Work Classification Layer
Compare Works
Pick two or more works to set their attribute fingerprints, dimension-by-dimension passages, and shared school embodiments side by side. Especially useful for author-stage comparisons (Wittgenstein early vs late) and for setting a single tradition's foundational texts against each other.
Penitential and Monastic Rules
A tariff for the soul — the Irish monk's system of private confession and calibrated penance that became the ancestor of the modern confessional
Attribute Fingerprint
Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.
| Attribute | Penitential and Monastic Rules |
|---|---|
| Time · Extent | Both |
| Time · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Time · Grain | Continuous |
| Time · Freedom | Non-Deterministic |
| Time · Traversability | Linear |
| Time · Dimensionality | One |
| Time · Direction | Uni-directional |
| Space · Extent | Finite |
| Space · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Space · Curvature | not engaged |
| Space · Dimensionality | Three |
| Space · Locality | Local |
| Matter · Extent | Finite |
| Matter · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Matter · Conservation | Conserved |
| Matter · Dimensionality | Three |
| Matter · Locality | Local |
| Observer · Time Instance | Single |
| Observer · Space Instance | Single |
| Observer · Knowledge Extent | Mediated |
| Observer · Knowledge Retainment | Total |
| Observer · Physicality | Embodied |
| Observer · Agency | Active |
| Observer · Number | Plural |
| Observer · Metaphysical Agency | Personal |
| Observer · Moral Authority | Tradition |
| Observer · Theological Method | — |
| Energy · Extent | Finite |
| Energy · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Energy · Conservation | Conserved |
| Energy · Dispersibility | Irreversible |
| Information · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Information · Cosmic Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Personal Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Granularity | Discrete |
Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence
What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.
Time
Penitential and Monastic Rules
Both — divine eternity and created temporal order. The penitential system operates in historical time: sins are committed and penances performed within the temporal life. Linear, uni-directional, eschatological: final judgement awaits.
Space
Penitential and Monastic Rules
Finite, substantival, three-dimensional. The monastery is the primary spatial unit — a sacred space ordered by the Rule. The peregrinatio maps spiritual journey onto physical geography.
Matter
Penitential and Monastic Rules
Substantival, finite, conserved. The body is subject to penitential discipline: fasting, vigils, physical labour. Material existence is real and morally significant.
Observer
Penitential and Monastic Rules
Embodied, active. The monk and penitent are agents who confess, perform penance, and undergo moral transformation. Knowledge is mediated through the Rule and the confessor. Plural observers: the monastic community.
Energy
Penitential and Monastic Rules
Finite, conserved. Not theorised independently. The ascetic disciplines imply a finite bodily energy that must be directed toward God.
Information
Penitential and Monastic Rules
Substantival, discrete. The Penitential encodes moral information in discrete categories: each sin has a specific penance. This is the most distinctive informational feature — a discretised moral taxonomy.
Internal Tensions
Where each work's argument pulls against itself.
The tariff system raises the tension between mechanical penance (performing a prescribed fast) and genuine interior contrition. Does the system reduce sin to a calculable debt, or does it provide an external structure for interior conversion? The conflict between Columbanus's Irish practices and Frankish/Roman norms (the Easter controversy, tonsure, episcopal authority) reflects the broader tension between local tradition and universal Church discipline.