Relational Physics I
“Time is not measured by clocks, but by becoming.”
Modern physics has reshaped our intuitions about space, time, and gravity—curving spacetime, bending light, dilating time. Yet even in these revolutions, the framework of objectivity persists: the cosmos remains a kind of vast container, warped by mass but existing independently of the observer.
But what if we let go of the container metaphor altogether?
What if space and time are not containers, but traces of relation—dimensions of becoming, not fixed backgrounds?
The Collapse of the Absolute
In Newtonian mechanics, time ticks uniformly, space extends infinitely, and bodies interact through invisible forces. Einstein broke this metaphysic: space and time fused, becoming a dynamic fabric curved by energy and matter.
Yet the curvature of spacetime still presumes an underlying continuum—a field independent of observation, merely shaped by what unfolds within it.
A relational ontology invites a more radical shift.
Here, space and time are not the arena for becoming. They are dimensions that emerge through it. They are not fixed coordinates into which things fall. They are actualised in relation, instantiated through processes. They are not the setting—they are part of the story.
Time as Process, Space as Relation
From this perspective:
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Time is not an absolute ticking metronome, nor a fourth dimension stretching out “ahead.” It is the dimension of process—the unfolding of one state into another. To measure time is to trace change, not to consult a universal clock.
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Space is not an empty stage. It is the relational dimension in which instances differentiate from one another. To perceive space is to perceive difference, the actualisation of position through relation.
Thus, both time and space are relational actualities—brought into being through interaction, not pre-existing as absolutes.
The Meaning of Gravitational Fields
From a relational standpoint, gravity is not a force acting “at a distance,” nor a deformation of a pre-given spacetime grid. It is the potential for relation to contract or dilate, structured around centres of actualised mass.
Think of gravity not as an invisible string pulling masses together, but as a field of becoming: a dynamic pattern of potential that shapes how instances of space and time are actualised.
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Near a massive body, processes unfold more slowly: time dilates.
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Across gravitational differentials, the instantiation of space contracts.
But these effects are not distortions of an objective grid. They are changes in how meaning becomes actual around a centre of mass. The field does not exist independently of relation—it is the structured potential of relation itself.
The Collapse of Observer-Independent Spacetime
Traditional relativity still depends on a curious paradox: although time and space are relative to frames of reference, they are embedded in an objective spacetime manifold.
But in a relational ontology, we drop the assumption that spacetime is independent of its instantiation. Instead:
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The contraction or dilation of space and time is not determined by the observer’s frame.
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It is determined by the relation of what is observed to the gravitational centre.
In this view, observation doesn't distort an objective time—it brings about a temporal instance through relation to gravitational potential.
Space and Time as Meaning Instances
Relationally, both space and time are meaning instances. That is:
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They are not static things, but meaningful dimensions made actual in interaction.
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They do not exist as universal quantities, but are instantiated locally in process and relation.
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They are not “measured” from outside—they are brought forth in every act of construal.
Every scientific instrument is a semiotic interface—a system of construal, not just detection.
Implications for Physics
To adopt this shift is not to abandon the predictive power of physics—it’s to re-inscribe that power within a deeper logic of becoming. Instead of modelling spacetime as a pre-existing arena, we model fields of potential becoming, within which instances of relation unfold.
In this framework:
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The gravitational field is not “out there”—it is a symbolic structure of potential.
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Motion is not in space and time—it brings forth space and time.
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Science becomes not a map of the real but a grammar for construal—a way of speaking the becoming of the cosmos.
From Physics to Poiesis
What emerges is a view of physics that is not less rigorous, but more alive—a physics of becoming, where space and time are poetic dimensions of unfolding meaning, not fixed metrics.
In this poetic cosmos:
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To move is to differentiate meaning.
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To measure is to participate in instantiation.
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To fall into gravity is to join the rhythm of mutual becoming.
The cosmos, far from being a lifeless grid, becomes a field of relational recursion—a universe in which science is not a detached gaze, but a way of participating in the world’s continual birth.
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