II Semiotics Before Space: 4 Meaning as the Primary Condition

If spacetime and phenomena emerge through relational distinction, then the foundation of the universe is meaning itself. Relational ontology places semiosis—the differentiation and articulation of potentials—before what we conventionally call “physical reality.”

The Universe is Intelligible Because It is in Semiosis

The cosmos is not intelligible because matter or energy exist first. It is intelligible because potentials differentiate into actualised instances through relational cuts. Every law, every structure, every observable pattern is a first-order manifestation of meaning, actualised from relational potential.

Physics, Biology, and Other Laws as Regimes of Construal

• Physical laws are not the substrate of reality, but descriptions of patterns that emerge when potentials are actualised.

• Biological and social systems likewise emerge from relational potentials, intelligible only when observed through the lens of semiosis.

• What we call “nature” is a late, specialised regime of relational intelligibility, not the source of meaning itself.

Constraints and Actualisation

Meaning operates through constraints, which structure potentials and determine what can be actualised:

• Constraints are the relational logic that shapes intelligibility.

• Actualisation is the perspectival instantiation of potentials under these constraints.

• Together, they create the patterns we experience as law, order, and structure in the universe.

By placing meaning at the ontological foundation, we prepare for the systematic metaphysics of potential, actualisation, and individuation that Series III will explore. In the next post, we clarify the distinction between first-order meaning and metaphenomena, which underpins the formalisation of relational potentials.