Interpretation

1. Canonical Definition

Interpretation is the system-level process by which signals are mapped to actionable meaning under declared reference conditions, enabling coordinated behavior across agents and time.

Within Meaning System Science, interpretation is treated as a structural system behavior rather than a private impression or a content-specific belief. Interpretive reliability depends on proportional conditions among truth fidelity (T), signal alignment (P), structural coherence (C), drift (D), and affective regulation (A). When these conditions move unevenly, the same signals can produce incompatible meanings across roles, channels, or time.

2. Featured Lineage: Foundational Thinkers

Donald Davidson — “Truth and Meaning” (1967)
Argued that meaning is constrained by truth conditions and interpretive practice; MSS extends this by treating interpretive reliability as a structural property governed by measurable variables rather than as a purely semantic problem.

Karl Weick — Sensemaking in Organizations (1995)
Showed that interpretation is an organizing process that shapes coordinated action; MSS adapts this by formalizing the stabilizing conditions under which sensemaking remains consistent across a system.

3. Plainly

Interpretation is how a system turns signals into usable meaning so people or agents can act together.

When interpretation is stable, different roles produce compatible conclusions from the same conditions.
When interpretation is unstable, meaning becomes locally constructed, correction becomes costly, and drift increases.

4. Scientific Role in Meaning System Science

Interpretation is the phenomenon class MSS explains. MSS defines:

  • the minimal conditions required for interpretation to remain reliable,

  • how proportional imbalance produces interpretive divergence, and

  • how correction capacity shapes the rate at which inconsistencies accumulate.

Interpretation is therefore analyzable as a system behavior across humans, organizations, institutions, cultures, and artificial agents.

5. Relationship to the Variables (T, P, C, D, A)

T — Truth Fidelity: Interpretation requires stable reference conditions. Weak fidelity produces incompatible baselines.
P — Signal Alignment: Interpretation depends on signals that reinforce verified conditions and converge across channels.
C — Structural Coherence: Interpretation depends on pathways that distribute meaning consistently across roles and time.
D — Drift: Rising drift rate increases interpretive variance by accumulating unresolved inconsistencies.
A — Affective Regulation: Regulatory bandwidth determines whether contradictions are metabolized early or propagate into drift.

6. Relationship to the First Law of Moral Proportion

L = (T × P × C) ÷ D

The First Law describes the proportional stability condition for interpretation at scale.
When T, P, and C remain proportionate to the drift rate, interpretive stability increases and legitimacy (L) remains high.
When drift increases faster than stabilizers can compensate, shared interpretation weakens even when intent remains aligned.

7. Application in Transformation Science

Transformation Science analyzes interpretation as a time-based system behavior. It models:

  • how interpretive stability changes as variables shift,

  • where drift pressure accumulates and spreads, and

  • when reorganization becomes necessary because proportional stability cannot be preserved through local adjustments.

8. Application in Transformation Management

Practitioners operationalize interpretive stability by:

  • strengthening truth fidelity through traceability and verification discipline,

  • aligning signals to reference conditions and decision criteria,

  • improving structural coherence through clearer pathways and correction routes, and

  • monitoring drift rate and correction capacity to prevent chronic instability.

Interpretation is treated as a governable system condition, not an interpersonal diagnostic.

9. Example Failure Modes

  • Signals map to different meanings across units because reference conditions are inconsistent.

  • Local workarounds substitute for shared pathways, reducing coherence and increasing drift.

  • Contradictions persist without correction, increasing the drift rate and producing interpretive variation.

  • Correction becomes costly or unsafe, producing closure failure and compounding inconsistency.

10. Canonical Cross-References

The General Theory of Interpretation • Meaning-System • Meaning System Science • Physics of Becoming • First Law of Moral Proportion • Proportionism • Legitimacy (L) • Truth Fidelity (T) • Signal Alignment (P) • Structural Coherence (C) • Drift (D) • Affective Regulation (A) • Meaning Topology • Closure Failure • Constraint Failure • Transformation Science • Transformation Management • LDP-1.0