Across nine Parts, we have traced a recurrent pattern in physics: the misplacement of relational concepts as ontological primitives. Whether through Substance Reifications (matter, energy, spacetime), Epistemic Reversals (information, probability), Category Mistakes (symmetry, laws), or Temporal Distortions (block universe, reversibility), physics repeatedly confuses representation for reality.
The Pattern of Distortion
Substance Reifications
Treating descriptors of relational alignment (matter, energy, spacetime) as entities obscures their relational nature.
Epistemic Reversals
Elevating measures of knowledge (information, probability) to ontological status creates an artificial “fog” over actualisation.
Category Mistakes
Confusing abstractions (symmetries, laws) for causal agents misplaces the explanatory locus.
Temporal Distortions
Collapsing relational unfolding into static or symmetric models (block universe, reversibility) suppresses the reality of temporal becoming.
Why This Matters
These distortions are not merely technical or linguistic; they shape the very conceptualisation of reality in physics. They:
Mask the relational structure that underlies actualisation.
Create the illusion that “things” or “laws” act independently of context.
Encourage misinterpretations of probability, symmetry, and time as ontic properties rather than perspectival or relational phenomena.
By identifying and unpacking these distortions, we see physics not as evading reality, but as overcommitting its formalism, projecting abstractions as if they were primitive being.
Toward a Relational Perspective
A relational ontology reframes these distortions:
Matter, energy, and spacetime are configurations of relations, not substances.
Information and probability are epistemic tools, reflecting constraints and potentialities, not ontic entities.
Symmetry and laws are descriptions of relational alignment, not causal governors.
Time and reversibility are perspectival manifestations of actualisation, not illusions imposed by equations.
Seen this way, the distortions illuminate what is otherwise hidden in plain sight: the primacy of relation over representation, the scaffolding that makes actuality intelligible.
Closing Thought
Physics excels in formal precision, but in doing so, it often mistakes its maps for territory. By systematically exposing these ontological distortions, we gain clarity not only about physics but about how relational reality actualises across contexts.
This series invites us to ask: what remains intelligible when we strip away the distortions — and see the world purely as relations in motion?
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