We tend to think that matter, omnipresent and hard (though only some solids are) and palpable to our senses, is the basis of reality. But reflection shows that form is sometimes more important that matter; that Aristotle’s “formal cause” predominates over his “material cause”. (Today we would probably not call either of them “causes”, reserving that term for “efficient cause” while devaluing “final cause”, at least in science.)

In a living organism, the throughput of matter is constantly on-going, so that the presence of particular atoms and molecules does not define the organism; what does define it is the organization of parts and their working together; i.e. what we call structure and function, anatomy and physiology. If we subsume structure and function under the term “pattern”, then the essential characteristic of life is pattern maintenance and pattern propagation. Pattern exists in space (static structure) and time (dynamic structure and function). The atoms and molecules that compose an organism (i.e. the material base) change continually; this is the essence of metabolism. It is what we mean by calling an organism an “open system” Another name for metabolism in other languages (e.g. Czech or German) is “exchange of substances”. The substances involved in respiration, nutrition, and locomotion are cycled through their processes rapidly, but even structural elements are broken down and replaced at a slower rate. It is said that in seven years our bodies are composed very largely of materials different from those present at the start. What this means is not that different chemical compounds are present; these are still largely the same ones; but that, if we mentally “tied little red ribbons” around the original molecules, very few would still be there after 7 years. We know this from experiments “tagging” them with radioactive tracers. It is as if material units are “fungible”, i.e. substitutable for each other, without distinct identity, like money. (We don’t care whether the dollar bill we use in payment for goods is physically the same one which we received in return for services, only that it should have the same value, i.e. function.) Atoms and molecules in nature don’t come with little red ribbons of identification, but circulate freely and interchangeably.

So in a sense, matter “does not matter”; it is “immaterial” (irrelevant) to the situation. What matters is form or pattern or relation (terms used interchangeably), and it is this which is crucial in living organisms and must be maintained. If we believe in degrees of reality, we would say that form is more real than matter. Pattern or form is maintained by genes in the last resort, but in everyday somatic functions by the enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters etc. which are the messengers of the genes. Relational identity is the only real identity, at least for living things. What is “real” is not some kind of “things in themselves”, but the relations between things — relations that persist, even when the “things” change. Matter is in constant flux, as in Heraclitus’ river, which is not the same (in terms of atoms and molecules) when we step into it again today as it was yesterday. Yet the form of the river persists (so Zeno was right too about absence of change) – the same width, depth, rate of flow, and local rapids and quiet spots. There is seasonal change in form, e.g. spring flood and summer drought and winter ice; on a short time-scale, the eddies in the turbulent flow dance about; and over the long term, the river could change its course, be dammed or diverted. So form can change too, but more slowly than matter; and the drastic long-term changes could lead to the “death” of the river; so pattern maintenance is seen in a way as almost a synonym for life or identity. The identity or “personality” of the river is reflected in the fact that we give it a name, like the Amazon or the Danube. Living organisms also change form slowly over their life cycle; growth, maturation, aging, or metamorphosis (in insects or frogs); but among humans and their pet dogs and cats at least, each individual still has the same name, is still John or Mary or Ahmed or Tamara or Fido or Puss. A name is a symbol of identity or continuity of form.

Even a flame, which is nothing but a zone of fast chemical reactions in a gaseous state giving off heat and light (that is all it is for molecules) — the very essence of transience, of being consumed — maintains to some degree a stable form, a size or outline. (I am thinking of a candle flame.) Even in a fireplace or bonfire, where the individual flames dance about, the overall fire pattern is fairly constant as long as the fuel lasts; then the fire “dies” (pattern maintenance ceases).

So it is not just living organisms that exhibit flux of matter but constancy of form; rivers and flames also do — objects that have sometimes been compared to living things. Stones and mountains are different; they change over geological time, but then they change both matter and form. There is not this metabolism – a fast throughput of matter through a fairly constant form. And there is no attempt at pattern maintenance.

In fact, we are defining “systems”. According to one definition (Cortes et al., “Systems Analysis for Social Scientists”, Wiley, 1974): “Systems transform variable inputs into variable states and variable outputs by INVARIANT transformation rules.” It is these invariant transformation rules which we have called “form” or “pattern” or “relations”. For systems, by definition, relational reality is supreme over matter, which is only the medium in which the artistry of form is expressed.

In society too, individuals die and are born, emigrate and immigrate, but the CULTURE remains relatively unchanged; with slow changes, cyclical or linear. Culture is the pattern that society maintains; it is its life, its identity, its personality. It is what makes it a system (a “living system”, Miller would say).

Here is a synthesis of Zeno and Heraclitus: in systems, matter is in flux, while form is more constant. Is there a higher stage over the slower changes in relational reality, some bedrock of reality that truly is “to every age the same”? We will let the mystics answer this question.