The preceding posts have traced the system network from its origin in linguistics, through its relational logic of choice, and across topologies in physics, biology, and social systems. We have seen that potential is structured, that choice is perspectival construal, and that different domains instantiate different geometries of relational coherence.
The question now is: can these observations be synthesised? Can we glimpse a general geometry of being — a relational field in which linguistic, physical, and biological potentials are all phases of the same ontological process?
1. A single relational logic
Across all domains, three principles recur:
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Structured potential – reality is a field of internally coherent possibilities.
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Perspectival actualisation – an instance emerges not by annihilating other possibilities but by aligning a local cut with the potential field.
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Topology shapes manifestation – the field’s geometry determines the paths along which actualisation can occur.
These principles define a domain-independent logic of being: potential is always structured, choice always perspectival, and differentiation always relational. The system network is the canonical linguistic expression of this logic — a formalisation that can, in principle, be extended to any system of relational potential.
2. Mapping the geometries together
From Post 3, we know:
| Domain | Topology of Potential | Mode of Construal | Actualisation as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Paradigmatic network | Choice | Meaning |
| Physics | Phase space | Measurement | Event |
| Biology | Morphogenetic field | Self-alignment | Form |
These are not separate ontologies but different slices of the same relational field. Each topology emphasises particular modes of differentiation:
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Paradigmatic (linguistic) – differentiation through contrast.
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Continuous/dynamical (physical) – differentiation through lawful alignment.
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Attractor-based (biological) – differentiation through self-organising coherence.
If we consider these geometries together, we see a multi-dimensional topology of potential, where constraints, relational coherence, and perspectival cuts interact across scales and modalities.
3. The network as general schema
The system network offers a practical way to map this general geometry:
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Nodes → regions of stability within the potential field (whether semiotic, physical, or biological).
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Pathways → permissible trajectories of differentiation.
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Entry conditions → constraints that govern alignment at each local cut.
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Terminal points → maximal perspectival actualisations.
Seen this way, the network is more than a linguistic tool: it is a template for visualising structured potential, revealing the architecture of relational being itself.
4. Implications for understanding reality
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No absolute loss or gain: Actualisation never consumes potential globally; it merely manifests it perspectivally. This mirrors insights from black hole physics, quantum measurement, and biological differentiation.
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Cross-domain insight: Relational topology unifies phenomena that otherwise seem unrelated — meaning, matter, and form are all structured as potential awaiting perspectival alignment.
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Interdisciplinary modelling: Fields as diverse as social science, ecology, and cognitive science can benefit from viewing their objects as relational topologies of potential, formalised through a network-like schema.
5. Toward a symbolic cosmology of potential
If we take this logic seriously, a profound insight emerges: being itself is relational and perspectival. Reality is not composed of static entities but of structured fields of potential, continually differentiating through construal.
The system network, in this light, is not merely a model of language but a proto-cosmology of possibility — a formalism showing how the universe, at every scale, actualises potential through local cuts of relation.
From semiotic choice to quantum measurement to developmental biology, the same underlying geometry governs: potential is structured, differentiation is relational, and actualisation is perspectival.
6. Conclusion and next steps
The series has traced a path from the linguistic system network to the general topology of potential across domains:
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Post 1: The network as structured potential.
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Post 2: Choice as perspectival construal.
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Post 3: Topologies of potential in language, physics, and biology.
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Post 4: Adapting the network across disciplines.
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Post 5: Toward a general geometry of being.
Future work could explore:
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How these insights inform complex systems modelling across domains.
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How the network could formalise symbolic, social, and cognitive potential.
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The implications for philosophy and ontology, suggesting a universe structured by relational fields of potential rather than by static entities.
The system network, once a tool for describing linguistic choice, thus becomes a lens through which to view the architecture of reality itself.
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