Structuralism
Philosophical Structuralism (specifically Ontic Structural Realism, developed by James Ladyman and Steven French) holds that the fundamental furniture of the physical world consists entirely of structures — patterns of relations — rather than intrinsically characterized objects. This is distinct from linguistic or anthropological structuralism (Lévi-Strauss, Saussure), which concerns cultural sign-systems rather than the structure of physical reality.
I. Time
| Extent | Finite |
| Ontological Status | Emergent |
| Grain | Continuous |
| Freedom | Deterministic |
| Traversability | Linear |
| Dimensionality | One |
| Direction | Uni-directional |
Time is emergent from the relational structure of physical reality — Ontic Structural Realism holds that temporal relations are part of the fundamental structural furniture of the world, not properties of independently existing objects. Time is continuous, linear, and deterministic within the structural framework. Its extent is finite because the structure of the universe may have temporal boundaries.
II. Space
| Extent | Infinite |
| Ontological Status | Relational |
| Curvature | Curved |
| Dimensionality | Three |
| Locality | Local |
Space is relational and structural — it is constituted by the network of spatial relations rather than existing as an independent container. Curvature is curved because the structural relations among physical entities determine the geometry. Space is local and three-dimensional at the structural level described by our best physical theories.
III. Matter
| Extent | Finite |
| Ontological Status | Emergent |
| Conservation | Conserved |
| Dimensionality | Three |
| Locality | Local |
Matter is emergent from structure — objects are nothing but nodes in a web of structural relations, with no intrinsic, non-structural properties. What we call "matter" is the pattern of relations itself. Matter is conserved and local within the structural description, but its identity is exhausted by its relational role.
IV. Observer
| Time Instance | Single |
| Space Instance | Single |
| Extent of Knowledge | Immediate |
| Retainment of Knowledge | Total |
| Physicality | Embodied |
| Agency | Passive |
| Number | Plural |
V. Energy
Energy is emergent from physical structure — it characterizes the dynamical relations within the structural framework rather than existing as an independent substance. Conservation holds as a structural symmetry (Noether's theorem). Dispersibility is irreversible as a structural feature of the temporal ordering.
VI. Information
Information IS structure — reality is constituted by structural and informational relations, not by intrinsic properties of objects. It is discrete because structural relations can be fully specified by discrete mathematical descriptions.