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Ontic

Ontic refers to features of physical reality that operate independently of any observer, model, or representational scheme.

An ontic claim describes what the world does, not how it is described, interpreted, or inferred. Ontic structures determine which states are accessible, which transitions occur, and which patterns persist under interaction and noise, regardless of whether they are observed or known.

Ontic does not mean complete, final, or certain.
It means observer-independent and dynamically operative.

Through this role, ontic structure:

• constrains possible system trajectories in state space,
• determines which distinctions can physically exist,
• governs persistence, interaction, and causal influence,
• limits which epistemic descriptions can succeed.

Distillation

Ontic claims are about what the world does, not what we say about it.

Why it matters

• Epistemic: Prevents confusing representation with causation.
• Distinction: Only ontic partitions can ground real asymmetries.
• Persistence: Stability requires ontic mechanisms, not descriptions.
• RDD coherence: Keeps the framework anchored to physical dynamics rather than interpretation.

Links

Related atoms

• Constraint
• Distinction
• Entropy
• Epistemic
• Existence
• Noise
• Ontic
• Persistence (Metastable State Property)
• Persistence Bias
• Persistent Distinction
• Potential
• Record (Memory Substrate)
• Recursion
• State Space
• Time

Used in molecules

Conflicts with

• Views that treat physical structure as observer- or model-dependent.
• Interpretations that substitute description, meaning, or belief for mechanism.
• Accounts that collapse ontic and epistemic distinctions.

Sources

• Source: Ladyman, J., & Ross, D. (2009). Every Thing Must Go: Metaphysics Naturalized.

  • Key: @ladymanEveryThingMust2009
  • Use here: Grounds ontology in physical structure rather than conceptual categories.

• Source: Dennett, D. C. (1991). Real Patterns.

  • Key: @dennettRealPatterns1991
  • Use here: Clarifies which patterns count as real independently of description.

Re-contextualization Log

• 2025-12-29
  • context: Needed to distinguish ontic structure from epistemic access across RDD atoms
  • effect: strengthened
  • note: Reframed ontic as a dynamical constraint on possible trajectories and persistence, not merely observer-independence.