Semeiology (Signal Behavior)

Definition

Semeiology (Signal Behavior) is the foundational science that studies signs, signals, and meaning transmission: how meaning is encoded, sent, interpreted, and acted upon.
It underpins the “P” (Power Alignment) variable in Meaning System Science and explains how signals move through a system, how they distort, and how they influence structural behavior.

Semeiology provides the scientific basis for understanding how information becomes action.

Intellectual Lineage

Semeiology (or semiotics) has one of the richest intellectual histories in the human sciences. Meaning System Science draws from:

• Ferdinand de Saussure — founder of modern semiotics; signifier/signified

• Charles Sanders Peirce — triadic sign theory; icons, indexes, symbols

• Roland Barthes — mythologies, cultural symbolism

• Umberto Eco — fields of meaning, communicative codes

• Jacques Derrida — différance and meaning instability

• Roman Jakobson — communication model (sender → message → receiver)

• Erving Goffman — frame analysis

• Niklas Luhmann — communication systems theory

• Claude Shannon — information theory (signal/noise ratio)

Meaning System Science synthesizes these traditions but frames signals not only as communicative units, but as structural forces within meaning-systems.

Signal Behavior in Meaning System Science

Signal Behavior determines how meaning:

• moves

• stabilizes

• distorts

• cascades

• amplifies

• collapses

Every system signal (verbal, written, structural, behavioral) affects:

• alignment

• power dynamics

• coherence

• drift trajectory

• interpretive load

This is why Signal Behavior helps form the basis for Power Alignment (P) in the Legitimacy Equation.

Signals vs. Truth in MSS

It is essential to distinguish:

Truth Fidelity (Semantics)

Whether information matches reality.

Signal Behavior (Semeiology)

Whether information is carried, interpreted, and acted on correctly.

Signals can fail even when truth is strong.

Conversely, signals can create the illusion of truth.

Meaning System Science treats these as two different scientific forces.

Role in the Legitimacy Equation (P)

Semeiology provides the conceptual basis for:

P = Power Alignment
in
L = (T × P × C) ÷ D

Signal behavior determines:

• whether truth reaches power

• whether power responds proportionately

• whether signals reflect real conditions

• whether decisions reinforce or disrupt coherence

Poor signal behavior produces signal drift, which increases structural drift overall.

Signal Behavior as a Structural Force

In MSS, Signal Behavior is not merely linguistic, it is structural, meaning:

• every action is a signal

• every non-action is a signal

• every decision is a signal

• every silence is a signal

• every structural choice is a signal

Signals either:

• reinforce meaning
  or

• degrade it

This structural framing extends classical semiotics into complex-system behavior.

Relationship to Other Foundational Sciences

Semantics (Truth Fidelity)

Truth must be carried by signals to become meaningful.
Truth without signal = invisibility.

Systems Theory (Structural Coherence)

Signals must pass through an architecture; weak structure → signal distortion.

Thermodynamics of Meaning (Drift & Entropy)

Signal overload increases drift more than any other factor.

Affective Science (Regulation)

Emotional states amplify or distort signals.

Semeiology in Organizational Life

Signal Behavior explains why:

• leaders create drift unintentionally

• mixed messages destroy coherence

• decisions trigger emotional chain reactions

• culture forms through a thousand micro-signals

• crises accelerate drift through signal overload

• teams interpret silence as meaning

• AI environments amplify signal noise

Organizations with weak signal behavior experience:

• drift

• misalignment

• confusion

• emotional volatility

• power distortion

• trust erosion

Organizations with strong signal behavior experience:

• alignment

• clarity

• stable meaning

• coherent execution

• proportional decisions

Applications in Transformation Science & Management

Semeiology (Signal Behavior) is used to:

• evaluate leadership signals

• diagnose contradictory communication

• understand “power-signals” that contradict truth

• read the implicit meaning of decisions

• analyze cultural messaging

• detect meaning breakdowns early

• calibrate signal load in AI-accelerated environment.