Relationalism
Relationalism posits that space and time are not entities in themselves but merely a system of relations among objects. This view contrasts with substantivalism, which treats space and time as entities.
I. Time
| Extent | Both |
| Ontological Status | Emergent |
| Grain | Continuous |
| Freedom | Non-Deterministic |
| Traversability | Linear |
| Dimensionality | One |
| Direction | Uni-directional |
Time is emergent and relational — it is nothing but the ordered succession of events, not an independently existing container. Without events, there would be no time. Time's extent is both finite and infinite depending on the relational structure of events. It is continuous, linear, and uni-directional as experienced through the sequence of changing relations.
II. Space
| Extent | Infinite |
| Ontological Status | Relational |
| Curvature | Curved |
| Dimensionality | Three |
| Locality | Local |
Space is relational — it is nothing but the system of spatial relations among objects (Leibniz). Space has no independent existence apart from the things it relates. Curvature is curved because the relational structure of matter shapes the geometry of space. It is local: spatial relations are defined between neighboring entities.
III. Matter
| Extent | Finite |
| Ontological Status | Emergent |
| Conservation | Conserved |
| Dimensionality | Three |
| Locality | Local |
Matter is emergent in the relational framework — objects are constituted by their relations rather than possessing intrinsic, independent properties. Matter is finite and conserved within the relational network, and local in the sense that material interactions are always mediated through relational proximity.
IV. Observer
| Time Instance | Single |
| Space Instance | Single |
| Extent of Knowledge | Immediate |
| Retainment of Knowledge | Immediate |
| Physicality | Embodied |
| Agency | Active |
| Number | Plural |
V. Energy
Energy is emergent and relational — it characterizes the dynamical relations among physical events rather than existing as an independent substance. Conservation holds as a structural feature of the relational network. Dispersibility is irreversible within the temporal ordering of relations.
VI. Information
Information is nothing but the set of relations among physical events — it has no independent existence apart from relational structure. It is conserved in the sense that relational structures are preserved by physical laws.