From Universe to Society: Developing a Methodological Approach

Abstract

The paper raises the question of whether general patterns exist in the historical development of society. To address this, it proposes an analogy between cosmology, the science of studying the universe as a whole, and the study of societal development (particularly as presented by history). This analogy is based on the seemingly unique nature of the subject of study in both fields. The paper argues that a scientific description of the entire universe is only possible if it is spatially homogeneous, which then implies homogeneity in time. Because of this spatial and temporal homogeneity, universal laws govern the universe’s behavior, allowing scientists to describe its evolution using the same fundamental concepts. One of the key characteristics used to describe the properties of matter is energy, which manifests in cosmology as “energy density.” The article shows that due to the diverse nature of social structures and their interrelations, the description of societal dynamics is a heterogeneous field. This significantly complicates the formulation of general social patterns and makes such patterns open to multiple interpretations, including in verification by empirical experience. However, society exists in a physical (geometric) space and time frame. Despite the heterogeneity within its social structures, when viewed across this larger scale, society can be considered more homogeneous. This allows for the application of general universal physical laws to society, and therefore general universal categories. These categories include space, time, and energy. Similar to categories like space and time, energy has characteristics that can be quantified in various ways. These characteristics reflect the different qualities of energy used by society. They can include the total amount of energy used, population size, or energy availability (EROI). The paper introduces another potential characteristic: the ease with which energy can be concentrated, which is analogous to energy density in cosmology. The paper then explores how this characteristic can explain and describe the development of society as a whole, but acknowledges that this perspective requires further investigation.