With time and space understood as co-emergent relational phenomena, we now turn to causality. Classical views treat cause and effect as linear chains unfolding in pre-existing spacetime. Relational ontology reframes causality as a system-relative, perspectival phenomenon, inseparable from the temporal and spatial horizons of the systems involved.
Causality as Relational Pattern
Causality arises from the sequence of actualisations within a system. An “effect” is not simply a consequence of a prior “cause” in an absolute timeline; it is the relational manifestation of difference actualising in a particular temporal and spatial horizon. Each system traces its own causal patterns, which may align or diverge with those of other systems.
For instance, consider a forest ecosystem. The falling of a tree alters sunlight, soil composition, and animal movement. These consequences do not exist independently; they are actualised within the relational field of the forest system. Causality is therefore not an external law but a pattern emergent from relational instantiation.
System-Relative Temporal Logic
Temporal sequence is perspectival. “Before” and “after” exist only in the context of the system’s temporal horizon. Multiple systems interacting simultaneously may produce overlapping or even conflicting sequences, revealing that linear chronology is an approximation, not a universal truth. Temporal logic, in relational ontology, is the tracing of successive instantiations within and across systems — a mapping of emergent difference, not an absolute ordering.
Co-Actualised Space, Time, and Causality
Causality cannot be abstracted from space or time. Each relational cut simultaneously produces a temporal horizon, a spatial configuration, and a causal pattern. The trajectory of events, the positioning of phenomena, and the emergent influence of one instantiation on another are co-actualised. To consider causality without its spatiotemporal context is to erase the relational texture that makes it meaningful.
Implications for Complex Systems
In social, ecological, and technological systems, causality is distributed, overlapping, and perspectival. A single event can produce multiple effects, depending on the system in which it is actualised. Feedback loops, delays, and emergent patterns reflect the interdependence of relational cuts across systems. Understanding causality relationally means embracing this complexity rather than seeking universal linear chains.
Towards a Relational Temporal Logic
By acknowledging the relational emergence of causality, we also redefine temporal logic itself. Sequence, precedence, and simultaneity are not imposed externally; they are properties of the relational field defined by instantiations. Logic becomes a mapping of potentialities actualised in relational patterns, sensitive to system boundaries and perspectival horizons.
Next in the series: Phenomena, Meaning, and Spatiotemporal Embodiment — we will explore how the co-emergence of space, time, and causality shapes meaning, perception, and the relational experience of phenomena.
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