1 Into the Horizon: Black Holes as Relational Boundaries

Black holes are often described as mysterious “objects” in space — regions where gravity crushes matter into a singularity, and nothing, not even light, can escape. But what if we set aside the notion of black holes as things and instead think of them as extreme configurations of relational unfolding? What if the event horizon is not just a physical boundary, but a boundary of relational coherence and meaning?

In this post, we begin a relational exploration of black holes — not by asking what they are in themselves, but how they unfold as processes within the complex interplay of space, time, and observation.

1. Beyond “Things”: Black Holes as Processes of Relation

Traditional physics often treats black holes as entities with properties — mass, density, event horizons — existing in an absolute spacetime backdrop. Our relational ontology suggests a shift: black holes are not static “things” but dynamic, unfolding processes defined by their relational interactions.

They arise as boundary conditions where the potential for co-unfolding relational processes between observer and observed reaches a limit. This is not merely a boundary of physics but a boundary of meaningful relational interaction.

2. The Event Horizon: A Boundary of Relational Coherence

The event horizon is commonly seen as the “point of no return” — a surface beyond which events cannot influence distant observers. Relationally, the event horizon can be understood as a meaning boundary, a limit of relational synchrony:

From the perspective of an external observer, processes unfolding inside the horizon cease to co-unfold relationally with the outside.
The horizon is not an absolute wall in space, but a perspectival, dynamic limit shaped by how processes relate and unfold across gravitational potentials.
It marks where the topology of relational meaning breaks or transforms — a shift in what can be instantiated as meaningful interaction.

3. Relational Implications of Space Contraction and Time Dilation

Near the event horizon, spatial intervals contract while time intervals dilate — processes unfold at different rates depending on gravitational potential. Relationally, this means:

The unfolding of events inside the horizon is effectively “compressed” relative to an external frame.
Time itself becomes a perspectival dimension of unfolding, slowing dramatically as the horizon is approached.
From afar, instantiations appear to pile up at the horizon, reflecting the horizon’s role as a temporal asymptote — a relational boundary limiting how and when events can be instantiated.

4. The Black Hole as an Extreme Individuation of Gravitational Potential

Black holes can also be seen as extreme individuations where localized gravitational potential dominates all relational unfolding with the wider cosmos. In this sense:

They represent regions where the internal relational processes become so dominant that interaction with the outside relational field becomes constrained or altered.
This extreme individuation reshapes the meaning potential and the ways processes can instantiate meaning within and outside the horizon.

Conclusion: A New Beginning Beyond the Horizon

By reframing black holes as relational boundaries — sites where the interplay of unfolding processes, meaning, and observation reaches a limit — we begin to see these phenomena not as paradoxical singularities but as natural limits of relational coherence.

This view invites us to explore not what black holes are, but how they unfold relationally — paving the way for further reflections on singularities and time’s ontological limits in the next posts of this trilogy.

2 Singularity and the Breakdown of Relational Meaning

In the first post, Into the Horizon, we reframed black holes not as static objects but as relational boundaries where the coherence of unfolding processes reaches a limit. Now, we turn our attention inward — to the singularity, traditionally portrayed as a point of infinite density and a breakdown of physical law.

What does the singularity mean in a relational ontology? If reality is meaning unfolding through processes, then singularities are not “things” but zones where relational meaning itself breaks down — where the topology of spacetime can no longer sustain coherent instantiation of process.

1. The Singularity as a Breakdown of Relational Coherence

The classical singularity in black hole physics is often seen as a “point” where density and curvature become infinite, signalling the failure of our physical models. From a relational perspective:

The singularity marks a limit in the meaningful unfolding of processes.
It is a breakdown in the topology of relational fields, where the relational potential for co-unfolding fails.
This failure is not a physical “thing” but a loss of instantiable meaning, a boundary to how relational processes can meaningfully proceed.

2. Rethinking “Infinity” in Relational Terms

Infinity in physics is often a signpost of theory breakdown, not an actual physical state. Here:

Infinite density or curvature is understood as a signal of relational breakdown, not a material reality.
It flags where the processual instantiations we use to understand reality lose coherence or applicability.
This invites us to rethink singularities as ontological limits rather than physical points, thresholds beyond which relational meaning cannot unfold as before.

3. Topology, Individuation, and Meaning Collapse

Within the black hole, the spacetime topology that allows for the unfolding of meaningful relations compresses and contorts:

The internal field becomes an extreme individuation of gravitational potential.
The “collapse” of meaning is a consequence of this extreme individuation, where the relational “space” for interaction shrinks beyond instantiation.
The singularity is thus a zone of meaning collapse, a boundary where the relational process of meaning construction reaches an ontological limit.

4. Implications for Understanding Reality and Observation

This relational reframing offers new ways to think about observation and reality at the edge of singularities:

Observation is itself a relational unfolding, reliant on the co-presence and co-unfolding of processes.
Near the singularity, the breakdown of relational coherence means observation, and thus meaning, is fundamentally altered or ceases.
This aligns with quantum gravitational intuitions that classical notions of space and time lose their meaning near singularities.

Conclusion: Singularities as Limits, Not Paradoxes

By interpreting singularities as breakdowns of relational meaning and topology, rather than physical infinities, we demystify these extreme conditions and align them with our broader relational ontology.

This sets the stage for the next post, Time Folds In: Gravitational Asymptotes and Ontological Limits, where we explore how time itself behaves as an unfolding process near these ultimate relational boundaries.

3 Time Folds In: Gravitational Asymptotes and Ontological Limits

In our previous posts, Into the Horizon and Singularity and the Breakdown of Relational Meaning, we explored black holes as relational boundaries—zones where the unfolding of relational processes and meaning reaches fundamental limits. Now, we turn to the role of time, the dimension of unfolding, as it behaves in the presence of extreme gravitational fields.

1. Time as the Dimension of Unfolding Processes

In our relational ontology, time is not an independent container but the dimension of processual unfolding itself—how instances actualise from potential in relation. It is fundamentally perspectival and emergent from co-unfolding processes.

Near a black hole’s event horizon, this unfolding slows dramatically from the perspective of an external observer, but what does this mean relationally?

2. Gravitational Asymptotes: Processes Slowing to a Standstill

Approaching the event horizon, gravitational potential warps the relational topology:

The unfolding of processes contracts in time and space intervals relative to distant observers.
From afar, processes appear to slow and asymptotically approach a halt at the horizon—an ontological boundary where relational instantiation becomes frozen.
This “freezing” is not a universal cessation but a perspectival effect of relative unfolding rates between interacting processes.

3. The Black Hole as a Temporal Boundary Condition

The black hole thus acts as a temporal asymptote, a boundary condition limiting the relational unfolding of process:

Instantiations—events, interactions—“pile up” near the horizon without fully crossing it in external time.
Internally, however, unfolding continues differently; the horizon is a boundary between relational regimes, not an absolute end.
This reframes the event horizon as a meaning boundary, delimiting where certain relational processes can co-unfold coherently.

4. Ontological Limits and the Folding of Time

At the singularity, where relational meaning breaks down, time itself encounters an ontological limit:

The familiar metric of unfolding time collapses with the breakdown of spatial and processual topology.
Time “folds in” — ceasing to serve as a meaningful dimension of relational instantiation.
This invites new ways of thinking about quantum gravity and the fabric of reality where classical time dissolves into relational potential.

5. Observational Perspectives and the Nature of Reality

This perspectival unfolding emphasises that observation and reality are relationally co-constructed:

Time dilation near black holes is not just physical but ontological—reflecting differences in relational co-unfolding between observers and phenomena.
Reality, as meaning unfolding through processes, is fundamentally linked to these perspectival relations.
This aligns black hole physics with our broader relational ontology, dissolving paradoxes by grounding them in process and relation.

Conclusion: Time’s Edge and the Horizon of Meaning

The black hole horizon is not a mere physical barrier but a profound boundary of relational unfolding and meaning—where time folds, processes compress, and ontological limits emerge.

This relational reimagining deepens our understanding of black holes, not as isolated singularities or objects, but as dynamic horizons of relation, marking the edges of coherent process and temporal meaning.

Reflective Coda: Horizons of Relation and the Unfolding of Meaning

Through this trilogy, we have journeyed beyond conventional notions of black holes as mere physical objects or singularities. Instead, we have reframed them as extreme configurations of relational unfolding, boundaries where the interplay of time, space, process, and meaning approaches profound limits.

The event horizon emerges not as a fixed frontier but as a dynamic boundary of coherence—a perspectival edge defining where relational processes can synchronise and unfold meaningfully. The singularity is not a point of infinite density but a signal of the breakdown of relational topology and meaningful instantiation.

Most strikingly, time itself reveals its fluid, perspectival nature as it folds near these horizons. This invites us to reconsider our deepest assumptions about temporality, causality, and the nature of reality—not as static entities, but as unfolding processes shaped by relation.

By embracing this relational ontology, black holes transform from paradoxical curiosities into profound illustrations of how meaning, process, and reality intertwine at the limits of experience. They invite us to rethink physics, not in terms of isolated ‘things,’ but in terms of relations, boundary conditions, and the unfolding dance of potential and instance.

As we close this exploration, the horizon remains open—an invitation to further inquiry into how relational processes sculpt not only the cosmos but the very fabric of meaning itself.

Worlds Within Meaning

28 July 2025

Relational Ontology and the Phenomenon of Black Holes