmically:
Societies reflect on their place within the cosmos through myth, science, and philosophy.
The symbolic cosmos enables meta-reflexivity — reflection on the conditions of reflection itself.
This meta-reflexivity opens possibilities for symbolic transformation at the highest scales.
Implications for Meaning and Being
Understanding the symbolic cosmos as a constructed, evolving space challenges assumptions of:
Fixed, objective realities independent of meaning.
Singular, universal cosmologies.
Linear progressions of knowledge or culture.
Instead, it invites a view of reality as a plural, open-ended symbolic domain — one continually negotiated through the infrastructures and phase-shifts we have explored.
Conclusion
The symbolic cosmos is the ultimate horizon of relational ontology — the symbolic universe within which all meaning, identity, and possibility are phased and sustained.
Our next post will explore how this cosmos shapes symbolic reflexivity and the collective production of reality.
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