Reality and Causation Without Independence: 2 Why Transmission Requires Independence

In Part I, we clarified the classical transmission model of causation:

• Causes precede effects.

• Something is transferred.

• The causal relation links distinct relata.

Now we ask a sharper question:

What must be true for transmission to be intelligible at all?

The answer is structurally demanding.

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1. Transmission Presupposes Distinct Relata

Transmission is a relation between something and something else.

For there to be transmission:

• There must be a source.

• There must be a recipient.

• These must be distinguishable.

If the cause and effect are not ontologically separable, then the idea of something moving from one to the other collapses.

Transmission therefore requires:

Relational distinctness grounded in prior independence.

Without independence, there is no “between.”

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2. Transmission Requires Pre-Existing Identity

For something to be transferred, it must retain identity across the process.

Consider energy transfer, force transfer, or influence:

• What is transferred must be identifiable.

• It must be the “same something” at both ends of the relation.

This requires:

• Stable entities.

• Intrinsic properties.

• Determinate boundaries.

Transmission only makes sense if relata are already constituted.

Thus:

Independence is not optional — it is structurally required.

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3. External Relations Are Essential

In the transmission model, the causal relation is external.

That means:

• Cause is what it is independently.

• Effect is what it is independently.

• The relation does not constitute either term.

If relations were constitutive of identity, then:

• The relata could not exist prior to the relation.

• Transmission would become incoherent, because there would be no independent starting point.

Therefore:

Transmission assumes ontological primacy of relata over relation.

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4. Temporal Container Presupposition

Transmission also presupposes time as a neutral framework in which:

• Events are located,

• Interactions occur,

• Processes unfold.

Time must already exist as a structured container.

Otherwise, the notion of “prior” and “subsequent” cannot ground causal direction.

Thus:

Temporal ordering is treated as independent of causal structure.

Again, independence appears as a background requirement.

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5. The Logical Structure

We can summarise the dependency chain:

Transmission → requires distinct relata

Distinct relata → require ontological independence

Ontological independence → requires external relations

External relations → require pre-constituted entities

Pre-constituted entities → require container-time

Remove independence, and the entire architecture destabilises.

Transmission cannot function without it.

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6. The Structural Conclusion (Preliminary)

Therefore:

The classical transmission model is not merely compatible with independence.

It depends on it.

Independence is not a metaphysical add-on.

It is the enabling condition of the model.

This sets up the decisive question for Part III:

If independence is not fundamental —

what becomes of causation?