Chapter 1

Chapter 1
The Problem of the Psychic Substrate

“I didn’t know that cats could grin,” said Alice.
”They all can,” said the Duchess, “and most of them do."
"I don’t know of any that do,” Alice said very politely, quite pleased to have got into a conversation.
”You don’t know much,” said the Duchess, “and that’s a fact.”
— L. Carroll, Alice

The abyss has opened, full of stars…
— Lomonosov

In developing the ideas set out in this chapter, the author makes no claim whatever to originality. Most of the ideas considered here have in one form or another been expounded in numerous books and articles dealing with questions of psychophysiology, bioenergetics, and the nature of consciousness, and it would be very difficult to establish the primary authorship of any idea of this kind — it apparently goes back to deep antiquity. Therefore, without referring to specific authors, we offer general thanks to all who have contributed to the comprehension of ideas of this sort.

One of the fullest contemporary surveys of the subject matter connected with the essence of consciousness is V. V. Nalimov’s book The Spontaneity of Consciousness [2], and it is chiefly to this that we shall appeal on matters of a survey character. The formulation of this problem and references to it are found in a great many philosophers, psychologists, physiologists, and generally scholars and writers who have had occasion to give any thought at all to the relationship between soul and body. Rorty, James, Kretschmer, Jung, Pavlov, Piaget… there is simply no point in listing them all, because it would take several pages. Even materialist philosophers, led by Marx and Lenin, considered the question of what is primary — the ideal (read: soul) or the material (read: body) — the fundamental question of philosophy, and depending on how a given philosopher resolved it, they classified him as an idealist or a materialist, with the corresponding criminal-political conclusions. So let us simply take note of the high popularity of this theme and try to approach it from the standpoint of socionics.

In psychology, to the present day, there exists no generally accepted solution to the so-called psychophysiological problem [9, 27, 28], which can be briefly formulated as the problem of the connection of the physical body with the psyche and, in an even more general and concrete sense, with consciousness.

Here is how V. V. Nalimov summarizes this fact: “Despite all the successes of neurophysiological research, despite all the attempts of physicists to turn to a quantum-mechanical understanding of consciousness, despite all the persuasiveness of Eastern practice directed at regulating states of consciousness through the body, despite the well-recognized acuteness of the problem, the matter–consciousness problem remains unsolved” [2]. One should, of course, add here that this problem remains unsolved within the European scientific paradigm, whereas in many spiritual practices of the East it is not a problem at all but a constructive psychotechnical moment, which adepts command to one degree or another of perfection and which neophytes master in the course of training. What interests us here, however, is how this problem might be solved with reference to the European mentality.

Let us cite in this connection an amusing statement by the remarkable experimental psychologist J. Piaget on the interaction of body and consciousness: “At first glance it seems that the theory of interaction is confirmed by ordinary observation: when a glass of wine plunges us into a state of euphoria, we are inclined to see in this a direct action of the organism on consciousness, whereas when we change the position of a hand as a result of a consciously taken decision, it seems to us that this is a direct action of consciousness on the organism. But as soon as we try to analyze both of these causal relations, they turn out to be utterly incomprehensible” [37].

To picture the attitude toward this problem in Soviet and post-Soviet psychology, it suffices to read the corresponding quotation from the dictionary Psychology [8]: “Understanding the psyche (P.) as reflection makes it possible to overcome the false posing of the problem of the relationship of the psychological and the physiological — a posing that leads either to divorcing the P. from the work of the brain, or to reducing psychic phenomena to physiological ones, or, finally, to a mere statement of the parallelism of their course. The disclosure of psychic reflection as generated in the process of the interaction of the material subject with objective reality excludes the view of psychic phenomena as purely spiritual, separate from the bodily cerebral processes by means of which the transition of reflected reality into psychic reflection occurs. However, the characterization of the subject’s activity cannot be directly derived from the physiological processes that realize it, since it is determined by the properties and relations of the objective world, to which it is subordinate and to which, correspondingly, the psychic reflection arising in the subject’s brain is also subordinate.”

From this quotation it is clear that the problem in question is assigned to the category of pseudo-problems and is considered definitively solved — well, perhaps with the exception of certain technical details that can be clarified in due course. On the other hand, though, everything spoken of in this quotation can be regarded as pure nonsense. What does it mean to understand the psyche as reflection? It means failing to understand that the psyche as such is the organ in which this very reflection takes place. That is, here the organ is identified with the result of its work. This is analogous to confusing a mirror with the reflection in it. As for epistemological reflection, it is almost obvious that it has nothing to do with mirror reflection — for a mirror, in reflecting, retains nothing for itself. So here we are dealing with two homonymic variants of one and the same word: reflection as an image in a mirror, and reflection as the retention of information about an object, as in a photograph, for example. And although such usage does not contradict the norms of the Russian language, it by no means follows from it that the psyche is a reflection. In any case, reflection is a certain action, a certain function, and a function does not exist without an organ. So within the framework of what organ does this very reflection occur? That organ is the psyche. And reducing the psyche to a totality of physiological processes is nothing more than the crudest reductionism. Crude reductionism rests on reducing a phenomenon to the nearest factors on the basis of which it can be somehow explained. But scientific explanation must go further and find factors adequate to the phenomenon under study.

In his time the principled materialist V. I. Lenin formulated a thought that was quite good for its era: “…It is logical to suppose that all matter possesses a property essentially akin to sensation, the property of reflection…” [36]. Clearly, reflection here must be understood in the epistemological, not the mirror sense. At present the concept of reflection can be intelligibly interpreted as modeling. If we make the corresponding substitution of terms, we obtain an understanding of the psyche as a means of subjective modeling — that is, the psyche turns out to be the subject’s means of modeling the surrounding environment. Yes, that is clear. It is clear that the informational processes occurring in the psyche are not only processes governing the work of all the organism’s systems, but also processes of modeling the external surroundings — and it is clear what this is needed for: to survive. Of course, there may be other opinions, but more on that later. One can imagine that the carriers of information in the human body (and in other animals too) are the electrical impulses running along the nerve fibers. But they may also be hormonal flows, molecular processes, and possibly still others: thermal, electromagnetic, acoustic, gravitational, as well as hypothetical bioenergetic ones. But here there is no answer to the ultimate question — what are the psyche and the consciousness connected with it? Not the images that pass before it, but consciousness itself. Of course, if someone does not understand such a posing of the question, that is his problem, but in our day it is no longer permissible to confuse consciousness and its content. One can to a certain extent identify the images on a television screen and on the inner screen of the individual, but the observer who sees and contemplates these images must not be identified with either image. Therefore one can say, for example, that the subject looks by means of the eyes, but it is not the eyes that see — it is the subject. The eyes are merely instrumental devices converting optical information into a form convenient for the observing subject. And when we use the insufficiently clarified concept of the psyche as something located inside the body, then for forming a primary hypothesis of psychology this can perhaps suffice, but after this it is necessary to take the next step and give a rigorous (as far as possible) definition of the psyche. The definitions that psychology gives cannot be considered satisfactory. They are phenomenological or behaviorist definitions, but not essential ones. They designate the psyche as something manifesting itself, but do not answer the question of what it is, what kind of object it is, what kind of essence it is. Can it really be that even in our day it is still impossible to give an essential definition of the psyche?

In the now bygone Marxist-Leninist philosophy, the question of what is primary — matter or consciousness — was considered fundamental, and it was resolved unequivocally: matter is primary, consciousness secondary. In the terms of this chapter, this answer must be understood to mean that the substrate of consciousness and, all the more, of the psyche is the matter of the physical body.

Let us too try, as far as possible, to sort out this problem.

By what means does the material human body, composed of various chemical substances that apparently do not possess a psyche, turn out to be endowed with psyche and consciousness? If we hold that matter lies at the basis of our world — that is, something fundamentally spiritless (in the opinion of the most consistent adepts of materialism) — then at what moment in the development of material complexes in nature does the psyche appear? If one lays out a series comprising people, animals (including microscopic ones), plants, viruses, and minerals, one can ask at what point in this series lies the boundary separating the living from the nonliving, and another boundary — the boundary of the psychic. Or is it possible that the psyche, in however primitive a form it might manifest itself, is inherent from the outset in everything living? If so, then it is legitimate to pose these questions too: what is the relationship between the living and the psychic? Can the psychic exist separately from the living, and vice versa?

In official psychological reference works and dictionaries one may encounter the following assertion: “Arising at a certain stage of biological evolution, the P(syche) constitutes a necessary condition for the further development of life. Changing and growing more complex, psychic reflection acquires in man a qualitatively new form — the form of consciousness, generated by his life in society, by those social relations that mediate his connections with the world. Being the principal form of man’s P., consciousness, however, does not exhaust it; man also has non-conscious psychic phenomena and processes, i.e., ones of which he cannot give himself an account, which are hidden from his self-observation.”

That is, what is being said here is that the psyche arises at a certain stage of biological evolution. Interesting — at which one, exactly? Can it really be that in psychology this has been proven?

Can psychic quality be measured in some way? We are not speaking here of the greater or lesser complexity of a being’s psyche and psychic life — it is almost obvious that such a difference can be assessed by indirect signs such as forms of behavior and products of vital activity. We are speaking only of psychic quality as such. It is almost obvious that the higher animals possess a psyche, but do, for example, fish, worms, ants, daphnia, microbes possess it? And what about plants? Experiments are known (Backster) in which reactions of plants to actions dangerous to their existence were observed. Can such reactions be assigned to the category of the psychic, or are they “merely” a manifestation of physiological irritability? And what about this very physiological irritability? After all, it exists only in the living (such, at least, is science’s conclusion), but is it too — an elementary one, perhaps — a manifestation of the psychic, or is it merely a mechanical reaction of the feedback type in cybernetic devices, with which behaviorism is satisfied?

What is the relationship between life and the psyche? Can such a property of the living as irritability be assigned to the number of manifestations of the psychic? Are minerals living? Are such cosmic bodies as the Earth, the Moon, Jupiter, the Sun living? — let us not hastily give a negative answer even to such apparently utterly absurd and naive questions, but let us approach this in a scientifically unbiased way.

One may suppose that some hypothetical primary energetic field, lying at the basis of such fields as the electromagnetic and gravitational, as well as the fields of the strong and weak interactions, is originally living and conscious, and moreover is capable of forming such material conglomerates as elementary particles or their deeper primary foundation. In this case the dual (wave and corpuscular) nature of, say, the electron might point to its materiality, which can be correlated with the corpuscular, and to its attribute belonging to the living, the psychic, and the conscious, which can be correlated with the wave. However nonsensical this idea might look to an orthodox-conservative scientist, it would still be improper to reject it out of hand — for even the conclusion that another person possesses consciousness we can draw only by indirect signs and by analogy with ourselves, since, not being that other person, we do not see through his eyes, do not hear through his ears, do not experience his emotions, and a possible inference by analogy cannot be considered rigorous. All this, however, has long since been analyzed by philosophers. Philosophers (not all, of course) have devised sophisticated schemes in which the presence in living and rational beings of neither life, nor soul, nor reason need be assumed, but which provide possible explanations of the observed phenomenology of such beings. In particular, all sorts of subjective experiences are explained by means of a special concept — disposition. This means that the structural-material makeup of these beings is such that they may have impressions of themselves as living and rational beings, although, possibly, they are not such.

I do not want to criticize the theory of dispositions — in behaviorism it is well worked out and may be quite effective in the discussion by behaviorist psychologists of the behavior of laboratory rats, which is then easily transferred to the people flitting before their eyes. But, alas, to apply such a scheme to oneself, one must reach high degrees of intellectual perversion. As a good example supporting the theory of dispositions, one might take a high-quality manufactured robot, hardly distinguishable from a human being either in appearance or in behavior. In our day such robots can already be made. Such a robot will be able to keep up a conversation with you very plausibly — well, maybe not on any and every topic, but then not every human is capable of that either. The behavior of such a robot may be exceptionally purposeful. It can move freely and elegantly through space, dance alone or with you if you wish, it can jerk its hand away upon touching something hot, cry out on occasion from fright, weep from programmed happiness or pain — and as for making mischief or drinking vodka, that is utterly elementary. In short, it can imitate human behavior with a high degree of verisimilitude. By analogy with ourselves, we can presume in it the presence of consciousness and reason, but the truth (what is truth?) is that it does not have them. It imitates them. One can say that it has intellect — that is, a processor combinatorially processing information. But it has no soul, that very soul that science does not recognize, and this is because to this day no scientist has managed to observe it either with his own sense organs or with instruments. As soon as such instruments appear — and they are already being worked on — and the presence of a soul is registered in a human (and in other animals) in a strictly controlled laboratory experiment, and its existence is thereby verified, then scientists will agree to it. Not all, of course. But it is precisely the presence of a soul that ensures the presence of consciousness, on the basis of which reason too can appear.

The consciousness of an electron may seem an absurdity, above all because psychology still has not only no clear classification of the levels of consciousness and its states, but even the conceptions of consciousness existing in science are far from perfect. Of course, the presence in the electron of some variety of consciousness would by no means mean that it can do whatever it likes. Consciousness and free will are not one and the same. The electron obeys the laws of its world, which can be interpreted as rigid determinism that presupposes no consciousness whatsoever.

In the period from 1990 to 2000, when in Russia the ideological prohibitions extending over science were lifted, Russian physicists advanced ideas about a physical substrate lying at the basis of our world, to which, in their opinion, not only physical but also psychic phenomenology can be assigned. Thus academician A. E. Akimov writes [10]: “The physical nature of the Absolute and the physical nature of consciousness is the torsion field.” As it turned out, torsion fields, discovered by academician G. I. Shipov, possess such unique properties connected with the transfer of information that the possibility arose of identifying them with the psychic substrate. How legitimate such an identification is, the future will show, but the physicists’ very breakthrough into subtle-material reality is inspiring.

Psychologists now already know that even so-called waking consciousness is by no means homogeneous over time, even for a single person. Dreaming consciousness, moreover, differs considerably from waking. By analogy with the difference between waking and dreaming consciousness, one may posit a consciousness inherent in dreamless sleep. Yes, it is not registered at the present level of psychological science, but that does not mean it does not exist. In any case, its absence has not been proven.

Now then, if the electron as a wave possesses consciousness — even if at a level below the consciousness of dreamless sleep — then one can speak of a cumulative effect of the preservation of the conscious component in such material conglomerates as molecules, since molecules too retain a wave nature, but the increased material mass strongly masks it.

In living beings, however, the wave component is simply obvious, and a person directly senses it — at least when he is agitated [in Russian, a pun: volnuetsya, “is agitated,” shares a root with volna, “wave”]. This is not merely a play on words, though it is that too.

It is fitting here to cite the words of P. Churchland (quoted after Nalimov): “Our biosphere is dissected into independent units of self-sustaining lives: cells and multicellular organisms. This is not strictly obligatory. Some biospheres might have developed in the form of a single, unified, immensely complex and highly intelligent ‘cell’ encompassing the whole planet” [2]. And in general, what is life? Is life necessarily connected with the psyche? Is the psyche necessarily connected with life? One can pose a great many such questions. Answering them is difficult, above all because science has still not given unequivocal essential definitions of consciousness (psychology), life (biology), and energy (physics) — provided, of course, that one does not confuse the external manifestations and the real essence of these objects. In this chapter we shall concentrate on the problem of the human psyche and on the problem of its physical substrate.

By the substrate of the psyche we shall understand a certain carrier, whatever its nature, so long as it is invariant with respect to any psyches and any psychic processes. Just as information cannot exist without a carrier by whose modulations it is encoded, so psychic processes, presumably, can unfold only in a specific medium, as modulations of that medium. This hypothetical substrate of the psyche might also be called the immediate medium of psychic processes. In this connection one must bear in mind that although psychic processes may certainly, as an obligatory condition of their occurrence, presuppose or require the existence of the whole world, they could not take place in this world if this special medium, this specific carrier, were absent.

Perhaps for many scientists there is no problem here at all, and they by default consider the substrate of the psyche to be the physical body or some part of it, the nervous system for example; however, judging by the character of psychic phenomena, this can be doubted. No, it is not a matter of denying the physical body as the conductor and consumer of psychic processes. But just as a specific information-control signal in the organism is transmitted along nerve fibers or through humoral media, so too the integral psychic component might have that primary material for it, in which alone it can be realized, and from there it might spread its influence to the physical organism. “From there” does not at all mean that we must be dealing with some rigidly localized center. On the contrary, such a medium might encompass or permeate the entire physical body, just as is the case with the tissues, blood vessels, nerve fibers, and physiological fluids.

Below we shall consider some hypotheses concerning the nature of the connection of the psyche and the physical body, and make a preliminary analysis of them.

As a preliminary metaphor, alternative to the hypothesis of the physical body as the psychic substrate, one might here speak of a certain material, field, or space outside of which the psyche can neither exist nor manifest itself. However, since in a scientifically organized experiment such a carrier has not been discovered, we shall in no way predetermine its nature or even presuppose its existence in advance.

The study of the psyche is the business of psychology. Etymologically the concept of the psyche is connected with the concept of the soul — that is, “soul” is the translation of the word “psyche” from Greek, with, of course, the necessary conceptual correction. The concept of the soul is not considered scientific. The concept of the psyche is considered scientific. However, there is no single point of view on the nature of the psyche in psychology.

Purely combinatorially, at the level of logical possibility, one can imagine several variants for solving the psychophysical problem:

1) One can renounce the concept of the psychic substrate altogether and regard the subject as a “black box” that issues one or another reaction in response to presented stimuli. The technical processing of the resulting data protocols makes it possible to interpret the structure of the subject in a meaningful way to a certain degree, to speak of some of his qualities and capacities, understanding by this one or another invariant that can be discovered by processing the protocols of observations of the reactions of the “black box.” If the full table of stimuli and reactions of the “black box” to them is known, then, apparently, the operator can control it by selecting a suitable sequence of stimuli and moving the “black box” from one state to another. This is the program of the behaviorist trend in psychology, and one could be satisfied with it if one limited oneself to purely manipulative aims; however, the presence in man of spiritual problems and aspirations makes such an approach, at the least, limited. And besides, a concrete person can hardly perceive himself one hundred percent as a “black box,” though some people are capable of reaching considerably lower and more primitive states. Nonetheless, this approach is convenient at the stage of accumulating phenomenological information and preliminarily processing it, when solving difficult worldview questions could only distract the researcher’s attention. This approach we shall associate with the metaphor of the “black box.”

In a milder variant, an approach based on the renunciation of ultimate truth can be observed in various varieties of positivism, beginning with A. Comte, H. Spencer and ending with L. Wittgenstein, R. Carnap, K. Popper, and other modern philosophers. These philosophers, trying to overcome metaphysical approaches to the investigation of a concrete scientific object and, ostensibly, discarding or overcoming old problems connected with the cognition of the surrounding world and arising before humanity throughout its historical development, in fact collided again and again with those very same problems, but now in a new guise. These problems still have to be solved, but now they have to be solved having thrown out the previously accumulated methods and colliding with the old paradoxes in a new form.

2) The psyche can be regarded as the integral effect of neurodynamic (including humoral) processes in, for example, the organism of homo sapiens. This hypothesis can be called materialist, since it rests on the idea of the primacy of matter with respect to spirit and regards life and psychic processes as the result of the development and increasing complexity of material structures. This hypothesis was exceptionally popular among materialists of the Marxist trend. It fully corresponded to the moods of scientists at the initial stages of the formation of modern science, when a challenge was thrown down to the dominance of religious ideology and the idea of explaining everything by natural causes was gaining strength. Thus, for example, the French physician and philosopher J. La Mettrie in 1745, in his first work The Natural History of the Soul, adduces numerous arguments in favor of the view that the spiritual (read: psychic — S. Ch.) activity of man is determined by his bodily organization. It is interesting to note that he came to this thought when he fell ill with a fever and, lying in bed, observed its course. The ultimate expression of his views on the relationship of soul and body was the book Man a Machine (1747). A year later he published the book Man a Plant, in which he added new arguments to his basic idea. The materialist approach to solving the psychophysiological problem explains many empirical facts well — for example, certain matters connected with age-related changes, or a person’s states during illnesses and his dependence on the physical conditions of existence. However, too great a number of facts of man’s psychic and spiritual life cannot be so simply explained by materialist causes, and to support such a point of view one has to resort to theoretical contrivances and arbitrary assumptions.

Nonetheless, in favor of the materialist approach one can use a large quantity of facts accumulated in science. This is, first of all, the “Great Morphological Law” (Virchow), which states that without a “morph” — that is, a physiologically formed organ — there is no function. Materialistically oriented science, which relied and relies on experiment, has always had enough data confirming the connection between materially formed physiological structures and the psychic properties of man, as well as the dependencies between the level of evolutionary complexity of a living organism and the capacities of its psyche. Such an approach naturally explains the presence in homo sapiens of the highest level of psychic development by the fact that his brain is the most complexly organized. Partly this also explains the differences among people — normal ones, morons, and clinical idiots.

Dramatic clinical experience connected with various injuries of the brain and spinal cord also confirms this hypothesis. Damage to specific areas of the brain leads to the loss of quite definite psychic functions. So one can always take up a scientific position that will derive any psychic properties of the living from the presence of a more or less complex material organ. And the finer differences in people’s psyches, which at the present level of development of materialist science cannot be directly connected with physiological differences, can be attempted to be explained by hard-to-detect changes at the cellular and molecular level. Thus, for example, the difference in the sharpness of the emotional reactions of men and women, besides the directly observable differences in the structure of individual organs, may be explained by differences at the molecular level — for example, between the adrenaline secreted by male and female adrenal glands. Then again, most other gender differences physiologists — or rather psychophysiologists — explain by hormonal balance, which in women fundamentally differs from that found in men. One may also suppose that the difference in psychic manifestations between two concrete people can be fully explained by differences at all levels of their physiology.

Thus differences in mnemonic capacities between two people may be explained at the level of differences in the makeup of neural networks or in the speed of synthesis of protein molecules responsible for the long-term storage of information in the human psyche. On the basis of contemporary successes in computer technology, and holding that the psyche is a product of complexly organized matter, one may suppose that, beginning from some level of complexity, computers will begin to display psychic qualities comparable to human ones — that is, it cannot be ruled out that they will acquire a soul. This idea has both supporters and opponents. This approach we shall associate with the metaphor of the “computer.”

There exist deep theoretical ideas making it possible to sustain consistently the materialist approach to the conception of the physical substrate of the psyche. Among such ideas is the idea of the oscillatory circuit (Kazhinsky, Vasiliev), which is formed when a current source, a capacitor, and an inductance coil are combined into one electrical circuit. These simple components, quite inert individually, are capable of forming a system within which an oscillatory process is discovered, capable of propagating into the surrounding environment in the form of electromagnetic waves. Such a system turns out to consist of two parts of completely different nature — here matter and field, clearly distinguished, constitute a single whole. The material part here is stable, while the field part is capable of varying within wide limits. If the material part of such a simple system is likened to the body, then it will be natural — within the framework of a very broad metaphor — to liken the field part to the soul. Of course, this is a very simple “soul,” but one can begin with this.

One may suppose that oscillatory circuits are possible not only on the basis of electromagnetic waves but also on the basis of other kinds of energy, for example gravitational. One may also suppose that oscillatory circuits are possible whose “body” consists of elements made not of substance but of energy. One may suppose that a hierarchy of “bodies” and “souls” exists, which allows us to imagine the necessary complexity, comparable to the complexity of the living. It is important to note here that the “field soul” in the “body” of an oscillatory circuit may possess properties that are not unequivocally determined by its material part — from the appearance of a television set one cannot determine what kind of broadcasts it is capable of receiving. So materialist science, if it wished, might try on such a basis to build a humanly feeling and thinking apparatus. Then again, for this a completely different element base might be required than the one on which modern computers are built. Work in this direction continues.

3) The psychic substrate can be regarded as a subtle-material or field substance, coexisting with the physical body, within which unfold processes assessed by the subject as psychic. This subtle-material substance, apparently, must by its nature possess the property of reactive sensitivity — that is, the capacity in one form or another to build an image of the surrounding environment and of its effect upon it. In this case it is not presupposed that the capacity to feel arises as a result of an evolutionary process of the growing complexity of material complexes; rather, it is given from the outset and is present in the substrate, although, possibly, this capacity too may develop, intensify, and acquire diverse forms depending on the material complex with which the corresponding psychic substrate or its fragment is connected.

Such an approach presupposes the existence of two closely connected but quite independent worlds — the world of things and the world of fields. In the field world a large number of energetic entities may exist, constituting stable units of these fields — for example, special stable vortices or “knottings” of the energetic substrate of such a field. That the field surrounding us is filled with at least some “entities” requires no special proof — it suffices to switch on the television, and it will detect them: the multitude of TV broadcasts constantly filling the airwaves. But one may also posit the existence of field objects possessing their own behavior, capable of entering into contact with one another and with the material content of our world, and just as imperceptible to human organs as the TV broadcasts surrounding us in large quantity. True, in that case television sets, being tuned to the corresponding wave, might detect such entities, but for some reason this is not observed — perhaps the matter is one of wavelength.

Such entities might connect to material things, take up residence within them, exert upon them such influence as is available to them. With such an approach, one can imagine that psychic processes unfold precisely on the basis of and within field entities, and some of these entities — human souls, say — may enter into the material body of a concrete person, for example at the moment of his birth, and to a considerable degree determine his behavior, though perhaps not fully. To what degree a field entity (if, of course, such a hypothesis is correct) can influence the human body and a material object in general is a task that must be solved within the framework of this approach. Of course, one may ask by what means such entities are held within the human body, how freely they can enter and leave it, but these are already purely technical details that must be clarified in the process of scientific investigation of this hypothetical situation.

This approach we shall associate with the metaphor of the “dwelling” or the “seashell.” “Dwelling” — in the sense that such subtle-material entities may take up residence within the human body; “seashell” — in the sense that such an entity may grow itself a material body, assimilating and adapting chemical substances to ensure its physical presence in this world. For now let us leave aside the question of why it needs this, and dwell only on the very possibility of such a phenomenon.

4) The psyche can be regarded as a distant effect connected with the reception by the physical structures of the human organism of an informational transmission that constitutes the content of psychic processes and is broadcast from some primary spiritual-psychic center. Despite the even more fantastic (compared to the previous hypothesis) character of such a supposition from the standpoint of modern science, it would still be reasonable, given the level of development of modern technology, to consider it too.

The idea of a universal mind is encountered not only in pre-scientific and extra-scientific conceptions, but also appears periodically, under the influence of accumulated facts, in the heads of scientists: “Finally, there are conjectures that the origin and evolution of the universe in the broad sense may depend on its compatibility with intellect. Paradoxically, while physicists cannot avoid discussing the dynamics of the universe without bringing human consciousness into the discussion as a direct participant, materialist philosophers still assert that consciousness is merely a ‘mechanical appendage’ of the machine… But are we now able to ‘explain’ spiritual phenomena with the help of our enriched collection of physical laws? This is precisely what the enlightened reductionist would hope for. However, it would be too early to think that in the end such a science of consciousness will appear. The regularities are as yet too unclear, and the mysteries too deep” [28].

A remarkably simple and constructive, albeit behaviorist, definition of consciousness is given by the adept of mystical teachings Paul Sédir: “Consciousness is the capacity to distinguish oneself from other objects.” Alas, consciousness cannot be defined in objective terms, simply because “objective” terms were worked out by consciousness itself in studying everything external in relation to it, while it itself became an object of its own study only comparatively recently.

Within the framework of the hypothesis under consideration, which rests on the idea of the existence of a universal mind from which the “psychic” transmission proceeds, all the physiological structures of the human body, including its brain, must constitute something like a complex “biotechnical” device capable of receiving electromagnetic or, perhaps, some other waves that can carry a signal of a certain complexity, creating the picture of the psychic life of a concrete person.

Of course, one may ask here why such complexities, when everything can be explained much more simply — but the problem is that at the present moment there exists no generally accepted simple explanation of the nature of the psyche.

Still, let us try to sketch a hypothetical structure capable of more or less plausibly explaining the “distant” variant of the psyche. So then, the human body, its brain and nervous system (according to this hypothesis), are merely a highly organized biological device capable of receiving a broadcast coming on the waves of an energo-informational field not registered by instruments known to modern science.

Physics speaks of four types of interaction, among which the energo-informational, bioenergetic, or psycho-informational is not mentioned and with none of which it is identified. Possibly physicists have not yet reached a final decision as to which of the four interactions known to them corresponds to bioenergetics. Possibly the gravitational, for instance. Possibly none. Possibly it is a fifth type of interaction, well known to everything living but not yet discovered by physicists, since the corresponding instruments have not been created. But it is also possible that no such interaction exists in reality at all. And what people perceive as bioenergetics constitutes a psychic illusion, a peculiar psychic artifact, masking, camouflaging, or generalizing ordinary kinds of energetic interaction — electromagnetic, thermal, mechanical, chemical, radioactive, finally — but having no nature of its own. All this science has yet to clarify, but what interests us now is only the purely logical possibility of the hypothesis under consideration. Then again, the idea of a special energetic field connected with living beings is advanced again and again by various scientists, but its strictly controlled fixation still remains a problem.

If everything in our world is in accordance with the “distant” hypothesis, then people and other animals are “simply” biorobots that do something in this part of world space and, in accordance with the broadcasts they receive from a hypothetical center, consider this part of space to be the Earth and the solar system. All the content of their “psyche” is either predetermined in advance or develops in accordance with a program, computer-like, and all the problems that arise for them are of roughly the same nature as those of the heroes of computer games — they are simply game situations serving as markers of certain elements of the game. This approach we shall associate with the metaphor of the “television or computer game.”

5) The psyche can also be regarded as part of a single spiritual reality, for which the physical body is a specific effect, illusion-like. Perhaps such a supposition, from the materialist standpoint, must look even more fantastic than the “television” hypothesis, since it maximally contradicts the obviousness of the material existence of people. But let us not forget the deceptiveness of the obvious, as is the case, for example, with the certainty that the Sun revolves around the Earth, and let us consider this variant more attentively.

Perhaps for the majority of people¹ the physical body with its joys and pain is so real that any attempts to encroach upon the absoluteness of its existence may be regarded as inadmissible and unacceptable, or even downright absurd. And probably such a taboo would be insurmountable, were it not that a certain number of people exist whose experience points to the possibility that the physical body constitutes merely an impression created by our organs of external and internal perception. Recall that the problem of the “thing-in-itself” and the “thing-for-us” is one of the eternal philosophical problems, still without a single solution to this day.

The situation with the possible illusoriness of the body can be well illustrated by the famous parable of the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi. The parable relates that Zhuangzi once fell asleep and saw a dream amazing in its vividness and verisimilitude, in which he, in the form of a butterfly, fluttered over flowers. Waking and still under the impression of what he had just experienced, he exclaimed: “So who am I — Zhuangzi, sleeping and dreaming that he is a butterfly, or a butterfly, sleeping and dreaming that it is Zhuangzi?” And indeed, many dreams are so realistic that the subject dreaming them has no doubt as to the absolute materiality of the objects presented there and of his own “dreaming” body.

On the basis of the hypothesis under consideration, one may suppose that the perception of reality, the experience of reality and verisimilitude, is merely a matter of the state of the psyche. And since people are predominantly in the waking state, they assess the experiences connected with it as predominantly real and verisimilar.

In accordance with such an approach, one may posit the existence of a certain primary psychic “matrix” (see the film The Matrix) — an object² inaccessible to representation in the waking state of consciousness, which constitutes the sole reality. That world which people perceive as real is nothing more than one of the possible projections of the psychic “matrix.” The question of why it needs this and why it is arranged precisely so, we do not pose here — it is merely a logical possibility that is useful to consider for the completeness of the survey.

Some hint of such a possibility may be provided by so-called phantom pains, arising in absent limbs of the disabled, who not only feel pain and perceive other sensations in absent arms, legs, or fingers, but often feel these very limbs as real and still being part of their body. This approach we shall associate with the metaphor of the “matrix.”

6) In accordance with the next logical possibility, everything happening in the world can be regarded as the dream of some super-being that in its dream does not become aware of itself, of its wholeness and unity, but experiences an event-based and personal multiplicity. This approach we shall associate with the metaphor of the “sleeping God.” This hypothesis can be almost entirely reduced to the “matrix” hypothesis, with the exception of one detail: the “matrix,” in accordance with the semantics of the concept of a matrix, is an “objective” structure that can ultimately be revealed by scientific methods, whereas the “dream of God” constitutes something fundamentally subjective, which one may not consider real at all. But of course, here it is necessary to make a multitude of reservations and various clarifications concerning the concepts of reality and God.

7) Yet another hypothesis might be based on the supposition that there exist two parallel worlds, separated from each other by some barrier — the physical, the world of things, and the psychic, the world of souls. Psychic entities-souls dwelling in their own space adequate to them may set off on a peculiar journey into the physical world. This may be the result of necessity, of duty, or simply of curiosity (for the logical construction of such a hypothesis this is unimportant). In order to be able really to act in the physical world, souls must be able to link up with a suitable physical body, with whose help they might acquire the experience of physical existence. Possibly such experience has for them some specific value that remains inaccessible to them if they abide in their psychic world. In this case the physical body plays the role of a peculiar spacesuit, and this approach we shall associate with this word and designate by the metaphor of the “spacesuit.”

The “spacesuit” hypothesis is in some respects similar to the “dwelling” hypothesis. However, in the case of the “dwelling,” the physical and psychic entities are in a single world and, in general, obey unified laws. In the case of the “spacesuit” hypothesis, we are dealing with different worlds, each of which has its own specific laws, and the transition between which is a special procedure requiring, say, special energetic expenditures, special devices, or at least some kind of permit.

8) One may also suppose that what people consider their world and their life is an animated technical construct created by forces unknown to people. In this variant, everything that happens to people, and they themselves, are nothing other than a three-dimensional (3D) image, recorded on some hypothetical carrier and reproduced with the help of special technical devices which, however, are not directly perceived by people. From the standpoint of modern technology this can already be imagined, but certain questions arise that would need to be answered. For example, do people in such a case have any chance of making sense of the picture of the universe? There may be at least two answers here: 1) if this is built into the scenario of the film, then yes; 2) if the nature of the technogenic construct that our world is in this case, and the nature of the devices with whose help our world is reproduced, are such that a “mental coupling” of all the elements of full reality is ensured, then also yes. Here by “mental coupling” is meant the possibility of the intellectual comprehension by people-projections of what lies beyond the limits of the quasi-illusory space of their quasi-cinematographic world, and the possibility of overcoming the “cinematographic” limitation and joining a higher reality. This approach we shall associate with the metaphor of the “animated film.”

It is natural to pose the question of how non-contradictory, verifiable, and falsifiable each of the worlds standing behind the real and hypothetical variants of solving the psychophysical problem presented above is.

Let us begin with the metaphor of the “animated film.” If people are characters in a skillfully made three-dimensional film, then one may suppose that the artistry of the creator who made it is so great that he provided for everything that entered into his intentions. True, His intentions remain unknown to people. However, let us see whether an artificial character endowed with certain qualities is capable of unraveling the Creator’s design. What possibilities did the Creator build into the character he created? Or rather, what capacities can this character discover in himself? And are they sufficient for him to overcome the limitedness of the artificial situation in which he finds himself? The human-character considers himself real, since he possesses consciousness and is able to feel, to rejoice and to suffer. He does not know that this is merely an unfolding of records on a three-dimensional display. How is he to know this? He feels that he wants something, strives toward something. Sometimes he feels that he himself shapes the events of his life, and sometimes he gets the impression that he is like a marionette, wholly dependent on circumstances. Sometimes something works out for him in accordance with a prior design, but he may not suspect that his designs are programmed. Sometimes he becomes aware of his limitedness. And sometimes he discovers that he manages to peek behind the display. What he sees behind the display is very unlike what is on the display, and it is hard for him to believe that what is behind the display is more real than what is on the 3D display. But he learns from other characters too that they sometimes also manage to peek behind the display. He might not believe them for want of a criterion of verisimilitude, but he uses the information received from them and becomes convinced that his possibilities of penetrating beyond the limits of the display are increasing, and along with this the verisimilitude of the information obtained from there grows as well. He also learns that some of the characters have managed to find a way to pass behind the surface of the display and thanks to this have acquired special qualities helping them to preserve what they consider themselves to be and to leave the ranks of the characters of the projection film. But while remaining within the limits of the projection on the display, the human-character never attains full verisimilitude concerning his illusory experience.

The “spacesuit” hypothesis, from the standpoint of verification and falsification, is difficult in that, although it “explains” the duality of human nature, it does not give a person the means to remove the “spacesuit” from himself and freely return from the physical world to the psychic and back.

In the metaphor of the “sleeping God,” what God sees is himself — or rather, his projections onto himself. Thus each person, observing himself, first, participates in the dream of the Supreme Being, and second, is directly consubstantial with This Being, being a peculiar organ of its self-perception. But since we do not know all the properties of the dream in question and of the hypothetical Supreme Being, it is difficult to say anything definite about the optimization of the behavior of the human being as its element. Possibly, owing to special properties of the Divine Dream, a separate element of it may build its behavior in such a way that, like a bubble of air rising from the bottom of a body of water and merging with the atmosphere, it will be able to overcome its isolation and merge with the Primary Essence, restoring its consubstantiality with it.

The variant with the metaphor of the “matrix,” for its verification, presupposes the necessity for the “element of the matrix” to overcome the state of illusory being, to discover the primary structure of the “matrix,” and to restore its own participation in it. Without this, the verisimilitude of the behavior of the “element of the matrix” for itself will always remain in doubt, which follows from the secondariness of illusory being.

In the “television” metaphor the person finds himself in perhaps the most difficult situation. His body here is, apparently, completely passive with respect to the psychic transmission it receives. However, the task of the hypothesis in this case consists in maximally reconciling the advanced suppositions and empirical reality. According to this hypothesis, a person does not possess a psyche immanent to his body but receives a “psychic transmission” coming from the Primary Center. However, according to the observed empirical facts, this transmission is coordinated with the makeup of the body in such a way that it to a certain degree governs its behavior and is aware of it as its own and even identifies it with itself. Although this transmission may in some way resemble a television program, it still fundamentally differs from it — it, at least partially, is aware of itself. From this one may suppose that it also differs in its construction from a television signal — it is most likely something like ball lightning, which, being programmed and sent from the Primary Center, is received not by just any but by a strictly defined receiving device. Thus this transmission has its address. And then one may suppose that it is sent not at all for the entertainment of the receiving device, which has no devices for this, but with some technological aim — for example, with the aim of the sent psychic entity’s acquiring some experience, or with the aim of its technological processing inside bio-tele-receivers. In this case the verisimilitude of the behavior of the “tele-psychic signal” system is likewise determined by causes external to it and, from the internal position, cannot attain an absolute maximum.

As for the “computer” metaphor, the collective experience of humanity contains testimony to many facts pointing to such phenomena connected with the human psyche that are difficult or impossible to explain using it. In this hypothesis the basic idea is that as a result of the progressive growing complexity of the material complex, at some stage, when a certain threshold of complexity is overcome, a new quality suddenly appears — previously inert matter suddenly becomes living, sensitive, and animate. The successes of genetics and genetic engineering make such a hypothesis quite probable — for it is “enough” to assemble a chromosome, which at present no longer seems something so very implausible, and from it a corresponding living being might develop. But the problem is that one must assemble not simply a chromosome but a living chromosome — for a dead chromosome will not develop. Clearly a corpse differs from a living organism not in the substance of which it consists, but in something else. And if Jesus Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, then what did he add to his already-decomposing corporeal body? The collective experience of humanity testifies to the possibility of a full-fledged resurrection of a person after the expiry of the medical resuscitation period, equal to roughly four or five minutes.

Hard to believe, but in 1944 in Moscow a book was published by the well-known Soviet physiologist A. G. Gurwitsch with a title that, given the totalitarian regime then in existence, seems simply incredible — The Theory of the Biological Field [19]. In this book and other works of the remarkable scientist there is discussed, in particular, the discovery of a special radiation that he called mitogenetic. This radiation is connected with the processes of cell division, and its existence points to the presence in the living organism of special structures of an energetic character, invisible to the eye. These structures perform the role of organizers of the growth, arrangement, and morphogenesis of the tissues, organs, and the whole body of the growing organism. Of course, the presence of energetic components in a living organism is not something unexpected for materialist science and cannot be regarded as something fundamentally non-reproducible; however, the problem is that science still cannot identify what in various guises is correlated with the concept of bioenergy. Still, let us not lose hope that materialist science will find a way to assimilate the conception of a special energy that “supposedly” is inherent in everything living. The particle “supposedly” we have here put in quotation marks, trying to reflect the complex cognitive situation in the paradigm of modern science. This situation is connected with the discovery and assimilation by science of a multitude of new facts and phenomena relating to the specificity of the living. Besides this, there also exists an “unscientific” use of the concept of bioenergetics by a whole social stratum of psychics and those who “naively” believe them. Official science strives to control priority in the introduction of new scientific concepts — and this is not only its right but its obligation. However, it remains a regrettable fact that to this day science has not responded to the spontaneous challenge of unofficial discoveries, theories, and conceptions. A situation is created in which a large number of not-at-all-stupid people are convinced of the real existence of a phenomenon that science either rejects, or passes over in silence, or contemptuously dismisses as something relating to superstition and unworthy of mention from a scientific point of view.

Sometimes journalists tell one another the story of how academician Alexandrov was shown a film about Rosa Kuleshova, shot by his trusted students. That film, incidentally, was at one time shown on television too. In this film scenes were demonstrated, shot with every possible precaution against any falsification whatsoever, in which Rosa Kuleshova, for example, moved small objects across the surface of a table without touching them, only directing her hands at them, as if radiating invisible lines of force from them. The table on which the objects lay was open on all sides, Rosa wore a short-sleeved blouse, and the academician’s assistants passed their hands between Rosa’s palms and the objects on which she was acting. By this they showed that there were no super-fine threads with which Rosa might imitate remote action — psychokinesis. There were also many other experiments, but that is not the point. The point is that the academician, having watched the film, stood up and, saying nothing, left the room. Apparently this account is to be understood to mean that official science, in the person of its highest authorities, cannot accept and acknowledge certain obvious facts, since they do not correspond to officially recognized or advertised doctrines.

At the same time persistent rumors circulate that in the secret laboratories of the leading countries experiments are being conducted on the detection and use of specific bioenergetics. It seems quite plausible that the country whose science is first to master bioenergetic technologies will find itself at an incontestable advantage.

It would be reasonable to study (on a scientific basis, of course!) the possibility of a conditionally dualistic structure of the world, in which, alongside its materialist component, a spiritual component too is recognized as an independent and real layer, though apparently connected with the physical world. Such dualism will most likely turn out to be relative, and the struggle of opinions may unfold only over the question of the primacy of the physical or the spiritual part of the single world.

In strict accordance with the rules of modern science, one may suppose that psychic phenomena are formed on the basis of some subtle-material field unknown to science. Then again, various names for such a field have been proposed by various authors and have long existed — bioenergetic, psycho-informational, energo-informational. It seems that the first to speak of the concept of a biofield from a scientific point of view, and even to patent it, was A. A. Adamenko, but I have no specific primary source.

Presumably such a field exists independently of material objects but can somehow interact with them. On the other hand, living beings are capable of organizing and structuring psychic energy in such a way that individualized energo-informational complexes arise, capable of long-term preservation of their form. These complexes, alongside their existence in the physical body, are also capable of autonomous existence outside the physical body. Such bioenergetic complexes must exist in all living beings, and they must be capable of change in the process of evolution in the direction of increasing or decreasing complexity, depending on the special conditions of existence of the biological species. Moreover, it cannot be ruled out that there exist quantitative thresholds of complexity, beyond which bioenergetic bodies acquire qualities fundamentally distinguishing them from bioenergetic bodies of lesser complexity. A hint of such special qualities might be provided by the example of the ascension of Jesus Christ on the third day after death.

At present there is no scientific apparatus with whose help one might register bioenergetic bodies, but their existence is apparently registered by operators possessing extrasensory capacities. However, by the standards of modern science, the supposition of bioenergetic bodies can be considered proven only after the successful conducting of direct instrumental experiments.

Nonetheless, there exists a theme quite well tested by science, which gives grounds for building a hypothesis concerning a psychic substrate distinct from the neurohumoral processes that take place in the living organism. This concerns the energy meridians (see Fig. 1.01), which, within the framework of the proposed hypothesis, we shall call functional, since, presumably, they correspond to the basic psychic functions. Of course, this by no means denies the specific role either of neurohumoral processes or of the material organs of the nervous system, concerning which science has reliably established that these organs bear directly on psychic and psychological processes. True, one may ask here why turn to these meridians if material organs are known that are undoubtedly connected with psychological phenomenology? All the more since “Occam’s razor,” as a possible methodological instrument of natural science, does not recommend “multiplying entities beyond necessity”? There are probably cases in which such a recommendation makes sense, but this by no means means that it is correct in all cases. At least, no such proof exists. The answer here should be that one ought to discover all the entities that bear on the explanation of a phenomenon.

But before passing to the consideration of this theme, let us cite one quotation from the recently published book Virtual Psychology [27]: “The implicit premise of modern scientific psychology is the notion that psychic properties (abilities, qualities, functions, etc.) exist in the psyche. At first glance this assertion looks absolutely correct, and even tautological — indeed, where else, if not in the psyche, do psychic properties exist? From this follows the simple idea that for a person to possess one or another property, it is enough to have a psyche. We, however, hold that the psyche itself has an internal organization, and each psychic property can belong only to a definite psychic organization. In this sense, for the existence of any psychic property the existence of the psyche in general is not enough; rather, the existence of a definite psychic organization is necessary” [27].

The hypothesis of a complexly structured bioenergetic body might explain such a structure connected with the human body as the energy (or Chinese) meridians. Despite the fact that the presence in a person of a separate energy body has not been proven by direct instrumental experiments, the existence of an energetic structure in the form of a totality of energy channels is at present officially recognized, and its description and definition have entered not only numerous scientific books but also encyclopedic editions.

In literary sources [10, 11, 12, 13] one can find indications of the existence of a large number of bioenergetic meridians. But among them fourteen stand out first of all, of which twelve may conditionally be called zodiacal. This can be done because, as the sources note, these meridians are subject to circadian (daily) activation, coming into a relatively excited state one after another every two hours. Thus, over the course of a day each of them in turn becomes the leading one and in a certain sense takes upon itself the management of the bioenergetic processes within the organism.

Two meridians — the Conception Vessel (Anterior Median) and the Governor Vessel (Posterior Median) — stand apart, not being included in the chain of twelve meridians, and in this sense they can be called timeless. This peculiarity of theirs is a peculiar key to the socionic understanding of the special role that the named meridians play in the psycho-energetic structure of a person — they are connected with the intuitive processes of a person’s information processing. With the zodiacal meridians, meanwhile, are connected the emotional, sensory, and logical components of information metabolism.

As far back as 1982, Aušra Augustinavičiūtė supposed that the energetic substrate of the informational aspects in their functional embodiment is the energy (Chinese) meridians. In this she relied on her own sensations arising in interaction with real people of a certain socionic type. These sensations were projected onto certain areas of the body and were perceived by her as having an evaluative quality — that is, they could be interpreted as bad or good, pleasant or unpleasant, comfortable or uncomfortable.

In her work Socion [4] Aušra Augustinavičiūtė advanced the supposition (utterly brilliant, by the way!) that it is precisely the basic energy meridians that are closely connected with the socionic functions and are their energetic carriers.

Without categorically asserting the existence of such an unequivocal correspondence, let us consider the argumentation available at present in favor of such a possibility. Incidentally, this might serve as a basis and program for conducting rigorous laboratory experiments on establishing the connection between psychic processes and the functioning of the network of energy meridians.

At present the energy meridians, despite their practical use in medicine and their official recognition, still remain an enigma for physiologists. With the help of existing instruments, signals of their presence cannot be distinguished, for example, from signals of galvanic skin resistance. Nonetheless, the subjective experiences of patients undergoing a course of acupuncture treatment point to the existence of an integral system of some energy lines, at whose individual points various sensations of energetic activity are experienced. The movement of some energy along them is felt subjectively, but a full-fledged scientific interpretation of this phenomenon does not yet exist, and this energy itself is in no way identified by physicists.

Aušra Augustinavičiūtė supposed that between the informational aspects (IAs) and the meridians there obtains the following correspondence: to the meridian of the stomach (yang) and the meridian of the pancreas (yin) (7–11 o’clock) corresponds extraverted ethics or emotionality; to the meridian of the bladder (yang) and the meridian of the kidneys (yin) (15–19 o’clock) corresponds extraverted sensorics or volitional readiness; to the meridian of the gallbladder (yang) and the meridian of the liver (yin) (23–1 o’clock) corresponds extraverted logic or the performance of physical work (technology); to the meridian of the pericardium (yin) and the meridian of the triple heater (yang) (19–23 o’clock) corresponds introverted sensorics or well-being; to the meridian of the lungs (yang) and the meridian of the large intestine (yin) (3–7 o’clock) corresponds introverted logic, the consistent unfolding of thought, or speech activity. To extraverted³ and introverted⁴ intuition correspond the posterior and anterior median channels. Here too the change of polarity of quality is preserved, since the trunk and head parts of these meridians have differing yin-yang characteristics.

Easiest of all to discover and establish is the semantic correspondence between the meridian of the heart and the socionic function bearing the name introverted ethics, or introverted feeling in Jung. With this function are connected such manifestations of the human psyche as sympathy, love, faith, fidelity, hope, respect, the attractive force acting between human beings, the capacity to “take to heart,” to feel, to be moved. The energetics of the heart meridian has a quite definite characteristic, which in acupuncture practice is called by the term “yin,” serving to designate a totality of features including a shade of heightened sensitivity, femininity, negativity, coldness, contraction, and so on. To the yin characteristics are complementarily correlated the yang characteristics, having a shade of positivity, warmth, expansion, and so on.

Since the socionic functions are bipolar — that is, connected both with positive and with negative psychic manifestations — then in accordance with the hypothesis under consideration, one must seek the yang channel that complements the Heart meridian. Such a channel, by Aušra Augustinavičiūtė’s supposition, is the meridian of the Small Intestine, directly adjoining the heart meridian and being its yang complement, and it might answer for the negative pole of the function of introverted ethics: antipathy, hatred, infidelity, despair, the repelling force acting between human beings. This pair of meridians is activated in the interval between 11 and 15 o’clock [11], so that the maximum of its activity gravitates toward noon. Let us note also that in medical practice a symptom is known connecting the state of the small intestine with tingling in the region of the heart.

Analogously to this, one can establish the superposition of the semantic fields of the remaining socionic functions and pairs of meridians. Justifying her hypothesis, Aušra Augustinavičiūtė writes [5]: “…living organisms oppose themselves to the surrounding world. For this, behind each element of IM (information metabolism) of a person there must be some concrete systems (that is, a material-energetic carrier must exist — S. Ch.), thanks to which EM (energy metabolism) occurs in him and thanks to which alone he is able to oppose himself, as a closed energetic system of EM, to the surrounding world. …to each element of IM correspond two paired meridians with the organism’s systems corresponding to them, or one of the two median meridians.”

And further: “It is not hard to notice a clear regularity between how a person feels himself in society, what he most of all lacks, and his primary chronic illnesses. Whoever has difficulties in relations with people — the heart or small intestine answers for it; whoever constantly lacks positive emotions — the stomach and pancreas. Whoever feels a hunger for physical self-realization — the gallbladder or liver; whoever has no possibility of acting by his own will — the kidneys. Why does this happen? EM is conditioned by IM and vice versa.”

In the figure in the text of her work, Aušra arranges the zodiacal meridians in a circle, indicating beside them the time of their activation, and in the center of the circle places the aspects of extraverted and introverted intuition, which she correlates with the Du-Mai and Ren-Mai meridians — that is, the Posterior and Anterior Median — which she explains as follows: “These aspects are inscribed in the center of the figure because the median meridians do not have their own specific time of functioning as compared with the other meridians. Knowledge of which aspect of the world is reflected in which meridian suggests an interesting hypothesis. For the extraverted meridians run along the legs, and the introverted ones along the arms. The extravert in general more skillfully makes sense of the extraverted aspects of the surrounding world — objects — and the introvert of its introverted aspects — relations, and it turns out that the extravert has more reason in his legs, and the introvert in his arms. By this one can explain the more homebound way of life of introverts and their greater patience for attention-requiring manual work, whereas the extravert often thinks much better when he is in motion. Extravert-orators pace about the stage.”

One of the most important ideas of Aušra Augustinavičiūtė connected with the understanding of the semantics of the meridians is her substantive interpretation of the socionic terms designating the IAs (informational aspects) in concepts connected with the energy meridians (see Table 1.01).

In two cases I have changed the correspondence between the meridians and the IAs, finding such a correspondence more precise, and giving the corresponding explanation. Namely, I hold (in accordance with the semantics of the IAs and the meridians) that extraverted ethics (extraverted feeling in C. G. Jung) corresponds to the meridian of the Pericardium and the Triple Heater, while the meridians of the Stomach and Pancreas correspond to introverted sensorics — that is, to good or bad well-being. The latter consideration has, incidentally, a physiological argument too — the feeling of satisfaction and comfort that sets in after sufficient intake of food is ensured by a certain hormonal mediator, which in this case is serotonin.

Let us note also that this is a feeling of a different kind than the “heart” emotions provoked by adrenaline and noradrenaline produced by the adrenal glands. One may also suppose that behind each meridian stands a quite definite hormonal mediator. This is one of the themes of possible experimental work.

Relying on the ideas of Aušra Augustinavičiūtė, at the conference in Šventoji in 1990 I investigated variants of the “meridian-energetic” provision of different TIMs. Thus, for example, the TIM Sl(Zhu) (“Zhukov”), according to this hypothesis, should have as its leading pair of meridians the meridians of the Bladder and Kidneys. The Bladder meridian begins above the eyes (see Fig. 1.01), skirts the top of the skull with its two branches at a distance of one cun from the midline, descends along the neck, in the lower third of which each branch bifurcates by another cun’s width, and by four lines, two to the right and two to the left of the spine, descends along the back, forming a complex pattern in the region of the tailbone, and along the outer sides of both legs descends to the feet. The Bladder meridian is the most powerful meridian on the human body — it has the most points and the greatest total length.

[Table 1.01. Functional Meridians — figures 1–14 depicting the meridians:]

1. Large Intestine meridian (LI)
2. Lung meridian (Lu)
3. Stomach meridian (St)
4. Pancreas & Spleen meridian (Pa)
5. Heart meridian (He)
6. Small Intestine meridian (SI)
7. Bladder meridian (Bl)
8. Kidney meridian (Ki)
9. Pericardium (Governor) meridian (Pe)
10. Triple Heater meridian (TH)
11. Gallbladder meridian (GB)
12. Liver meridian (Li)
13. Posterior Median meridian (PM)
14. Anterior Median meridian (AM)

This accords very well with the exceptional vital force of representatives of the TIM in whom this meridian is connected with the first socionic function. To such types belong Sl(Zhu) (“Zhukov”) and Se(Na) (“Napoleon”).

Second in importance for the functioning of Sl(Zhu) should be the totality of the Lung and Large Intestine meridians. Even a superficial notion of the mentioned meridians makes it possible to create the image of a person with a very powerful and strong back, standing firmly on his feet (Bladder meridian) and with a powerful loud voice (Lung meridian) giving orders (tension in the large intestine — Large Intestine meridian). The strong position of the Lung meridian, connected with the semantics of logical thinking, speech, and planning, makes this type — with the leading position of the Bladder meridian, which ensures boldness, courage, and steadfastness in the face of life’s adversities — capable of broad strategic generalizations, of the ability to organize and lead people. Thus even a partial description of this type, based on the interpretation of the semantics of the two leading meridians, gives a convincing typological picture.

If we turn to the “meridian” description of the TIM Se(Na) (“Napoleon”), then the first part of such a description in a first approximation coincides with the description of the (in the socionic sense) kindred TIM Sl(Zhu), and this is a good argument in favor of such a term [i.e., “kindred”] for designating the relation between these two types. The second in importance pair of meridians in Se(Na) are the meridians of the Heart (positive aspects of ethics) and the Small Intestine (negative aspects of ethics). A person in whom the heart energetics is activated should presumably possess the ability to arouse sympathy toward himself promptly, but given that this meridian in this type is conjoined with the Bladder meridian, ensuring great energetic and vital power, the sympathy that this type arouses toward itself reaches the level of charisma. As soon as the bearer of this type becomes aware of, or instinctively senses, the force of the effect of his charisma on other people, he begins actively to use it in order to exert influence on other people, relying not on logical but on ethical means. Such a description fully corresponds to the TIM Se(Na), one of whose extremely generalized social roles may be designated as “Politician” (V. V. Gulenko). And indeed, socionic observations show that bearers of such a type (Pugachova, Gorbachev, Luzhkov, the host of the show “Odessa Gentlemen” Filimonov, the host of the show “Guess the Melody” Pelsh) affect those around them by great energetic pressure combined with charisma of a non-logical variety. Of course, according to socionic concepts, it does not act on everyone.

Let us see how the primary “meridian” descriptions of other TIMs might look. For Il(Ki) (“Don Quixote”) the leading meridian, according to the established semantic correspondence, is the Posterior Median Meridian. This meridian is not among the “zodiacal” ones, being as it were above time, which presumably ensures the ability of the bearer of the corresponding TIM to look at the world and at things “from the outside,” above time and space, avoiding excessive involvement in the everyday and consumer sphere of life, and this gives him the possibility of penetrating into the essence of things. The second pair of leading meridians in this type are the Lung and Large Intestine meridians. The semantics of the Lung meridian is connected with the logical structuring of information, with orientation toward objectivity, with verbal persuasiveness, and this under certain conditions is realized as the communication of the discovery of fundamental laws of the world and their propagation. It is precisely to such a mode of vital activity that this type gravitates.

In Ie(Ge), a type kindred to Il(Ki), the leading meridian coincides, but the second pair of strengthened meridians are the Heart and Small Intestine meridians. This ensures the bearers of this TIM an intuitive understanding of the ethical structure of other people and the ability to arouse sympathy toward themselves promptly at the level of charisma, as is the case with Se(Na). The difference in the functioning of these types is connected with the fact that in the case of Se(Na) the charisma has a forceful character, and in the case of Ie(Ge) — an intuitive one, which might be identified with enchantment. Apparently this explains the fact that most winners of beauty contests, like “Miss America,” belong to this type.

In sE(Dyu) (“Dumas”) the leading pair of meridians are the Stomach and Pancreas meridians, whose semantics is connected with positive and negative well-being and is in good correspondence with the semantics of the informational aspect of introverted sensorics — in works on socionics this type is described as predominantly oriented toward the consumer side of life, in which a gastronomic attitude toward food is among the leading ones. The second group of meridians — the Triple Heater meridian and the Pericardium meridian. Free (“creative”) manipulation of the energetics of these meridians gives the bearer of this type the possibility of controllably inducing in himself any emotional state, which favors the development of artistic abilities and ensures a certain self-realization.

In sL(Gb) (“Gaben”), a type kindred to sE(Dyu), the first pair of meridians is the same, which likewise forms in him an orientation toward refined sensory consumerism, but the second group of leading meridians — the Gallbladder meridian and the Liver meridian, answering for high physical work capacity — ensure him the ability to display high work capacity, which, however, is not distinguished by great scope, but is limited to rationalization in the sphere of immediate consumption.

In Es(Gyu) (“Hugo”) the main pair of meridians are the Triple Heater and Pericardium meridians, and this, given their correspondence to the first socionic function, ensures high and passionate emotionality. And since the second pair of leading meridians are the Stomach and Pancreas meridians, whose semantics is connected with positive and negative well-being, which orients the manifestations of the first function in an introverted-sensory key and is expressed in the full-bloodedness of their everyday manifestations, a gravitation toward everyday comfort, the ability to create such comfort, this forms in them everyday practicality and a “warm” (sensory) passionateness.

In Ei(Gm) (“Hamlet”), a type kindred to Es(Gyu), the first pair of meridians is the same, which likewise forms in him an orientation toward high and passionate emotionality, but since the second leading meridian here (in connection with the correspondence described above) is the Anterior Median Meridian (Meridian of Functioning), not among the “zodiacal” ones and whose semantics is connected with the intuitive perception of the flow of events in time, and in its yin hypostasis with the active experiencing of the past and future, then the manifestations of the first function acquire an accent of tensely dramatic emotionalizing, connected with dis-identification from the present, as one of the predispositions to neuroticism. Of course, this is merely one of the forms of unaccentuated predisposition, and nonetheless in the repertoire of psychological manifestations of bearers of this type such a psychic radical manifests itself in the form of an inclination and ability toward tense emotional dramatization.

In lI(Ro) (“Robespierre”), the first pair of meridians includes the Lung and Large Intestine meridians, which, in accordance with their semantics, ensures the predominance of rational thinking, distinguished by a high degree of logicality and a critical attitude toward whatever does not correspond to the criteria of strict logic. The second most active energy meridian in this type is the Posterior Median Meridian, which endows him with the ability not only to orient himself toward ideas with high potential possibilities but also gives the possibility of achieving their maximal practical realization in the form of projects, devices, and realistic theories.

In lS(Go) (“Gorky”), a type kindred to lI(Ro), the first pair of meridians is the same, which ensures him a predominance of rationalist logic, but the second pair of meridians are the meridians of the bladder (yang) and kidneys (yin), which makes him ready to apply forceful pressure, but since this is the second position, the bearer of such a type will use it subtly and cunningly, closer to the mode of manipulation.

In iE(Es) (“Yesenin”), the leading meridian is the Anterior Median, which, in accordance with its semantics, creates in the bearer of such a type a peculiar sense of timelessness, an absence of the need to hurry in trying to make some definite deadline. What is truly important for him gets done as if of itself, and for its sake he is prepared to sacrifice himself. Everything else is less important. This shade of readiness to sacrifice himself for the sake of what is important to him is ensured by the energo-informational features of the second pair of activated meridians — the meridians of the pericardium (yin) and the triple heater (yang). They, in accordance with their semantics and level of activity, ensure the bearer of such a type the ability arbitrarily to manipulate his emotionality. Therefore such a type, under the influence of an impulse of emotional demonstration, may perform a heroic deed, especially if this takes place before the eyes of a large number of people or if he knows that his deed will become known to people significant to him. Timelessness in combination with emotionality corresponds in this type to a hysteric-melancholic readiness.

In iL(Ba) (“Balzac”), a type kindred to iE(Es), the first pair of meridians is the same, and in him analogously, though somewhat differently, a set toward “timelessness” is formed. However, unlike iE(Es), in iL(Ba) the second most dominant pair of meridians are the Gallbladder (yang) and Liver (yin) meridians, which answer for high physical productivity, which in combination with timelessness forms a phlegmatic readiness — a calm immersion in the performance of work. Relying on the semantics of the two groups of dominant meridians, one can reproduce the psychological image of this type as calm, balanced, judicious, unhurried, having sufficient subjective time at his disposal to pay attention to the shortcomings present in the plans and projects of other people, immersed in the careful performance of work, when time for him as if stands still. This image can be considerably supplemented by unfolding the semantic field of the dominant meridians, but naturally it will become considerably richer if one takes into account the contribution of the semantic fields of the other meridians.

In Li(Lo) (“London”) the first pair of meridians are the Gallbladder (yang) and Liver (yin) meridians, which ensures high physical work capacity and a general set toward labor as the basic life value. The second socionic function in this case is ensured by the Anterior Median meridian, which, given the semantics of the second function, points to a highly developed ability to structure time. The superposition of the semantic fields of these two groups of meridians creates a notion of a very active, energetic, enterprising person, resourceful, inventive, and optimistically disposed doer. The bearer of such a type is distinguished by high “passability,” easily bears the hardships of unstable physical existence, which in combination with an enormous cognitive motivation connected with the Anterior Median meridian makes him a tireless traveler and a person inclined to adventure, a practical variety of which is, in particular, tourism.

In Ls(Sht) (“Stierlitz”), a type kindred to Li(Lo), the first pair of meridians is the same, which determines his set toward productive labor, but the group of meridians corresponding to the second function — namely, the Stomach and Pancreas meridians with their semantics of physical comfort — makes this type’s attitude toward production more pragmatic than in Li(Lo), compelling its bearers to bring technological chains to maximal perfection and to pay attention to all the details and elements of the production process, right down to its legal (and in a more general sense, ethical!) provision. Therefore representatives of this type are distinguished by high punctuality in the fulfillment of all technological and legal requirements connected with production. This, for example, is why such people turn out to be superb chief engineers of factories, and precisely why they are most reliable in the fulfillment of contractual conditions.

In eI(Do) (“Dostoevsky”), the first pair of dominant meridians are the Heart and Small Intestine meridians. In this case, apparently, the Heart meridian in this type is more active than the Small Intestine meridian, which is connected with the influence of the Posterior Median meridian, ensuring an understanding of potential possibilities. But since this last meridian, besides its own semantics, has in this type also the semantics of the second function with its creative aspect, representatives of eI(Do) not simply understand potential possibilities but, in interaction with other people, help to disclose and realize them.

In eS(Dr) (“Dreiser”), a type kindred to eI(Do), the first pair of meridians is the same, but here the leading one turns out to be the Small Intestine meridian, whose behavioral realization of energetics manifests itself in greater rigidity and demandingness. This is moreover conditioned and guaranteed by the group of meridians connected with the second function — the Bladder and Kidney meridians, forming a set toward forceful pressure, which, presumably, correlates with the socionic phenomenology of representatives of this type.

In this work we have limited ourselves to only a brief characterization of the socionic types with reliance on the semantics of the energy meridians, which is sufficient for a primary reconciliation of the functional-model and meridian-energetic descriptions of the socionic types. One may hope that experimenter-psychologists will be found who will be able, in direct laboratory experiments, to materialize the ideas expressed above. Undoubtedly, everything written above constitutes nothing more than a hypothesis.

To simplify the work and improve the surveyability of the data, let us introduce designations for the meridians. In the literature German, French, and English designations are known — for greater convenience we in this case propose Russian ones (see Table 1.02).

In Tables 1.03 and 1.04 only the meridians corresponding to the first and second function of the model are indicated, but, as Aušra Augustinavičiūtė supposed, there is in exactly the same way a correspondence between the remaining functions and the meridians, and it is established by the very same principle of correspondence of semantic fields. True, Aušra Augustinavičiūtė in her work [20], speaking of the models of “Maxim” and “Hamlet,” lists six meridians each, and proposes to consider the meridians not included in the model of a given TIM as shadow ones, but the logic of Model A requires that all meridians be included in the model without fail, though in different types they are accentuated differently. Thus in “Maxim,” apparently, the Lung meridian is more strongly accentuated, and in “Hamlet” — the Large Intestine meridian, which mutually complement each other, which possibly also creates energetic comfort in the interaction of duals. This question is now being intensively investigated, and in the near future the corresponding results will be made public. Of course, one must not forget that all reasoning about the correspondence of meridians and IAs bears a hypothetical character and requires experimental proof and repeated clarifications.

However, the semantic groundings also cannot be ignored — but, moreover, socionics for the first time in science, uniting energetics and semantics, sketches out paths for establishing a connection between the natural and the humanitarian sciences.

A problem requiring experimental development remains the necessity of understanding by what means a concrete meridian becomes leading in a given type, by what means meridians are accentuated so that, besides their own IA semantics, they acquire the semantics of the corresponding function. Here it is again fitting to recall the experiments of A. G. Gurwitsch and his discovery of structured energetic complexes, one of whose functions, at least, is what in genetics has received the name of the energetic organization of the growth of embryonic tissues. It is not hard to understand that without such growth-directing structures, the arbitrary and unlimited division of the cell would lead only to the appearance of an amorphous biomass.

It is quite plausible that it is precisely here that the secret of morphogenesis is hidden — that is, the acquisition by growing tissues of the forms of concrete organs, systems of the organism, and, in the end, the whole body. On this theme I also came across a book by the well-known (and even in his time famous) English physiologist Sir Sherrington. This book has a title significant for the theme under consideration — Genes and Organizers. The basic idea of this work consists in the view that the fertilized egg cell, beginning to divide, forms in the space surrounding it a system of lines of force. They are invisible to the eye, but they constitute that framework along which the new cells appearing in the process of division are built up. This idea sheds light on the problem of morphogenesis and sketches out an answer to the question of by what means the body of an animal of a concrete species is formed. Unfortunately, more detailed information on this theme I do not at present possess.

If the existence of energetic organizers corresponds to reality, then it is easy to understand the role of the energy meridians in the system of the organism — it is a framework that not only from the very first moment of the appearance of the new organism directs its growth and forms the organs, but also remains throughout life as a conductor and transformer of specific energy. What this specific energy is, science does not yet know, but within the framework of the socionic paradigm one may suppose that it is informationally aspected energy, which constitutes the generalized basis of more concretized forms of IM.

On the basis of the hypothesis of the energy meridians as carriers of the IAs, one can formulate yet another version concerning the semantics of the informational aspects. First, let us note that in connection with socionics one must speak not of some single semantic field but of at least three such fields — the phenomenological, the functional-typological, and the relational⁵ — since in the transition from one subject or sub-subject area to another the same archetypes give somewhat different semantic projections. Thus, if in the phenomenological field the archetype of introverted logic is realized in the form of concepts of spatial relations, then at the level of the socionic function this same archetype takes on a shade of rational thinking, and at the level of relations — the sense of being under control.

[Table 1.02 — TIMs and their leading meridians:]

TIM	First function	Second function
Il(Ki)	Posterior Median meridian (yang)	Lung (yin) and Large Intestine (yang) meridians
sE(Dyu)	Stomach (yang) and Pancreas (yin) meridians	Pericardium (yin) and Triple Heater (yang) meridians
Es(Gyu)	Triple Heater (yang) and Pericardium (yin) meridians	Pancreas (yin) and Stomach (yang) meridians
lI(Ro)	Large Intestine (yang) and Lung (yin) meridians	Posterior Median meridian (yin)
Ei(Gm)	Triple Heater (yang) and Pericardium (yin) meridians	Anterior Median meridian (yin)
lS(Go)	Large Intestine (yang) and Lung (yin) meridians	Kidney (yin) and Bladder (yang) meridians
Sl(Zhu)	Bladder (yang) and Kidney (yin) meridians	Lung (yin) and Large Intestine (yang) meridians
iE(Es)	Anterior Median meridian (yang)	Pericardium (yin) and Triple Heater (yang) meridians
Li(Lo)	Gallbladder (yang) and Liver (yin) meridians	Anterior Median meridian (yin)
eS(Dr)	Small Intestine (yang) and Heart (yin) meridians	Kidney (yin) and Bladder (yang) meridians
Se(Na)	Bladder (yang) and Kidney (yin) meridians	Heart (yin) and Small Intestine (yang) meridians
iL(Ba)	Anterior Median meridian (yang)	Liver (yin) and Gallbladder (yang) meridians
Ie(Ge)	Posterior Median meridian (yang)	Heart (yin) and Small Intestine (yang) meridians
sL(Gb)	Stomach (yang) and Pancreas (yin) meridians	Liver (yin) and Gallbladder (yang) meridians
Ls(Sht)	Gallbladder (yang) and Liver (yin) meridians	Pancreas (yin) and Stomach (yang) meridians
eI(Do)	Small Intestine (yang) and Heart (yin) meridians	Posterior Median meridian (yin)

The hypothesis of the phenomenological semantics⁶ of the IAs was presented in detail in [5]. The semantics of these aspects in the functional field, apparently, is unequivocally determined by the role of the energy meridians. If one proceeds from evolutionary conceptions of the adaptation of the human psyche to the reflection of the surrounding world, then it appears natural that the energo-physiological structures of the organism took shape under the influence of external factors and “learned” to reflect them effectively. This can be traced at any levels of abstraction, down to individual neurons and molecular complexes. Choosing the socionic level of abstraction, one can speak of the physiological reflection of eight generalized MEI-complexes. Within the framework of the socionic hypothesis one can hold that the energo-physiological equivalent of such complexes is precisely the main energy meridians.

The author is aware that many ideas expressed in this chapter require deep experimental elaboration, and some interpretations of the primary semantics of the basic archetypes may, by definition, leave something to be desired. Therefore he awaits with hope and gratitude conscientious scientific criticism, clarifications, remarks, and benevolent discussion of any socionic problems.

[Table 1.03 — Conventional designations of meridians:]

№	Meridian name	Designation	Sign
1	Lungs	Lu	yin
2	Large Intestine	LI	yang
3	Stomach	St	yang
4	Spleen and Pancreas	SP	yin
5	Heart	He	yin
6	Small Intestine	SI	yang
7	Bladder	Bl	yang
8	Kidneys	Ki	yin
9	Pericardium	Pe	yin
10	Triple Heater	TH	yang
11	Gallbladder	GB	yang
12	Liver	Li	yin
13	Head part of Posterior Median	hPM	variable
14	Head part of Anterior Median	hAM	variable
15	Trunk part of Posterior Median	tPM	variable
16	Trunk part of Anterior Median	tAM	variable

In “The Characterization of the Logical-Sensory Introtim” [4] Aušra Augustinavičiūtė comes to the conclusion that the Anterior and Posterior Median meridians in their head and trunk parts have a non-constant polarization, as is the case with all zodiacal meridians — in this case the polarization depends on two parameters: on type and on sex. She noticed that along the yin channels-aspects the bearer of the TIM listens attentively, while along the yang ones he commands, is expansive, emphatically demonstrative. This gives an additional possibility of sorting out the polarization of the median meridians.

Aušra Augustinavičiūtė writes [4]: “Apparently, the realization of physical abilities relates to the dorsal part of the Posterior Median meridian, and the realization of psychic ones — to its head part. If this is so, then those whose head is yin are more inclined to ‘work with their brains’ at society’s behest. Those whose head is yang — to dictate over which problems exactly one must rack one’s brains.” As a result she comes to the conclusion that, for example, in Il(Ki)-men the head part of the Posterior Median meridian has yin energetics, and in Il(Ki)-women — yang. For better surveyability, all the information concerning the distribution of the yin-yang signs is presented in Table 1.05. But, of course, these are all tasks for experimenters.

[Table 1.04 — Correspondence of energy meridians to the 1st and 2nd functions of the psychic models A and Yu (Jung); “in men / in women” columns:]

TIM	First function (men)	First function (women)	Second function (men)	Second function (women)
Il(Ki)	hPM (yin)	hPM (yang)	Lu (yin) & LI (yang)	LI (yang) & Lu (yin)
sE(Dyu)	St (yang) & SP (yin)	SP (yin) & St (yang)	Pe (yin) & TH (yang)	TH (yang) & Pe (yin)
Es(Gyu)	TH (yang) & Pe (yin)	Pe (yin) & TH (yang)	SP (yin) & St (yang)	St (yang) & SP (yin)
lI(Ro)	LI (yang) & Lu (yin)	Lu (yin) & LI (yang)	hPM (yang)	hPM (yin)
Ei(Gm)	TH (yang) & Pe (yin)	TH (yang) & Pe (yin)	hPM (yin)	hPM (yang)
lS(Go)	LI (yang) & Lu (yin)	Lu (yin) & LI (yang)	Ki (yin) & Bl (yang)	Bl (yang) & Ki (yin)
Sl(Zhu)	Bl (yang) & Ki (yin)	Ki (yin) & Bl (yang)	Lu (yin) & LI (yang)	LI (yang) & Lu (yin)
iE(Es)	hAM (yang)	hAM (yin)	Pe (yin) & TH (yang)	TH (yang) & Pe (yin)
Li(Lo)	GB (yang) & Li (yin)	Li (yin) & GB (yang)	hAM (yang)	hAM (yin)
eS(Dr)	SI (yang) & He (yin)	He (yin) & SI (yang)	Ki (yin) & Bl (yang)	Bl (yang) & Ki (yin)
Se(Na)	Bl (yang) & Ki (yin)	Ki (yin) & Bl (yang)	He (yin) & SI (yang)	SI (yang) & He (yin)
iL(Ba)	tAM (yin)	tAM (yang)	Li (yin) & GB (yang)	GB (yang) & Li (yin)
Ie(Ge)	hPM (yang)	hPM (yin)	He (yin) & SI (yang)	SI (yang) & He (yin)
sL(Gb)	St (yang) & SP (yin)	SP (yin) & St (yang)	Li (yin) & GB (yang)	GB (yang) & Li (yin)
Ls(Sht)	GB (yang) & Li (yin)	Li (yin) & GB (yang)	SP (yin) & St (yang)	St (yang) & SP (yin)
eI(Do)	SI (yang) & He (yin)	He (yin) & SI (yang)	tPM (yin)	tPM (yang)

In the table are highlighted the median meridians that in the women and men of a given TIM are energetically predominant. If the hypothesis proposed by Aušra Augustinavičiūtė about the connection of meridians and socionic functions is correct, then, relying on the informational content of Model A, it is natural to suppose that in each quadra only one of the median meridians is energetically predominant. And although not in all types of a quadra does one of the median meridians ensure the work of the first or second function, nonetheless, occupying its definite place in the structure of the psyche, it is common to the whole quadra.

The hypothesis of the energy meridians, quite plausible in the light of medical practice, makes plausible also the hypothesis of energetic objects more general than the meridians — of energy centers. In European science the notion of energy centers is absent, since science does not have instruments capable of identifying such objects. As an indirect confirmation of such a hypothesis, the following reasoning might serve. From the anatomy of the nervous system, the existence is known of nerve plexuses located along the spine, among which are the coccygeal, sacral, solar, cardiac, pharyngeal, and the glandula pinealis, or pineal gland. It is natural to suppose that to the physiological substrate correspond structured energetic processes, and that in the centrally located nerve plexuses these processes not only are distinguished by greater intensity but also play a corresponding — for example, integrating — role of distributive energy stations.

Another indirect (linguistic) indication of the existence of such centers is the presence of adequate terminology in teachings where such centers are recognized not only as existing but also as exceptionally important for the functioning of the organism. In linguistics it is known that a people that created or discovered some objects or phenomena gives them names too, which, along with the use of the object, are borrowed by other peoples. Thus, for example, European peoples borrowed sporting terms from the English, since it was precisely they who first in the world created sporting technologies. Entrepreneurial terminology we borrow from the Americans, musical from the Italians, and so on. And in the dictionaries of many languages there are such Russian words as sputnik, borscht, samovar, steppe, valenki, Kalashnikov. Therefore the presence of a developed terminological system, for example in yoga or Samkhya, is an indication of the possible real existence of the objects standing behind them, which European science would do well not to neglect.

If the hypothesis of the meridians and energy centers corresponds to reality, then it is natural to suppose that between the sets of these objects there exists a regular connection. Let us designate these hypothetical centers by ordinal numbers from the bottom up — in the literature one can find indication of seven centers: muladhara, svadhisthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddha, ajna, and sahasrara. To each of these centers a certain functional-physiological sphere is ascribed, which it is convenient to present in the form of a table (Table 1.06).

The semantic analogy between the centers and the meridians leaps to the eye. Let us try to make this analogy more precise. It is not hard to correlate C1 with the pair of Bladder and Kidney meridians, since with the latter we connected the will and aggressiveness S. To C2 it is easy to set in correspondence the concept of socionic “emotions,” or, better, in a terminologically neutral form, E. The correlation of C4 — e, and correspondingly the pair of Heart and Small Intestine meridians, C5 — l and the pair of Lung and Large Intestine meridians, arouses no particular objections. Almost obviously C7 corresponds to I and the Posterior Median meridian. Harder to prove is that C3 corresponds to L, or the Gallbladder and Liver meridians, whereas to the Stomach and Spleen-Pancreas meridian corresponds C6, behind which stands the fine sensory discrimination s.

[Table 1.05 — Distribution of yin-yang signs in the Median meridians depending on TIM and sex. Columns: tAM, hAM, hPM, tPM for Men; then the same for Women:]

TIM	tAM (M)	hAM (M)	hPM (M)	tPM (M)	tAM (W)	hAM (W)	hPM (W)	tPM (W)
Il(Ki)	yin	yang	yin	yang	yang	yin	yang	yin
sE(Dyu)	yin	yang	yin	yang	yang	yin	yang	yin
Es(Gyu)	yang	yin	yang	yin	yin	yang	yin	yang
lI(Ro)	yang	yin	yang	yin	yin	yang	yin	yang
Ei(Gm)	yin	yang	yin	yang	yang	yin	yang	yin
lS(Go)	yin	yang	yin	yang	yang	yin	yang	yin
Sl(Zhu)	yang	yin	yang	yin	yin	yang	yin	yang
iE(Es)	yang	yin	yang	yin	yin	yang	yin	yang
Li(Lo)	yang	yin	yang	yin	yin	yang	yin	yang
eS(Dr)	yang	yin	yang	yin	yin	yang	yin	yang
Se(Na)	yin	yang	yin	yang	yang	yin	yang	yin
iL(Ba)	yin	yang	yin	yang	yang	yin	yang	yin
Ie(Ge)	yang	yin	yang	yin	yin	yang	yin	yang
sL(Gb)	yang	yin	yang	yin	yin	yang	yin	yang
Ls(Sht)	yin	yang	yin	yang	yang	yin	yang	yin
eI(Do)	yin	yang	yin	yang	yang	yin	yang	yin

Without a correspondence remains the socionic aspect i, connected with the Anterior Median meridian. Since this aspect is confidently identified by socionists, one can conclude that there must exist a centrally located C8, which might be situated above the cerebral cortex. But there we do not find a corresponding physical substrate, and here it is natural to suppose the possibility of an energetic object without physical embodiment. Concerning the existence of such a formation above the human head, information is also encountered in Eastern teachings — presumably, this is the Channel of Brahma, whose intuitively grasped semantics may well correspond to introverted intuition or the identification of temporal phenomena, seeing in time. The final table of correspondence of centers and meridians might look as in Table 1.07.

[Table 1.06 — Functional-physiological spheres:]

№	Original name of center	Functional-physiological sphere	Psychic sphere
1	muladhara	musculoskeletal system, bones, muscles, immunity	Wholeness, defense, aggression
2	svadhisthana	organs of reproduction, biological reproduction	emotionality
3	manipura	digestive system	power
4	anahata	cardiovascular system	love, care
5	vishuddha	lungs, oxygen exchange	speech
6	ajna	pineal gland, sense organs	discrimination
7	sahasrara	cerebral cortex	thinking

[Table 1.07 — Correspondence between energy centers, Chinese meridians, and socionic IAs:]

№	Original name of center	Meridian	IA
1	muladhara	Bladder and Kidneys	S
2	svadhisthana	Triple Heater and Governor of the Pericardium	E
3	manipura	Gallbladder and Liver	L
4	anahata	Heart and Small Intestine	e
5	vishuddha	Lungs and Large Intestine	l
6	ajna	Stomach and Spleen-Pancreas	s
7	sahasrara	Posterior Median	I
8	Channel of Brahma	Anterior Median	i

In the vertical column of socionic symbols one can discover a certain regularity — the first three extraverted aspects are located at the bottom, above them three introverted aspects, and above these, imitating this structure, are located the two intuitions.

Let us stress once more that all these constructions bear an intuitive-hypothetical character and, undoubtedly, require direct experimental confirmation. Some hope for successful experiments with the “Chinese” meridians and energy centers is given by the Voll method used in homeopathy, capable of instrumentally objectivizing the organism’s chemical and energetic preferences that are not fixed by consciousness.

We know too little about the meridians, and the individual energetic diversity in them is too great, to draw far-reaching conclusions on the basis of observations of a small number of people. Before the appearance of socionics it was not even possible to pose the task of determining typological differences in the meridian system, but even now the solution of this task does not seem simple, for it requires statistics on a large sample of reliably established bearers of various TIMs. If the hypothesis of the influence of meridian energetics on typological phenomenology is confirmed, then the socionic type can be diagnosed objectively, establishing the functional hierarchy in the meridian system of a concrete person with the help of instruments. Therefore, first of all, one would like to obtain answers to the following questions:

1. Does a functional accentuation of the meridians exist?
2. By what means are meridians accentuated so that, besides their own semantics reflecting a certain objectively existing IA, they acquire the semantics of the corresponding function?
3. By what means does one or another meridian become leading in a concrete person?

Some light on the posed questions is shed by a comparison of the hypothetical enlarged bio-energy structure of men and women. How, without going into details, does one describe the difference between men and women? It turns out that, if the hypothesis of the energy meridians is correct, the difference reduces to the differing accentuation of the energy centers: in men the odd-numbered ones are stronger, and in women the even-numbered.

The first center ensures aggressiveness, the strength of the musculoskeletal and muscular systems. In men, on average, the muscular apparatus is more powerful and has greater potentials for building up; in strength sports men predominate, and in general men’s indicators in sport are higher.

The second center ensures the emotional sphere and the continuation of the species. Women are more emotional than men, and the physiological organ answering for childbearing — the uterus — is located at the place of projection of the second center. In men in this place is located the prostate gland, an organ homologous to the uterus but considerably smaller in size and more weakly differentiated.

To the projection of the third center on the human body corresponds the waist. In men there is a powerful muscular press here, while women emphasize the gracefulness of their figure with a slender waist.

To the projection of the fourth center on the human body corresponds the chest, and here women are beyond competition. The semantics of this center (not the socionic one!) is connected with the attitude toward others, with love, care, which manifests itself in particular in feeding and hospitality. When a person takes something to heart, when a child or a loved one is pressed to the breast, this too relates to the semantic field of this center.

To the projection of the fifth center on the human body corresponds the region of the throat. If the supposed regularity is correct, then this center in men ought to be stronger. But in what might this be expressed? In men the voice is, on average, lower and coarser, but more important is that the male voice at a certain age breaks under the influence of sex hormones, and the voice for a man is a most important sexual sign exerting a primary influence on the woman. Besides, the semantic field of this center is connected with logic, argumentation, persuasiveness, the ability to give orders, and this relates a bit more to men.

To the projection of the sixth center on the human body corresponds the center of the forehead and the “third eye,” hypothetically corresponding to the pineal gland (glandula pinealis). This is the center of sensory discrimination. Into the fine spectrum of its semantics enter aesthetic perception and, correspondingly, aesthetic self-expression. Here women have a clear advantage over men. The creation of coziness, the adornment of the dwelling, prettifying oneself is more characteristic of women.

To the projection of the seventh center on the human body corresponds the cerebral cortex, and with it are connected intellectual abilities. Since among scientists and inventors men predominate, it seems that here they have a commanding advantage.

There remains the eighth center. By the logic of the proposed hypothesis, here the advantage should belong to women. And indeed, the woman-guardian of the family in the process of evolution adapted not only to foresee the future but also to exert a subconscious influence on it, and these notions relate to the semantic field of the eighth center. Among women there are more clairvoyants and prophetesses. On this score one could write considerably more, but here we are interested in matters of principle, so let us limit ourselves to a minimum.

The hypothesis considered above rests on obvious quantitative differences in the qualitatively identical energetic structures of men and women. But the quantity of what makes them different? This science does not yet know.

On the basis of the hypothesis of the energy meridians as carriers of the IAs, one can formulate a version of the semantics of the IAs. First, let us note that from the socionic point of view one must speak not of some single semantic field but of at least three such fields — the phenomenological, the functional-typological, and the relational — since in the transition from one subject and sub-subject area to another the same archetypes acquire a somewhat different shade. Thus, if in the phenomenological field the archetype of introverted logic is realized in the form of concepts of spatial relations, then at the level of the socionic function this same archetype takes on a shade of rational thinking, and at the level of relations — the sense of being under control.

The hypothesis of the phenomenological semantics of the IAs was presented in detail in [5]. The semantics of these aspects in the functional field, apparently, is unequivocally determined by the functional semantics of the energy meridians. If one proceeds from evolutionary conceptions of the adaptation of the human psyche to the reflection of the surrounding world, then it appears natural that the energo-physiological structures of the organism took shape under the influence of external factors and “learned” to model them effectively. This can and should be traced at any levels of abstraction — from the IA to individual neurons and molecular complexes. Choosing the socionic level of abstraction, one can speak of the physiological reflection of eight generalized material-energo-informational complexes (MEI-complexes). Within the framework of the socionic hypothesis one can hold that the energo-physiological equivalent of such complexes is precisely the main energy meridians.

There remain still further questions, such as how consciousness, being apparently an ideal essence, acts upon the body — for in doing so one has to presuppose such factors as the transmission of energetic impulses, which of course relate to the material plane of being. In his article [37] Piaget analyzes this question, but he does not manage to advance beyond this. Quite constructive here might be the supposition that consciousness is inherent from the outset in the primary substrate lying at the basis of the world, and that its states are capable of directly changing the energetic structure and activity of the primary substrate, with all the consequences ensuing from this.

The author is aware that many ideas expressed in this chapter require deep experimental elaboration and confirmation, and some interpretations of the primary semantics of the basic archetypes may, by definition, leave something to be desired. Therefore he awaits with hope and gratitude conscientious scientific criticism, clarifications, remarks, and benevolent discussion of any problems connected with the possible socionic semantics of the energy meridians.

Conclusions to the First Chapter

1. At present there exists no single solution to the psychophysiological problem.
2. The integral experience of humanity points to the possible existence of a substrate on which psychic phenomenology unfolds.
3. As a hypothetical substrate of the psyche, the energetics of the “Chinese” meridians might serve, which can be accepted as a theoretical basis for instrumental experiments.

References

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4. Aušra Augustinavičiūtė, Socionics, vol. 1, St. Petersburg, 1997.
5. A. Augustinavičiūtė, Socion, Vilnius, 1982–83.
6. A. V. Bukalov, An Extrasensory Experiment Directed at Detecting the Form of Representation of the Socionic Functions in the Human Psyche, paper, 1994.
7. J. La Mettrie, The Natural History of the Soul, 1745.
8. Psychology: A Dictionary, Moscow, 1990.
9. E. Kretschmer, Medical Psychology, St. Petersburg, 1998.
10. A. E. Akimov, “Torsion Fields of the Subtle World,” Terminator, 1996, no. 1–2, pp. 10–13.
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17. H. Spencer, Synthetic Philosophy, Kyiv, 1997.
18. L. Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Moscow, 1994.
19. R. Carnap, Philosophical Foundations of Physics, Moscow, 1971.
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21. Aušra Augustinavičiūtė, The Characterization of the Logical-Sensory Introtim, SMiPL no. 5, 6, 1999.
22. A. V. Bukalov, Socionic Typology and the Perinatal Matrices of S. Grof, papers and articles, 1990.
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24. P. M. Churchland, Matter and Consciousness, 1984, Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind, London.
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26. A. Sédir, Incantations, Moscow, 1994.
27. C. G. Jung, The Tavistock Lectures, Kyiv, 1995, 228 pp.
28. N. Nosov, Virtual Psychology, Moscow, 2000.
29. E. Harth, Windows on the Mind: Reflections on the Physical Bases of Consciousness, 1982.
30. C. G. Jung, Analytical Psychology, St. Petersburg, 1994, 136 pp.
31. E. Glover, Freud or Jung, St. Petersburg, Akademicheskiy Proekt, 1999, 206 pp.
32. W. Menninger, M. Leaf, You and Psychoanalysis, St. Petersburg, Akademicheskiy Proekt, 1998, 192 pp.
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Notes

¹ Even this supposition about the majority of people bears the character of incomplete induction, to say nothing of the fact that it would be incorrect to speak of all people.
² Or, on the contrary, the subject?
³ Penetration into potential possibilities.
⁴ Perception of the temporal flow.
⁵ The ontological field — the sphere of objective phenomena; the functional-typological field — the sphere of psychic functions and typological features; the “relational” field — the sphere of socionic relations.
⁶ That is, by what means the archetypes of the aspects are projected onto, realized in, everyday life.
⁷ I would add: obeys, does not display initiative.

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A few notes on choices I made. The type codes (Il, sE, Es, etc.) I kept exactly as in the original — the upper/lower case encodes the function structure, so I didn’t touch it. Nicknames I transliterated (Zhukov, Dumas, Hugo, etc.). For the meridian abbreviations in the tables, the original invented Russian two-letter codes (ЛГ, ТЛ…) since German/French/English ones already existed; I substituted the standard English acupuncture abbreviations (Lu, LI, St…) rather than transliterating the Cyrillic, since that’s what an English reader would recognize — flag it if you’d rather I kept the author’s invented codes.

Two things in the source worth knowing: reference [37] (Piaget) and [28] both get cited for the psyche/consciousness quote, and the “36” superscript after the Lenin quote maps to reference [36] — I’ve normalized those. Also the Anterior/Posterior Median meridians are the Conception Vessel (Ren Mai) and Governor Vessel (Du Mai) in standard acupuncture; the author sometimes writes Ду-Май/Же-Май, and I rendered “Же-Май” as Ren-Mai since that’s clearly what’s meant (a typo for Жень-Май in the original).