Relational Continuity of Existence (RCE) 1.1: Process, Interval Processes and Relational Multiplicity of Existence

Abstract

Abstract RCE Version 1.1 extends the foundational framework of Relational Continuity of Existence (RCE) by placing process at the centre of its ontology. The central proposition is: “Reality is not made of things that change. Reality is change appearing as things.” From this perspective, what is ordinarily identified as a thing, state, event, beginning, ending or stable existence is understood as a relatively persistent and distinguishable interval process within a larger, continuous and unbounded process. Stability is therefore treated as temporary and relational rather than absolute. RCE 1.1 further proposes that the apparent multiplicity of processes does not require fundamentally separate realities. Processes are interlaced across scales: smaller processes contribute to larger processes, while larger processes condition and transform smaller processes. There is consequently no universally privileged small or large scale from which existence must be understood. Scale, boundary and duration are relational descriptions of process. The framework also develops a relational multiplicity of existence. An existence may manifest differently according to observer, perspective, condition, environment, scale and relation. A particular observer encounters only a limited manifestation of a broader process; what is outside attention or perception does not thereby cease to exist. Different observations may therefore describe different aspects of the same continuing process without necessarily implying separate underlying realities. RCE 1.1 does not claim that all perspectives are equally factually correct, nor that every process must be literally divided into mathematical intervals. Instead, it distinguishes between the broader continuity of process and the local usefulness of identifying relatively stable patterns. Local existence remains real and meaningful, while broader analysis reveals its processual character. This version develops RCE as a process-centred extension rather than a replacement of Version 1.0. It establishes process primacy, interval processes, temporary stability, reciprocal multi-scale relations, observer-limited manifestation and relational multiplicity as interconnected principles. It also identifies open questions concerning identity, causality, time, boundaries, knowledge and the relationship between RCE and earlier process, relational, impermanence and becoming traditions. Core proposition “Reality is not made of things that change. Reality is change appearing as things.” Keywords: process ontology; relational continuity; becoming; interval process; temporary stability; relational multiplicity; perspective; emergence; scale; existence