II Semiotics Before Space: 5 First-Order Meaning vs. Metaphenomena

To fully grasp the ontological primacy of meaning, we must distinguish between two layers of intelligibility: first-order meaning and metaphenomena.

First-Order Meaning: Actualised Phenomena

First-order meaning consists of phenomena as they are actualised and intelligible. Galaxies, particles, stars, or even abstract structures such as numbers or laws are instances of relational potential made coherent through cuts. They exist not independently, but as articulated points in a network of intelligibility.

Metaphenomena: Constraints on Construal

Metaphenomena operate at a higher level: they are the constraints and patterns that govern what can be actualised.

• Physical laws, cosmological regularities, and mathematical structures are metaphenomena, not substrates.

• They shape the field of potentials, guiding the differentiation of first-order instances.

• They emerge from the relational system itself, as regularities in patterns of actualisation.

Implications for Cosmology and Beyond

This distinction allows us to see the universe as a field of semiosis:

• The “early universe” is intelligible because constraints shift within the meaning-system, not because matter or energy evolve independently.

• Patterns of structure, from galaxies to fundamental particles, are first-order meanings arising under the guidance of metaphenomena.

• Reality is layered: actualisations appear within a framework of constraints, producing the intelligible cosmos we observe.

In the next post, we will explore the early universe as a system of shifting constraints, reframing cosmological evolution entirely in terms of relational semiosis rather than physical chronology.