The Great Societal Transformations: Epigenetic Explorations: A Transdisciplinary Perspective on the Evolution of Modern Knowledge Societies - Part I: The Epigenetic Research Program (ERP), Basic Building Blocks - Part II: The "Great Transformations" within Modern Societies, Epigenetic Transfer Modules (TM)

Abstract: The subsequent two parts give a precise overview of a new and transdisciplinary perspective for the study of "knowledge based processes" in a wide variety of domains, including natural science fields and social science areas. This new approach which runs under the label of an "epigenetic research program" (ERP) is able, so the core message, to capture the evolutionary development patterns of the socio-economic and the socio-cultural world. This achievement is brought about through theconstruction of a conceptual, theoretical and modeling apparatus of sufficient transdisciplinary generality and through the separation of two different levels, namely of ERP-meta-levels on the one hand and ERP-levels of application on the other hand. Meta-level elements are characterized, above all, by their transdisciplinary status, being not linked to any particular type of application domain whereas building blocks at application levels are clearly connected with special features in natural science or social science domains. With respect to the set of two consecutive articles, Part I presents a general summary of the ERP-perspective and Part II is devoted to a set of ERP "transfer modules" mainly for the evolution of modern societies and their knowledge bases.