The Dark Universe as an Ontological Error: Series Introduction

Physicists tell us that 95% of the universe is invisible. They call it dark matter and dark energy. These mysterious substances are invoked to fix equations, explain anomalies, and reconcile theory with observation. And yet, after decades of searching, they remain undetected — ghosts in a cosmic ledger.

This series argues that the true darkness lies not in the cosmos, but in the metaphysics that physics takes for granted. Dark matter and dark energy are artefacts of a representational ontology — a worldview that treats spacetime as a container, mass and energy as intrinsic, and observations as windows onto a world independent of perspective. When this ontology is misaligned with phenomena, the natural response is to invent invisible stuff.

Across three posts, we will:

1. Diagnose the error: Show how the “dark universe” emerges from the ontological assumptions of physics.

2. Reconstruct cosmology: Introduce a relational ontology in which systems, instances, and construals replace containers, intrinsic properties, and representation.

3. Reveal the luminous universe: Show how galaxies, redshifts, and cosmic structure appear naturally once dark matter and dark energy are recognised as metaphenomena, not substances.

The cosmos has never been dark. Only our assumptions have been.