Affective Forces and the Structure of Interaction: A Telotopic Model of Negentropic Organization

This article proposes a novel approach to understanding the affective structure of human interaction, an aspect often overlooked in classical models. Drawing on interdisciplinary insights from information theory (Shannon), complex systems theory (Morin), and affective neuroscience (Damasio), we conceptualize emotions as directional forces. Each force is characterized by its intensity (φ) and its orientation (θ) relative to a contextual goal or telos.Our framework introduces an innovative metric, telotopic negentropy (Ntel), to quantify the directional coherence of these affective forces. This metric specifically distinguishes between approach (conative) and avoidance (inhibitory) dynamics, weighted by an emotional primacy factor (α) that reflects the typical dominance of felt intensity over pure alignment. A complementary scalar measure (φτ) quantifies the net motivational drive towards the 'telos'.The model's internal mechanics are illustrated through a detailed four-phase case study. Here, affective vectors (φ, θ) are interpretively assigned based on contextual cues and informed by a typology of axiological orientations and affective principles. While not empirically calibrated at this stage, this example illustrates the model’s potential to account for emotional asymmetries, ambivalence, and progressive alignment within dyadic interaction.The article concludes by discussing potential empirical extensions, including a formal method for deriving vector orientation (θ) via an axiological alignment coefficient (β) and the future calibration of the primacy factor (α) across diverse affective profiles. This framework offers a novel method for quantifying affective coherence and for theorizing the structural dynamics of shared intentionality in situated interactions.