Prime

The Prime is the purpose- or function-based center of any Dynamic System which proceeds from the origin point and is the core organizational principle and center of gravity for the system. A Prime is irreducible, authoritative, propulsive, and cohesive: Irreducible because, without the Prime, the system will disintegrate or becoming something other. Authoritative because the Prime proceeds from and embodies Source and is the root of identity and purpose for the system. Propulsive because the Prime makes possible the first motion of the system and is represented in all subsequent motions. Cohesive because the Prime integrates all inputs and components into a working whole in balance with internal tensions and external demands.

Geometry of a Prime

These four characteristics of a Prime are descriptors of the three geometrical expressions of a prime:

• a point (irreducible) – a point is abstractly the most reduced thing possible [efnnote]In abstract thinking, anything less than a point is nothing.[/efnnote] and exists in only one dimension. This is the central geometric truth behind the centering power of the Prime.
• a line (authoritative and propulsive) – a point extended into a second dimension by motion becomes a line. That line, abstractly reduced to one direction, will be necessarily divided when any new point is chosen along it. Relative to motion, all that precedes a point on the line is authoritative and all that proceeds is propulsive.
• a plane (cohesive) – a line extended by motion into the third dimension becomes, abstractly, a plane. A plane may allow for infinite points and lines in any direction, but all are integrated together into a single unity. When planes intersect, the intersection is a line: a place of unity extending infinitely from origin, towards destiny.

When thinking about a Prime geometrically, it can also be thought of as a Frame according to Systematics: [1] The Prime is the first system shape of the Semantic Ontology Framework (SOF). This allows us to think of central purposes, functions, and themes geometrically — what does the center of something look like, and how does it relate dynamically to all the other parts and events?

For example, organizational purpose is the Prime of any business:

Theoretically, organizational success should be simple. Leaders want organizations where people work with a unity of effort, everybody moving in the same direction. They also want to empower their people, by which I mean enable them to make decisions. Employees want the same things.

…

At the core, leaders are often afraid that empowering their people will come at the cost of keeping everyone moving in the same direction, that “empowered” people will make decisions not aligned to the long-term goals of the organization.

There is a key to having both [unity of purpose and empowerment] — and that key is in this book. That key is purpose. It’s only when companies are clear about their purpose, have clearly communicated it, and it is understood by the team that companies can achieve both unity of effort and distributed decision making.

— L. David Marquet in Leading with Purpose: How to Engage, Empower & Encourage Your People to Reach Their Full Potential (foward).

Marquet identifies purpose as the unifying organizational principle of a company — creating a unity of effort. But it’s also the center of gravity that can allow the people to be empowered, making decisions in a distributed way that don’t diminish or derail organizational goals. The company wouldn’t exist unless the founders had a purpose to found it, so again, purpose is the origin point of the company.

Prime as a Step: In “Inspired Systems” the Prime is the first step in the progression of a system. In “Seeking Systems”, the Prime is the third step in the system progression: Inception, Reception, Prime.

Known Primes

[All known Primes are revealed attributes of God. Some primes seem naturally disposed towards order and impulse (alpha), while others seem to focus towards entropy and demand (beta). This would be first direction, not an imbalance in fundamental nature. An alpha or beta masquerading as a prime for a system is dis-integrative.]

[Struggling with the label for the beta-first group. Called it “Kenotic” after Kenosis. Research revealed Kenosis is controversial, especially because God, because he is infinite, can give himself completely and not suffer loss. Therefore, in what sense can he be emptied? Kenosis focuses on the emptiness of the giver not in the giving. But you can think of a vessel as a container or a conduit. One empties and is emptied. One empties, but because it is a vessel of flow, it is never empty. So what is the idea of a self-giving prime. All love is self-revealing, unifying, and self-giving. Maybe those can serve as the prime types and categories?]

Ontological Primes

Being (Alpha-first)

Identity

Sovereignty

Agape Primes

Love (Balancing – greatest prime)

Participation

Revelation

Kenotic Primes

Kenosis (Beta-first)

“The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms.”
― Lao Tzu

Distribution

Righteosness

Justice