We have now inverted classical causation on multiple fronts:
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Nothing literally pushes.
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Dependencies, not forces, structure sequences.
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Explanations are retrospective, cognitive overlays.
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Laws and events are mutually emergent.
The natural next step is to see the entirety as a single relational pattern, a coherent architecture that produces all apparent causation without any hidden engines.
Causation as Structured Availability
At the heart of this perspective is availability:
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Every event occurs where relational constraints make its re-cutting feasible and minimally costly.
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What we interpret as causal chains are simply paths through this availability landscape.
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There is no need for a pusher, agent, or external law — only patterned constraints.
In effect:
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Flat availability → persistence (inertia)
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Gradiented availability → apparent directed change (gravity)
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Relational patterning → apparent causation (all sequences)
Nothing new is required beyond the relational architecture.
Examples
Mechanical systems: A pendulum swings not because a “force” dictates it, but because the relational constraints of mass, gravity-gradient, and pivot architecture favour particular re-cut paths.
Biological systems: Cells divide, neurons fire, or molecules react where constraints permit — again, no “pushers” are necessary. Patterns emerge from feasibility landscapes.
Social systems: Trends, chains of influence, and decisions propagate where relational compatibilities and incompatibilities allow. Narratives of cause are shorthand for the underlying network of dependencies.
Implications
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Explains causation without metaphysics: All sequences are intelligible without invoking unseen forces.
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Unifies seemingly disparate domains: From physics to biology to social dynamics, the same relational architecture governs pattern emergence.
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Prepares for next series: By making causation relational and emergent, we can later approach freedom as structured availability without reintroducing hidden agents.
The Key Inversion
| Classical View | Relational View |
|---|---|
| Cause: A pushes B | Pattern: A occurs where constraints allow B to follow |
| Law: prescriptive rule | Law: summary of recurrent relational paths |
| Force: active agent | Nothing pushes; constraints shape feasible paths |
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