Genres as Self-organising Systems

The notion of “downwards causation” is an old acquaintance in the humanities, for example in the notion of the hermeneutic circle, where textual parts and wholes mutually influence each other’s interpretation. The phenomenon of genres is chosen as a possible example of downwards causation (genre constraints). A computer model is constructed on the basis of genre theory and run under various conditions. The model accounts well for the formation and bifurcation of genres, but could not be made to generate the well-known oscillations from the history of literature. The original model is replaced by another one that contains two mutually perturbing systems which can be made to oscillate. This final model does not invite an interpretation in terms of downwards causation; instead an interpretation hinging on semiosis between two systems on different scales is suggested.