1. Making relational ontology concrete
Thought experiments allow us to instantiate abstract principles without collapsing them into materialist or objectivist metaphors. Each scenario — whether a solitary process, infinite echo, or feedback loop — enacts relational dynamics in a way that is experientially graspable. They turn the “theory of possible instances” into something one can imagine unfolding, rather than simply read about.
2. Exploring boundaries of construal
Through these experiments, we probe limits and thresholds: what happens when feedback is faint or overwhelming, when processes align or diverge, when time and scale shift relationally. This exposes the sensitivity of emergence to subtle variations in construal, helping us see the theory’s contours more sharply.
3. Illuminating relational patterns
By running thought experiments across a spectrum — stability, collapse, oscillation, phase-shifting, multi-scale feedback — we map patterns of relational possibility. Each experiment emphasises a different aspect of how systems co-actualise potential, providing a sort of “topography” of emergence in relational space.
4. A creative and iterative laboratory
These exercises function as a conceptual sandbox, allowing us to try variations, notice unexpected interactions, and refine our understanding of relational ontology in practice. They are generative: new experiments often emerge naturally from the consequences or contrasts of earlier ones.
5. Pedagogical and communicative value
Finally, as a blog series, these thought experiments make relational ontology accessible and compelling to readers. They offer a way to experience the subtle dynamics of systems, processes, and construal without relying on formalism or dense abstraction.
In short, this enterprise is both exploratory and clarifying. It lets us see relational principles in motion, test the limits of ideas, and generate new horizons of possibility — all while keeping the ontology itself front and centre.
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