Intonation 8: What is Minor?

I have argued at length that I think that the western use of a bastardised version of the aeolian mode as "minor" is the result of an authoritarian practice approaching the dorian by trial and error.

Partch thinks that "minor" is relationships within utonality, by which he means the denominators of ratios. What does this mean? It means that all the partials which are brought into the home octave by bringing them down a number of octaves are related. It means that all the partials which are brought into the home or second pentave by bringing them down a number of fifths are related. It means that all the partials which are brought into the first three 3-aves by bringing them down thirds are related. It means very little.

At first I thought he had found a justification for why A minor is relative to C major; I thought he had defined this relationship. But it doesn't line up.

Then I thought he had struck upon some kind of inversion/fourths-based/lydian harmony which he had confused with minor. But I can't make sense of that, it's just wishful thinking on my part wanting things to be simple.

This can't just be nonsense, can it? Perhaps I have misunderstood. I suspect that Partch has tried to adopt a fashionable theoretical apology for the minor mess without questioning it, but really I am in ignorance.

Utonality refers to nothing more than the unit by which the scale repetition is defined. Partch is unique in giving equal gravitas to all available options simultaneously. I think he jumped in too early with the numbers and just plain didn't know what he was doing.

I would like some more advanced guidance in this. I tried drafting emails to music professors, but what could they possibly tell me?