Relational Cuts in Modern Physics: Reflection — Connecting to When Physicists Talk About Reality

This miniseries, “Relational Cuts in Modern Physics,” can be seen as a continuation and refinement of insights first explored in When Physicists Talk About Reality. In both cases, the goal is to make visible the implicit assumptions and structural habits that shape theoretical practice—especially those that quietly influence ontological claims.

When Physicists Talk About Reality identified patterns in how physicists rhetorically elevate mathematical or theoretical constructs to the status of reality. That series diagnosed the conceptual slippage, showing how the language of physics often conflates possibility with existence, expectation with ontological warrant.

In the current series, the framework of relational ontology allows for a more precise diagnosis. By clearly distinguishing between:

• System — structured spaces of potential,

• Possible instance — configurations articulated within those spaces,

• Phenomenon — first-order meaning actualised through a perspectival cut,

we can track not only where theory overreaches but also why it does so, and how it can be disciplined without constraining innovation.

In effect, this miniseries operationalises the diagnostic method introduced in When Physicists Talk About Reality, turning philosophical insight into a tool for practical epistemic reflection. It makes visible the otherwise invisible cuts and omissions that shape contemporary physics, offering a lens for navigating the frontier between mathematical possibility and phenomenal actualisation.

For readers familiar with the earlier series, this continuation demonstrates the power of relational cuts: to identify where realism has drifted, to restore ontological clarity, and to preserve the generative potential of theory without abandoning rigorous attention to actuality.