A systematic reconstruction of Robert Campbell's Systems 1-5 framework from "Fisherman's Guide: A Systems Approach to Creativity and Organization" (1985), with modern visualizations, mathematical formulations, and interactive animations.
This repository preserves and extends the work of Robert Campbell (1936-2021), who developed a comprehensive systems theory that bridges subjective experience and objective organization. The framework describes how consciousness and creativity emerge through a staged development process from unity (System 1) to complex creative processes (System 4 and beyond).
| System | Nodes | Terms (A000081) | Clusters (A000055) | Key Concept | Geometric Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | The Void - primordial potential | Point |
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Universal wholeness, unity with sky | Circle |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Perceptive wholeness, subjective/objective | Line/Dyad |
| 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | Four Relations: Discretion, Means, Goal, Consequence | Triangle |
| 4 | 5 | 9 | 3 | Primary creative process, enneagram | Enneagram |
| 5 | 6 | 20 | 6 | Pentachoron with [[D-T]-[P-O]-[S-M]] pattern | Tetrahedron |
cosysoc/
├── README.md # This file
├── docs/ # Documentation and theory
│ ├── SYSTEMS_DIAGRAMS_CATALOG.md
│ ├── system1.md # System 1: Universal Wholeness
│ ├── system2.md # System 2: Perceptive Wholeness
│ ├── system3.md # System 3: Four Relations
│ ├── system4.md # System 4: Creative Process
│ └── system5.md # System 5: Tetrahedral Integration
├── diagrams/ # Visual representations
│ ├── originals/ # Scanned diagrams from source
│ └── enhanced/ # Digitized and enhanced versions
├── src/ # Source code
│ ├── models/ # Mathematical models
│ ├── animations/ # Animation generators
│ └── visualizations/ # Interactive visualizations
└── animations/ # Generated animation files
The ground state representing the relationship of all things to indeterminate sky. Everything manifests as a whole within universal wholeness through an unbounded active interface between an absolute center and an absolute periphery.
Two centers define two modes (subjective and objective) related together as a "term" called perceptive wholeness. This introduces the fundamental duality that underlies all subsequent systems.
Four possible ways that three centers can relate to one another:
- Discretion (Relation 1): Timelike succession - Idea → Routine → Formation
- Means (Relation 2): Regenerative mode with countercurrent identities
- Goal (Relation 3): Complete reconciliation of center and periphery
- Consequence (Relation 4): Three mutually independent yet related centers
Nine terms generated from five sets of four energy interfaces, represented by the enneagram. The transformation pattern follows:
- Particular sets take alternate steps to see themselves in the mirror
- Universal sets take double steps to flip themselves round with the mirror
A tetradic system of 4 tensor bundles, each containing a triadic system of 3 dyadic edges. The [[D-T]-[P-O]-[S-M]] pattern represents 18 services organized into triads.
The systems are rigorously grounded in combinatorial mathematics:
- Term Counts (A000081): The number of terms at System n equals A000081(n+1), the count of rooted trees with n+1 unlabeled nodes
- Cluster Counts (A000055): Terms group into A000055(n+1) equivalence classes via the flip transform (re-rooting)
- State transitions: Deterministic transformation matrices
- Energy flows: Conservation and transformation equations
- Geometric symmetries: Tetrahedral and enneagram rotations
See OEIS A000081/A000055 Paradigm for the complete mathematical formalization.
This framework has been applied to:
- Neural Networks (cosys-xnn): Cognitive function and brain regions
- Organizations (cosys-org): Business structure and enterprise ecosystems
- Reservoir Computing (cosys-esn): Echo state networks and membrane computing
- Cell Biology (cosys-cell): Eukaryotic cells and organelles
- Integumentary System (cosys-skin): Multi-scale skin models
- Robert Campbell (1936-2021): Original author of "Fisherman's Guide" and developer of the Systems framework
- Ken Wilber: General editor of the New Science Library series
- This repository is maintained to preserve and extend Bob Campbell's legacy
This work is dedicated to preserving and extending the intellectual legacy of Robert Campbell. The original diagrams are from "Fisherman's Guide: A Systems Approach to Creativity and Organization" (1985, New Science Library/Shambhala).
- cosmic-sys-lib: C++ library implementing the OEIS-aligned system hierarchy with rooted tree generation, flip transform clustering, and SVG visualization
- Campbell, R. (1985). Fisherman's Guide: A Systems Approach to Creativity and Organization. New Science Library/Shambhala.
- Campbell, R. Science and Cosmic Order (related work on cosmic systems)
- OEIS A000081: Number of rooted trees with n unlabeled nodes. https://oeis.org/A000081
- OEIS A000055: Number of unrooted trees with n unlabeled nodes. https://oeis.org/A000055