Physics often presents the micro and macro worlds as radically different. Quantum mechanics is a realm of probabilities, wavefunctions, and paradoxical interference. General relativity is a world of curved spacetime, geodesics, and gravitational fields. Yet, from the perspective of relational ontology, both domains obey the same fundamental logic: potential constrains, instances actualise, and patterns emerge.
This is the ontology that underpins all physical phenomena.
1. Potential: The System of Possibilities
At the foundation of both quantum and gravitational phenomena is relational potential:
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In quantum mechanics, the wavefunction encodes the space of possible events — all potential detections at the screen in a two-slit experiment.
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In celestial mechanics, mass-energy distributions define the system of potential pathways for planets, comets, and photons.
Potential is relational, not substantive. It does not exist “in space” or “in spacetime”; it exists as the structure of constraints shaping what could occur.
2. Instances: Actualised Events
Actualisation occurs in the form of instances:
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Quantum: each electron or photon detection is an event, satisfying the relational constraints of the wavefunction and experimental configuration.
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Celestial: each planetary position is an event, satisfying the relational constraints imposed by mass-energy and prior positions.
Instances are first-order phenomena. They do not reveal hidden reality; they are intelligible because they occur within a structured system of potential.
3. Sub-Potentials and Local Constraints
Relational systems are never uniform:
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Quantum: slit geometry and detector layout generate sub-potentials, shaping the interference pattern.
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Celestial: resonances, close encounters, and tidal interactions generate sub-potentials, shaping orbits, precession, and lensing.
Sub-potentials locally constrain actualisation, producing regularity without invoking hidden forces, fields, or curvature of a substrate.
4. Horizons: The Edge of Novelty
At every moment, the next instance emerges from the horizon of possibilities:
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Quantum: the potential next detection is constrained by prior events and the wavefunction.
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Celestial: the next planetary position is constrained by prior positions and the system of overlapping potentials.
Horizons make novelty intelligible: each new instance is possible within constraints, not random, not forced, not a revelation of hidden substance.
5. Emergent Patterns Across Instances
From the accumulation of instances arise recognisable patterns:
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Quantum: the interference pattern is a second-order construal across many first-order detections.
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Celestial: orbits, resonances, precession, and gravitational lensing are second-order construals across first-order positions.
These patterns are historical traces of relational actualisations, not properties of space, spacetime, or mysterious fields. They are intelligible regularities, emergent from relational dynamics.
6. Rejecting Substantive Metaphysics
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Geodesics are actualised paths, not evidence of curved spacetime.
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Wavefunctions define potential, not hidden waves in a medium.
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“Forces,” “fields,” or “curvature” are shorthand for relational patterns of constraint, not substances in themselves.
Relational ontology dissolves classical paradoxes: interference is no longer mysterious, gravitational curvature is no longer a thing, and micro and macro phenomena are explained by the same principle.
7. Historical Accumulation and Coherence
Patterns emerge through historical accumulation of instances:
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The dots on a quantum screen, the sweep of planetary orbits, the bending of light near massive bodies — all are traces of relational constraints realised over time.
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Novelty, stability, and regularity are consequences of the evolving interplay between potential and actualisation.
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First-order events generate second-order intelligible patterns; the system is coherent across scales.
8. Relational Physics Unified
Across quantum and gravitational phenomena:
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Potential: the relational system of constraints defines what can occur.
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Instance: the actualised event within that system.
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Sub-potential: local or contextual constraints shaping instances.
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Horizon: the evolving frontier of possible next instances.
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Pattern: the emergent, second-order regularities visible across accumulated instances.
This ontology unites micro and macro physics without invoking mysterious forces, waves, or curved containers. Reality is intelligible through the interplay of relational potential and instance, and every pattern is a historical record of actualisation.
9. Conclusion
From electrons to planets, from interference patterns to orbits, relational physics provides a single, coherent explanatory framework. Potential defines constraints. Instances actualise within those constraints. Patterns emerge, intelligible but not substantial.
The universe, seen relationally, is a network of possibilities unfolding through actualised events — simple, elegant, and profoundly unifying.
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