Cosmology Without Substances: Rethinking the Origin of the Universe

Few domains of physics are more entangled with ontological assumptions than cosmology. The origins and large-scale structure of the universe are typically framed in terms of entities: particles, forces, vacuum states, space and time themselves. In this post, we consider how a relational ontology reshapes our understanding of the cosmos—especially the early universe.

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1. The Big Bang: From Singularity to Relational Threshold

The standard model of cosmology posits a singularity: a point of infinite density from which spacetime emerges. This framing reflects substance-based metaphysics:

• A pre-existing “nothing” suddenly becomes “something.”

• Energy, matter, and space are birthed as discrete ontological units.

From a relational perspective, this singularity is not an object or event, but a threshold in the coherence of relational potential:

• The “beginning” of the universe marks the emergence of a global field of constraints from which space, time, and distinguishable phenomena become possible.

• What we call the Big Bang may be better conceived as a phase transition in the topology of relation.

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2. Spacetime as Emergent Constraint Network

In general relativity, spacetime is dynamic, curved by mass–energy. But even this elegant framework assumes a continuous manifold as a background.

Relational cosmology suggests:

• Spacetime itself emerges from networks of coherence—patterns of constraint propagation among relational events.

• Local metric structure arises from patterns of actualisation in a deeper relational field.

• The “expansion of space” is not objects moving through a container, but a dilution or restructuring of relational density across the field.

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3. Quantum Gravity and the Need for Ontological Shift

Efforts to unify quantum mechanics and gravity (e.g. loop quantum gravity, causal set theory, string theory) have all confronted:

• The breakdown of spacetime continuity,

• The problem of time (no global clock),

• Context-dependence of observables.

A relational view reframes these not as problems to be solved within current metaphysics, but signals that a new ontological framework is required—one in which spacetime is not fundamental, but emergent from temporal patterns of coherence and constraint.

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4. The Early Universe and the Relational Field

Standard cosmology depends on highly specific initial conditions: fine-tuned parameters, rapid inflation, etc. These are often postulated rather than explained.

Relational ontology offers a different approach:

• The early universe is a region of high constraint density and maximal potential coherence.

• What evolves is not an ensemble of substances but a relational field differentiating itself through cascading phase transitions—leading to time, causality, and locality.

• Inflation becomes not a field driving expansion, but a rapid restructuring of relational topology, enabling classical features to emerge from non-classical coherence.

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Closing

Cosmology remains one of the most metaphysically burdened sciences. A relational perspective doesn’t discard observational data or mathematical modelling—it reframes the ontological assumptions that structure interpretation. The origin of the universe, in this view, is not a moment in time, but a threshold of relational articulation—where constraint gives rise to structure, and coherence crystallises into cosmos.

In the next post, we’ll explore how relational ontology speaks to one of the deepest questions in physics and philosophy: why is there something rather than nothing?