Both “dark matter/energy” and “wavefunction collapse” are narrative patches — stopgaps invented to restore coherence in frameworks that misconstrue potential as history and construal as substance. Relational ontology does not solve these puzzles on their own terms. It dissolves them.
The Dark Sector of Cosmology
Observations of galaxies and cosmic expansion appear not to fit the predictions of standard models:
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Galactic rotation curves: Stars on the outer edges of galaxies move too fast to be bound by the gravity of visible matter.
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Gravitational lensing: Light bends around galaxy clusters more than visible mass can explain.
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Cosmic acceleration: The universe’s expansion is speeding up, rather than slowing down.
To make sense of these anomalies, physicists posit vast quantities of unseen dark matter and pervasive dark energy. These entities have never been directly detected. They exist solely to patch the gap between construal (the equations) and instance (the observations).
The Collapse of the Wavefunction
Quantum theory describes particles as wavefunctions — distributions of potential outcomes. But when we measure, we never see distributions; we see definite outcomes. To account for this, physicists posit a mysterious collapse of the wavefunction: a sudden, unobservable transition from probability to actuality.
This “collapse” is never observed. It is an ad hoc story that preserves the fiction of an independent, unconstrued reality that then “becomes actual” under measurement.
A Parallel Table
| Problem | Mainstream Framing | Patch / Solution | Relational Dissolution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galactic rotation curves | Stars move too fast for visible matter to hold them. | Dark matter: unseen mass provides extra gravity. | Gravity is a construal of potential, not a literal force needing invisible carriers. Coherence lies in construal alignment, not hidden matter. |
| Gravitational lensing | Light bends more than visible mass can explain. | Dark matter adds invisible mass to account for bending. | Lensing is part of the same perspectival cut. No need for unseen matter to “fix” the discrepancy. |
| Cosmic acceleration | Expansion of the universe is speeding up. | Dark energy drives acceleration. | Expansion is a construal of potential actualised in the instance, not a literal force requiring invisible fuel. |
| Wavefunction measurement | Potentials yield definite outcomes at observation. | Collapse: unobservable transition enforces actuality. | Measurement is the perspectival cut itself. Actualisation is not a process but a construal. |
The Ontological Fallacy
What unites these patches is the same misstep:
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Potential mistaken for substance. Dark matter and the wavefunction are both systems of potential, misconstrued as literal fields or stuff.
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Coherence mistaken for process. Dark energy and wavefunction collapse are both invented processes to explain why actuality appears coherent.
Relational Dissolution
In relational ontology, system is potential, and instance is a perspectival cut. Coherence is intrinsic to construal, not something imposed by hidden stuff or secret processes.
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Galaxies rotate coherently because cosmic alignment is construed as such, not because invisible matter is lurking unseen.
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Measurements yield definite outcomes because actuality is the cut itself, not the result of collapse.
Both dark matter/energy and wavefunction collapse are attempts to save a misconstrued ontology. Once we stop treating potential as history and construal as substance, their necessity evaporates.
Beyond the Dark and the Collapsed
Just as inflation and entanglement point to the same boundary, so too do the dark sector and collapse. Cosmology and quantum theory are tracing parallel outlines of the same ontological limit.
Neither hidden matter nor hidden processes are needed. What is needed is a reconstrual of reality itself:
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System as structured potential.
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Instance as perspectival cut.
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Construal as constitutive.
From this perspective, the cosmos is not full of invisible matter and mysterious collapses. It is full of meaning, actualised in alignment. The “dark” and the “collapsed” are not features of reality but symptoms of misalignment. Once re-aligned, they dissolve — and reality itself becomes clear.
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