Sharing Reality: Interpersonal Meaning and the Co-Instantiation of Metaphenomena

Sharing Reality: Interpersonal Meaning and the Co-Instantiation of Metaphenomena

In our last post, we drew a key distinction between two orders of reality:

• First-order reality: the construal of experience through perception and emotion (phenomena), and

• Second-order reality: the construal of meanings about that experience through cognition, desideration, and verbalisation (metaphenomena).

But symbolic consciousness is not a private affair. If meaning is reality, and meaning is instantiated in context, then interpersonal meaning is how we come to share reality with others. It is how the instances of one consciousness enter into the symbolic systems of another.

This post explores how verbal projection, co-instantiation, and modality work together to make shared reality possible.

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From Internal to Interpersonal

We’ve already noted that mental processes of cognition and desideration project second-order meanings—what we think and want. These are internal projections, operating within the consciousness of a single individual.

Verbal processes, in contrast, externalise these inner projections:

He said [it’s going to rain].

I asked [you to wait].

Here, the projected clause becomes interpersonal: no longer just a projection of consciousness, but now part of a semiotic exchange. What was metaphenomenon is now co-available to others.

The projected locution itself—what was said or asked—is not an idea, but a wording. It realises the projected meaning in language, making it a semiotic artefact that others can respond to, take up, challenge, or ignore.

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Co-Instantiation: Taking Up Another’s Reality

When another speaker takes up and responds to a projected meaning—whether in agreement, disagreement, or negotiation—this is a case of co-instantiation:

A: I think it’s too risky.

B: I agree. / I’m not sure it is. / You might be right.

Here, the second speaker does not simply produce a new instance of meaning—they instantiate a related meaning in reference to the one already projected. The interpersonal domain allows meanings to move from individual instantiation to mutual actualisation—not necessarily shared belief, but shared symbolic space.

This is where the ontology of meaning meets the social practice of dialogue.

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Modality and the Interpersonal Stance

What enables us to negotiate metaphenomena rather than merely assert them is modality—the interpersonal system that lets us modulate our stance in relation to propositions and proposals:

• Modalisation applies to propositions (meanings of cognition):

  • It might rain.

  • I’m sure she’s right.

• Modulation applies to proposals (meanings of desideration):

  • You should go.

  • I really want you to stay.

These modalities allow the speaker to position themselves within the meaning space—not just stating what is, but expressing degrees of likelihood, obligation, certainty, inclination. And just as importantly, they allow others to align or diverge with that stance.

Thus, interpersonal meaning is not just exchange; it is stance-taking in relation to shared metaphenomena.

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Verbal Projection and Interpersonal Consciousness

It is verbal processes that make this symbolic interaction possible. They do not merely report thoughts—they externalise second-order meanings in a form that others can engage with. That is why verbal projection is central to the interpersonal nature of symbolic consciousness:

• It transforms internal projection into shared symbolic form.

• It enables co-instantiation by making metaphenomena available to others.

• It supports alignment, resistance, and negotiation through modality.

• It constitutes the space of shared reality—a symbolic domain built in language.

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Closing Thoughts: Meaning Between Minds

In this model, consciousness is not sealed within the individual. Through verbal projection, meaning moves between minds—not as a transfer of content, but as co-instantiation within a shared semiotic system.

To speak is not just to say something; it is to make meaning real—not just for oneself, but for others. And in responding, others take part in this shared construction of reality.

In our next post, we’ll consider how this view of meaning as reality opens up new ways to think about individuation—not just how individuals instantiate meaning, but how they differentiate themselves within the collective meaning potential.