3 Dissolution and Sealing as Relational Extremes

The two thought experiments map a polarity of construal: the frame that dissolves and the frame that seals.

• In The Dissolving Frame, the contextual boundary thins to transparency, dispersing meaning into unbounded potential. Construal risks losing coherence as the figure dissolves into ground.

• In The Sealed Frame, the boundary thickens into opacity, cutting off construal from the relational play that sustains it. Meaning risks suffocation, locked into repetition without renewal.

Taken together, these extremes dramatise the delicate balance of relational ontology: construal requires enough framing to stabilise but enough openness to transform. Frames must be porous yet patterned, neither dissolving into chaos nor sealing into stasis.

The polarity reveals that construal is not guaranteed — it depends on the dynamic equilibrium of boundary and openness, containment and dispersal. The risk of collapse lies on both sides.