Modern cosmology is haunted by two theoretical phantoms: dark matter and dark energy. These constructs are invoked to account for gravitational effects that do not align with observed luminous mass, and for the accelerating expansion of the universe. Together, they are said to comprise over 95% of the cosmos — yet they remain entirely unobserved.
The premise of this essay is simple:
Dark matter and dark energy are not mysteries to be solved, but artefacts of a misconstrued ontology.
Once we adopt a relational view of reality — one in which process, relation, and semiotic construal replace the metaphysics of substance — these constructs simply dissolve. They are not hidden entities awaiting discovery. They are symptoms of what goes wrong when we mistake meaning for matter, or relation for thing.
Substance Cosmology and Its Anomalies
Standard cosmology inherits its metaphysical scaffolding from classical physics:
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Space and time are containers.
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Matter is substance with intrinsic mass.
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Gravity is a force between objects.
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The universe unfolds like a vast machine.
But when this model confronts large-scale cosmic dynamics, it falters:
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Galaxies rotate faster than their visible matter allows.
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The universe appears to accelerate in its expansion.
In response, the model patches its anomalies by positing two unobserved substances:
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Dark matter (to explain excess gravity).
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Dark energy (to explain accelerating expansion).
These are not empirical discoveries. They are theoretical requirements of a worldview trying to preserve itself.
The Relational Alternative
In contrast, a relational ontology begins from different commitments:
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Reality is not made of things but of unfolding processes.
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Space is not a container but a relational topology of co-unfolding.
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Time is the dimension of processual unfolding.
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Mass and gravity are not intrinsic, but emergent constraints in relational systems.
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Meaning is not applied to reality — it is reality, as construed.
Under these principles, the “anomalies” that gave rise to dark matter and dark energy do not emerge. Why?
Because:
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Rotation curves no longer assume fixed, Newtonian mass relations across a background space. They become expressions of relational coherence, not mass deficit.
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Cosmic expansion is not motion through space but differentiation across relational unfolding. Acceleration is not a problem if there's no background grid to accelerate relative to.
In this model, the universe is not full of missing matter — it's full of misconstrual.
Why the Dark Dissolves
They are:
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Boundary artefacts of a substance ontology.
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Conceptual ghosts conjured when relation is misread as substance.
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Theoretical duct tape holding together a model that cannot interpret its own misfit with the data.
In a relational ontology, there is no “dark sector” — not because it has been explained, but because:
The phenomena it was invented to explain do not arise.
A Closing Reflection
To continue asking what dark matter and dark energy really are is to ask the wrong question. It is to remain inside an ontology that no longer serves.
The relational ontology offers a way out. Not a better patch, but a better premise.
In this light, the greatest mystery may not be the missing mass of the universe — but the tenacity of the metaphysical assumptions that made us think something was missing in the first place.
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