Having examined time, space, and causality as emergent relational phenomena, we now consider their intersection with meaning. In relational ontology, phenomena do not exist independently of their spatiotemporal instantiation. Meaning, likewise, is inseparable from the relational cuts that bring events, objects, and interactions into presence.
Phenomena as Spatiotemporal Instantiations
A phenomenon is not merely an object or event “out there.” It is the actualisation of potentialities within a system, co-constituted by temporal horizons and spatial configurations. What we perceive as a tree, a melody, or a social interaction exists only through the relational act that distinguishes it from its surroundings and situates it within a co-emergent temporal and spatial context.
Consider the experience of listening to a symphony. Each note is instantiated in time, each interval defines relational space, and together they produce the phenomenon of music. Remove the temporal sequencing or spatial relations, and the phenomenon dissolves — not merely its perception, but its very existence as a distinguishable event within a relational field.
Meaning as Emergent from Relational Cuts
Meaning is the emergent property of phenomena actualised within spatiotemporal horizons. It arises from the interaction of differences, the co-actualisation of temporal, spatial, and causal patterns. In this sense, meaning is never fixed or universal; it is system-relative, perspectival, and contingent on the relational configuration in which it appears.
Social interactions provide a clear example. A gesture, a word, or a glance carries meaning only in the context of the system in which it is interpreted — the relational field of bodies, intentions, and prior instantiations. Time and space shape these fields: rhythm, duration, proximity, and alignment all modulate how meaning emerges.
Relational Embodiment
Phenomena and meaning are embodied in the co-emergent spatiotemporal structure. Embodiment here is not merely physical presence but the actualisation of potentialities in relational context. Systems “carry” their history and spatial relations in each act of instantiation, producing a texture of experience, interaction, and significance. Perception itself is the relational tracing of these embodied differences, unfolding across time and space.
Implications for Knowledge and Experience
Understanding phenomena and meaning as relationally embodied challenges conventional assumptions about observation, measurement, and representation. Knowledge is not a mirror of pre-existing entities; it is an engagement with relational cuts, a tracing of emergent patterns in spatiotemporal fields. Experiencing the world is thus inseparable from participating in its ongoing co-actualisation.
Next in the series: Beyond Classical Notions: Toward a Relational Mythos of Space and Time — we will reflect on the philosophical and cultural implications of this relational understanding, proposing new metaphors and a mythos for meaning itself.
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