Eastern Philosophy and the Becoming of Possibility: 4 Daoist Cosmology and Non-Action: Emergent Order through Wu Wei

Daoist philosophy reconceives possibility as spontaneous, adaptive, and fundamentally relational. The Tao is neither a substance nor a fixed order; it is the generative principle of becoming, manifesting in the continual flow of nature and the cosmos. Potential is actualised not through imposition or hierarchical structuring, but through attunement to relational currents and the principle of wu wei—action through non-forcing.

Possibility is embedded in the dynamics of the world itself. The unfolding of events, the emergence of forms, and the alignment of forces are all contingent upon the interplay of relational patterns. Human action achieves maximal efficacy when it harmonises with these flows, realising potential in accordance with systemic interdependence rather than coercive control.

Daoist construal emphasises process over permanence, relationality over isolation, and emergence over predetermined outcomes. It demonstrates that the horizon of potential is not externally imposed but arises from sensitivity to relational structures, rhythm, and timing. In this way, Daoism contributes a vision of possibility that is adaptive, self-organising, and intimately connected with the relational ecology of the world.

Modulatory voices: Laozi (Tao Te Ching), Zhuangzi.

Eastern Philosophy and the Becoming of Possibility: 3 Confucian Worlds: Harmony, Virtue, and Social Construal

Confucian philosophy situates possibility within the fabric of social and ethical relations. Human potential is realised not in isolation but through cultivation of virtue (ren), adherence to ritual propriety (li), and harmonisation within familial, communal, and cosmic networks. The individual is understood as an emergent node within overlapping relational fields, where moral and social structures condition the horizon of what can be enacted or understood.

Possibility in this framework is ethical and relational. The scope of action, knowledge, and realisation is bounded by the quality of one’s alignment with social and cosmic order, yet this same alignment opens channels for creativity, influence, and transformation. Ethical cultivation is itself a process of actualising potential within relational matrices, reflecting both historical precedent and ongoing interaction.

Confucian construal emphasises continuity and pattern: historical, familial, and ritualised contexts define what is intelligible, desirable, and achievable. By integrating self-cultivation with broader relational networks, Confucianism foregrounds the co-constitution of individual and collective possibility, demonstrating a distinct approach to relational ontology where ethical, social, and cosmic dimensions converge.

Modulatory voices: Confucius (Analects), Mencius.

Eastern Philosophy and the Becoming of Possibility: 2 Buddha and the Relational Self: Dependent Origination and Potentiality

Buddhist philosophy reconceives possibility through the lens of relationality and impermanence. Central is the principle of pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination): all phenomena arise in dependence upon multiple conditions, and nothing exists in isolation. The self, like all entities, is not a fixed substance but a nexus of interdependent processes, each moment contingent upon prior and surrounding relations.

Possibility is therefore relational and contingent. Liberation, ethical action, and the realisation of potential are inseparable from awareness of interdependence. Each choice and act is embedded in a network of relations that shape what can occur and how phenomena coalesce into experience. The temporal, processual nature of existence makes every moment a site of both constraint and emergence, where the horizon of potential is continually negotiated.

In this framework, relationality governs ontology, ethics, and epistemology simultaneously. Understanding is not the apprehension of static truths but the discernment of conditions that enable or inhibit arising. Potentiality is continuously actualised through mindful engagement with these conditions, emphasising fluidity, responsiveness, and co-constitution.

Buddhist relationality contrasts sharply with substance-based ontologies: rather than treating possibility as a property of enduring entities, it situates potential within the unfolding web of interdependencies, demonstrating how construal itself is emergent, contingent, and historically situated.

Modulatory voices: Early Buddhist sutras, the concept of pratītyasamutpāda.

Eastern Philosophy and the Becoming of Possibility: 1 The Primordial Way: Early Vedic and Taoist Construals

The earliest Eastern philosophical reflections reveal a cosmos construed not as static or atomised but as a dynamic, relational field. In the Vedic tradition, hymns of the Rigveda articulate the universe as a network of interdependent forces (ṛta), in which the arising of phenomena is inseparable from cosmic order and ritual enactment. Possibility is structured through the interplay of natural forces, ethical injunctions, and symbolic performance: what may occur is contingent on alignment with the underlying harmony of the cosmos.

In parallel, early Taoist thought, as expressed in the Tao Te Ching, frames reality as flowing, emergent, and responsive to relational patterns. The Tao is not a substance but a structuring principle: the generative source of all becoming, manifesting through spontaneous alignment (wu wei) rather than coercion or hierarchy. Potential is realised not through domination of forms, but through attunement to the relational currents that constitute the world.

Both traditions foreground relationality over substance, cyclicity over linearity, and potential as emergent from the alignment of multiple interdependent elements. Possibility is not abstracted from context; it arises within the ongoing interplay of cosmic, ethical, and symbolic forces. Early Eastern thought thus establishes a foundational lens for understanding how relational and processual frameworks condition what can be, offering a contrast to contemporaneous or later Western linear, hierarchical models.

Modulatory voices: Vedic hymns (Rigveda), Laozi (Tao Te Ching).

Genealogies of Relational Ontologies in Philosophy: 10 Reflexive Relationality – The Ontology of Possibility Today

The culmination of the genealogy of relational thought is a reflexive ontology in which possibility, construal, and actualisation are inseparable from relational structures themselves. Across history, thinkers have articulated forms of relationality—processual, structural, perspectival, and ecological—that collectively map the conditions under which potential can emerge, be actualised, and understood.

In this synthesis, relationality is not merely a property of entities or systems; it is the organising principle of ontology itself. Possibility is always situated within a network of constraints and affordances, co-constituted by historical, symbolic, conceptual, and ecological relations. Each relational configuration shapes what can occur, who can act, and how knowledge is realised.

Reflexivity amplifies this insight. The very act of theorising relationality feeds back into the field it describes: our conceptual frameworks, symbolic orders, and scientific models are themselves relational, shaping the horizons of what is intelligible and actionable. Human understanding and the world it engages are co-constituted through this ongoing interplay, creating a meta-level field in which potentiality is both realised and redefined.

By integrating the insights of Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hegel, Whitehead, Heidegger, and contemporary metaphysics, this reflexive relational framework articulates the genealogy of possibility itself. Construal, actualisation, and individuation are understood as perspectival processes embedded within dynamic, historical, and systemic relations.

The ontology of possibility today is thus reflexive, relational, and historically grounded: a living framework for understanding how potential is structured, enacted, and co-constituted, offering both closure to the genealogical project and a generative horizon for future exploration.

Genealogies of Relational Ontologies in Philosophy: 9 21st-Century Relational Metaphysics – Network, Process, and Eco-Ontologies

Contemporary relational metaphysics extends the lineage of relational thought into new domains, integrating insights from process philosophy, network theory, and ecological thinking. Possibility is understood as emerging from complex, interdependent systems, where relational structures are dynamic, distributed, and contingent.

Networks, whether social, technological, or ecological, are primary loci of constraint and affordance. Potentiality is actualised through interactions within these networks, and outcomes are shaped by feedback, emergence, and systemic interdependencies. Possibility is not pre-given but co-constituted through relational processes that traverse scales, from micro-events to global systems.

Eco-ontologies emphasise that human and non-human agencies are inseparable in constituting reality. Relations extend beyond the anthropocentric horizon, situating potential within the broader web of life and material systems. Knowledge, ethics, and action are inseparable from the patterns and structures of relational interconnection that define what can occur.

This contemporary perspective synthesises and operationalises insights from the entire genealogical arc: Heraclitean flux, Platonic structure, Aristotelian teleology, Spinozan interdependence, Leibnizian networks, Hegelian historical relation, Whiteheadian process, and Heideggerian situatedness converge in a model of relational possibility that is systemic, emergent, and reflexive.

By foregrounding networks, processes, and ecological interdependence, 21st-century relational metaphysics provides a versatile framework for understanding how relationality structures the conditions of possibility across scientific, symbolic, and imaginative domains, continuing the lineage of thought that constitutes our contemporary horizon of potential.

Genealogies of Relational Ontologies in Philosophy: 8 Heidegger and Phenomenology – Being-in-the-World

Heidegger foregrounds relationality through the existential structure of Being-in-the-World. Possibility is inseparable from the situated, embodied, and temporal context of Dasein: human existence is always already entangled in a network of relations with others, tools, and the surrounding world. Being is co-constituted; it emerges through engagement, care, and the interpretive structures that disclose the horizon of potentiality.

Relationality governs both ontology and epistemology. The world is not a collection of discrete objects but a meaningful totality, where each element gains intelligibility only in relation to the field of concerns, practices, and significances in which it is embedded. Potentiality is constrained and enabled by these interconnections, shaping how Dasein can act, perceive, and understand.

Heidegger’s phenomenology extends the insights of processual and relational ontologies. Like Whitehead, he situates being within dynamic interrelations; like Spinoza and Leibniz, he emphasises interconnectedness; like Hegel, he recognises the historical and contextual shaping of possibility. Yet he introduces the existential dimension: relationality is not merely structural, it is lived and interpretive, continuously enacted through human attunement and engagement.

By articulating Being-in-the-World as the primary mode of relational existence, Heidegger provides a model in which potential is co-constituted through engagement, interpretation, and temporal situatedness. Possibility is not abstracted from experience; it is inseparable from the relational horizons that disclose what can be, reflecting a profoundly perspectival ontology that continues to influence contemporary thought.