Lawful Artefacts: 3 Reconstruing the Cosmos: When Worlds Are Misread

In the previous post, we suggested that dark matter and dark energy may be artefacts of misread relational structure. Local measurements obey all known physical laws, yet when these lawful relations are projected onto a global ontology of unseen entities, anomalies appear. Now, we take the next step: reconstructing the cosmos from a relational perspective, and understanding how apparent “missing mass” or “accelerating expansion” emerges naturally from this misreading.

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Relational Ontology and the Universe

The core principle is simple, yet profound:

• Relational ontology: Objects and phenomena do not exist as intrinsic, isolated entities; they are patterns of relational constraints and interactions.

• Local lawfulness: Measurements capture these relational patterns in local frames—galaxies, star clusters, cosmic filaments.

• Global extrapolation: When we assume these local patterns compose into a single, integrated global world with fixed ontological content, we generate artefacts.

In short:

The universe may be perfectly lawful locally, but our assumptions about global coherence produce the phenomena we label dark matter and dark energy.

This is the cosmic analogue of Escher: lawful parts do not guarantee inhabitable wholes.

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Dark Matter as a Relational Artefact

Consider galaxy rotation curves:

• Observed stars move faster than expected if only visible matter existed.

• Standard interpretation: there is additional “dark” matter providing gravitational pull.

• Relational reinterpretation: the rotation curves reflect the structure of local gravitational interactions, not missing mass.

  • The apparent discrepancy arises when we assume a global distribution of matter that integrates perfectly across all scales.

  • The artefact (dark matter) is produced by projecting local lawfulness onto an assumed global ontology, rather than a new physical substance.

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Dark Energy as a Relational Artefact

Similarly, the accelerating expansion of the universe:

• Observations show galaxies receding faster than predicted by known energy distributions.

• Standard interpretation: an unknown “dark energy” is driving acceleration.

• Relational reinterpretation: the acceleration reflects the dynamics of relational structure at cosmological scales.

  • Our global extrapolation assumes uniform integration of local measures, producing the artefact of “energy” where none is intrinsically required.

In both cases, the universe remains entirely lawful locally. The anomalies arise from the mismatch between local lawfulness and assumed global ontology.

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Implications of Reconstruing the Cosmos

1. Preserves empirical observations

   • No measurement is contradicted; local physics remains intact.

2. Removes the need for unseen substances

   • Dark matter and dark energy are artefacts, not hidden entities.

3. Aligns with a relational ontology

   • The universe is patterns of lawful interactions, not a collection of intrinsic objects.

4. Echoes Escher’s insight

   • Lawful local relations can appear impossible globally. In physics, the “impossibility” is perceived only when local measurements are interpreted as implying an integrated global ontology.

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Rethinking Cosmology

This perspective challenges the way we typically conceptualize the universe:

• We often assume the cosmos must be globally integrated, with each local observation contributing to a single coherent ontology.

• Relational misreading shows that such global integration is not required. Local lawfulness is sufficient to produce consistent phenomena.

• The apparent anomalies—dark matter, dark energy—are artefacts of our interpretive assumptions, not errors or missing physics.

In other words, the universe is lawful and coherent locally, yet resists naive global extrapolation—just as Escher’s staircases are lawful but globally impossible.

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Looking Ahead

In the final post of this mini-series, we will explore the epistemic and existential consequences of this perspective. If cosmic anomalies are artefacts of relational misreading, what does this teach us about observation, knowledge, and engagement with complex systems? How should we act and reason when local lawfulness is reliable, but global integration cannot be assumed?

This is where cosmology, perception, and ontology converge: learning to inhabit lawful systems without demanding closure—a lesson that extends from Escher to the stars.