The Universal Complementarity of Construal: A Guided Arc

This series, The Universal Complementarity of Construal, traces a single structural insight across six posts: the intrinsic reversibility of the cline of instantiation and the universal complementarity of construal. This meta-post provides a roadmap and highlights the conceptual through-lines that unify the series.

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1. From Midpoint Insight to Universal Principle

The initial post, “The Reversible Cline”, introduces the observation that the midpoint of the cline of instantiation reveals dual legibility: from the pole of potential, a construal functions as system; from the pole of actualisation, the same construal functions as instance.

Subsequent posts show that this property is not confined to any midpoint. It is structural, intrinsic to the cline itself. Every point along the cline possesses reversibility, and complementarity is therefore universal.

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2. Reconstruing Key Concepts

Across the series, several canonical assumptions are re-examined:

• Metalevels are not ontologically privileged, but directional.

• Hierarchy is an enduring illusion; authority and rigor are relational, not vertical.

• Theory is not “above” data, but a directional positioning within structured potential.

• Data and theory, phenomenon and metaphenomenon, instance and system are duals, mutually interpretable along the cline.

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3. The Progressive Arc of the Series

1. The Reversible Cline: Midpoint insight and the recognition of reversibility.

2. Complementarity Beyond Quantum Metaphor: Extending the principle beyond physics to all domains of theory and construal.

3. The Reconstruction of the Metalevel: Dissolving ontological privilege; the metalevel as directional stance.

4. Why Hierarchy Persists as Illusion: Explaining the social, cognitive, and institutional persistence of vertical metaphors.

5. Theory as Directional Positioning: Theory understood as stance within structured potential rather than elevation.

6. Implications for Science, Semiotics, and Ontology: Demonstrating how universal complementarity reshapes knowledge-making across disciplines.

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4. Key Takeaways

• Complementarity is universal. It is not an exotic feature of quantum mechanics or any specific domain.

• Reversibility is structural. Every act of construal has dual legibility; no position is exempt.

• Positional rigour replaces hierarchy. Authority and explanation derive from relational clarity and directional leverage.

• Theory and data are relational duals. The line between them is perspectival, not ontological.

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5. Forward-Looking Implications

This series prepares the ground for further exploration:

• Validity, truth, proof, and support: If all construals are directional and reversible, how do we understand what counts as valid or supported? What does proof mean along a cline of potential and actualisation?

• Representationalism: If every pattern is both instance and system, can any theory be said to “represent” reality in the traditional sense? Or must representation itself be reframed as relational positioning?

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6. How to Read the Series

Each post builds cumulatively, but this meta-post allows readers to:

• Trace the conceptual trajectory.

• Recognise the coherence of terminology across posts.

• Anticipate broader consequences for theory, epistemology, and ontology.

The series is an invitation to see knowledge as a navigable relational gradient, rather than a vertical ladder, and to engage with complementarity as the universal grammar of construal.