Dimensional ontology
Chapter 1 - Worldview
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Welcome to the Dimensional ontology page
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Our lives are not driven solely by personality traits. We live within a dimensional reality of ways to act upon relationships that we share with others. On this page, we want to help you orient yourself in this reality.
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Core idea
Ontology
Ontology is the study of being. It is the branch of philosophy that investigates the nature of existence, the features all entities have in common, and how they are divided into basic categories of being. It aims to discover the fundamental building blocks of the world and to characterise reality as a whole in its most general aspects, including ontological dependence and the relation between entities. An entity depends ontologically on another entity if the first cannot exist without the second. For instance, the surface of an apple cannot exist without the apple.
We present here a descriptive ontology which aims to articulate the conceptual scheme underlying how people ordinarily think about the world and act upon it. More precisely, this social ontology, a major subfield of applied ontology, studies social kinds and relationships, such as language, society, and the economy. It aims to determine the nature and essential features of these concepts while also examining their mode of existence. According to a common view, social kinds are useful constructions to describe the complexities of social life.
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Dimensional ontology overview
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| X-Why | Y-How | Z-What | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human | Interests | Values | Goals |
| Dimensions | Action dimension | Evaluation dimension | Potention dimension |
| From | what is important for me (autonomy) | what has meaning to me (coherence) | my competencies |
| To | what is important for us (participation) | what is the meaning for us (connectedness) | the relevance of actions for the bigger situation |
| X - PERSONAL | |||
| x - Inner focus (Why) | Temperament | Emotions | (Meta) cognition |
| y - Other focus (How) | Behaviour | Psychology | Philosophy |
| z - Outer focus (What) | Experience | Culture | Action |
| Y - RELATIONAL | |||
| x - Inner focus (Why) | Long term thinking | Motivation | Appreciation |
| y - Other focus (How) | Collaboration | Leading | Governing |
| z - Outer focus (What) | Supporting | Managing | Steering |
| Z - CONTEXTUAL | |||
| x - Inner focus (Why) | Personal competences | Relational competences | Relevant competences |
| y - Other focus (How) | Experimentation in contextual reality | Sensing of contextual reality | Comprehension of contextual reality |
| z - Outer focus (What) | (Re)acting for personal relevance | (Re)acting for relational relevance | (Re)acting for societal relevance |
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Reality as a tenor space
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Tensor
The image above is a tensor, from Latin tendere "to extend outward, stretch, draw tight" + -tor, agent suffix. In such a three-dimensional 'vectorial space', each dimension is itself redefined by the three-dimensional 'vectorial space'.
To describe the number of possible patterns that can be made in a three-dimensional space using only the 3 x 3 x 3 = 27 'directions', the mathematical description is:
- First, the number of relations between the 27 'directions': L = N*(N-1) / 2 = 27*26 /2 = 351
- Then the number of patterns that can be formed = 2^L = 2^351
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Approximation in words: The number of possible patterns is approximately 2.9 trillion-trillion-trillion-trillion-trillion (a number with 105 zeros, or 105 digits after the 2). As reality is even much more nuanced, the possibilities are endless.
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With this visual idea in mind, hereafter I explain the elements of the ontology more in detail:
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X - The action dimension
Personal action
Temperament
X.x.x: Action - Personal - Inner focus
Although the term 'temperament' does not have a consensual definition, most scientists would agree on the following sense: temperament refers to a distinctive profile of feelings and behaviours that originate in a person's biology and appear early in development. The biological foundation is usually genetic. An important source of the biological foundation of a temperamental bias is variation in the concentration and density of receptors for the large number of molecules that can affect brain function, including dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, opioids, acetylcholine, corticotropin-releasing hormone, vasopressin, and oxytocin.
Behaviour
X.x.y: Action - Personal - Other focus:
We all are active agents, continuously engaged in attempting to fulfill bodily needs and mental desires within complex and ever-changing surroundings, while interacting with our environment. Your inner focus, temperament, cognitions and emotions do not run independently of each other – their proper interaction enables you to perceive the world around you, listen to your inner wishes and respond appropriately to people in your surroundings. Behaviour can be regarded as any action of an organism that changes its relationship to its environment. Behavior provides outputs from the organism to the environment.
Experience
X.x.z: Action - Personal - Outer focus
Experience refers to the knowledge and practical familiarity that events bring. According to this meaning, an experienced worker is someone with a strong practical familiarity with the field. In this sense, experience refers not to a conscious process but to the result of processing our 'other focus'.
Relational action
Long term thinking
X.y.x: Action - Relational - Inner focus
For humans, being in a relationship is the fundamental condition for continuing life. This process is generational and therefore focused on the long term. On the other hand, as humans, we have developed a (limited) cognition that enables us to understand the world around us. We have learned to see patterns and detect principles. For the time being, we cannot see how the future will unfold. But what we do know with a certain probability is that the future must adhere to the principles we already know (although it is likely that there are principles we do not yet know).
Collaboration
X.y.y: Action - Relational - Other focus
The idea to divide the world into friends and enemies is a mistake. It goes back to the fallacy of essentialist thinking. Collaboration goes beyond conflict, as it acknowledges mutual agreements and explores possible futures.
Supporting
X.y.z: Action - Relational - Outer focus
Supporting emphasises providing the right amount of assistance to others to maximise their independence, skill development, and engagement in meaningful activities.
Contextual action
Personal competencies
X.z.x: Action - Contextual - Inner focus
Personal competencies comprise knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours that enable effective performance, self-management, and goal achievement. They are essential for personally navigating complex environments, building relationships, and fostering personal growth. These competencies are acquired moment by moment through experience and learning moments and form the basis for the potential dimension.
Experimentation (in contextual reality)
X.z.y: Action - Contextual - Other focus
Experimenting can be seen as the personal and basic form of science to understand the context we are in. A further aspect of it is not only what this research teaches us but also how it did so. These small actions give us the courage to adjust our worldview in small steps.
(Re)-acting for personal relevance
X.z.z: Action - Contextual - Outer focus:
This is clearly not 'acting out of personal relevance' but 'acting for personal relevance'. The relational arrow points from the context towards one's own personality. Personal competencies are deployed to modify the context in such a way that the personal return exceeds the personal efforts.
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Y - The evaluation dimension
Personal evaluation
Emotions
Y.x.x: Evaluation - Personal - Inner focus
Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with behavioural responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. In short, a process that occurs in response to a body system's reaction to a trigger. Emotions are complex, involving multiple different components, such as subjective experience, expressive behaviour, and psychophysiological changes.
Psychology
Y.x.y: Evaluation - Personal - Other focus
The word psychology derives from the Greek word psyche, for spirit or soul. The latter part of the word psychology derives from -λογία -logia, which means 'study' or 'research'. William James defined psychology as 'the science of mental life, both of its phenomena and their conditions'.
Culture
Y.x.z: Evaluation - Personal - Outer focus
Dougald Hine defines culture as: worldviews, the background maps and stories that shape our perception of the world and our sense of what is possible, while mostly passing for just how things are. It’s not about fixing people or behaviours; it’s about understanding the conditions that shape behaviour. Furthermore, it’s understanding that understanding the conditions may require us to pay attention to the more-than-human: space, tools, roles, history, infrastructures, affective atmospheres, and how humans interact with them. Culture isn’t simply an outcome of individual decisions. It emerges from the interplay of habits, stories, physical environments, power dynamics, technologies, and implicit norms, values and belief systems. These are not static inputs but highly interdependent and locally enacted forces.
Relational evaluation
Motivation
Y.y.x: Evaluation - Relational - Inner focus
Motivation is the energy to act. When you create a connection, you flourish. A genuine connection creates a feeling of belonging. Aligning mutual goals and meaningful values gives a sense of purpose. Motivation is closely linked to decision-making, affects your energy, and helps you keep an eye on the future.
Leading
Y.y.y: Evaluation - Relational - Other focus
‘Great Men’. All over the world, people are in search of larger-than-life figures who can lead them past crises and catastrophes, and into a bright future. As mentioned above, downward causation brings everything together in action. The same thing plays out on a larger scale in society, converging on the figure of the leader. The binding and lubricating agent here is the people's trust in their leader.
Managing
Y.y.z: Evaluation - Relational - Outer focus
The word stems from the now-obsolete noun manage ", meaning "the handling or training of a horse; horsemanship", from Old French manège "horsemanship," from Italian maneggio, from maneggiare "to handle, touch," especially "to control a horse," which ultimately from Latin noun manus "hand". Managing (handling) involves taking the power and responsibility to make decisions and oversee actions.
Contextual evaluation
Relational competencies
Y.z.x: Evaluation - Contextual - Inner focus
Relational competencies describe the ability to build trust, navigate complex human dynamics, and foster genuine connections with others. It involves reading interpersonal spaces, managing conflicts, repairing ruptures, and acting with empathy. It can be seen as the "skill of playing in a band" rather than just a solo act; it is a learned capacity to cultivate deep, mutually beneficial relationships.
Sensing (of contextual reality)
Y.z.y: Evaluation - Contextual - Other focus
Sensemaking is the process by which people interpret and give meaning to their experiences. From this perspective, sensemaking is described as a continuous effort to understand connections in context, which can be among people, places, or events, to anticipate their trajectories and act effectively upon them.
(Re)-acting for relational relevance
Y.z.z: Evaluation - Contextual - Outer focus
Relevant information is context-dependent. The hearer must infer the intended meaning, and the speaker must effectuate the intended meaning. Although it is not possible as a speaker to simultaneously maximise the least effort and achieve the greatest effect, one can experimentally manipulate effort and effect to determine whether they have the sorts of consequences predicted by the proper relevance theory.
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Z - The potention dimension
Personal potention
(Meta) cognition
Z.x.x: Potention - Personal - Inner focus
What do you know about yourself, others, and the world in terms of thinking, problem-solving and learning? What are the activities and strategies you use to control your thinking? What are your thoughts and feelings when you try to solve a problem? Cognition is the totality of processes of thinking and knowing. You have declarative knowledge about yourself and the factors that influence your performance. You have procedural knowledge about the thinking strategies you use. You have conditional knowledge that you use to allocate your mental resources.
Philosophy
Z.x.y: Potention - Personal - Other focus
Philosophy (from Ancient Greek philosophía 'love of wisdom') poses general and fundamental questions about topics such as existence, knowledge, mind, reason, language, value, etc. The philosophical pursuit of wisdom involves asking general and fundamental questions. It often does not yield straightforward answers but may help you better understand the topic, examine life, dispel confusion, and overcome prejudices and self-deceptive ideas associated with common sense.
Action
Z.x.z: Potention - Personal - Outer focus
Action is the closing piece of the personal stance, but at the same time, the beginning of the cyclical process. To explain action as the closing piece, I like to refer to the keystone metaphor. Although the keystone differs in shape from the voussoirs, it ensures that the voussoirs can fulfil their function (downwards causation). At the same time, action is the foundation of time-perception because, by definition, it brings about change in the environment.
Relational potention
Appreciation
Z.y.x: Potention - Relational - Inner focus
Appreciation is the clear link to your context. Without 'something else', appreciation is meaningless. Moreover, it is the positive link to that which is outside yourself, which is a starting point for reciprocity: 'I can appreciate that ...'.
Governing
Z.y.y: Potention - Relational - Other focus
In relation to your context, you can have the right and the authority to make decisions to control (something). The core meaning is to oversee or have responsibility for another person (e.g. a child); to be the guardian or patron of; to keep safe and protect. When this person is yourself, you can exercise self-discipline and control one's behaviour, esp. with regard to emotions and opinions, etc.
Steering
Z.y.z: Potention - Relational - Outer focus
Steering requires close attention to what is happening in the context. It is impossible to steer your car without having your senses at your disposal.
Contextual potention
Relevant competencies
Z.z.x: Potention - Contextual - Inner focus:
The next step in personal and relational competencies is confronting them with the context. Are they sufficiently equipped or adapted to the needs of the context?
Comprehension (of contextual reality)
Z.z.y: Potention - Contextual - Other focus
Even the simplest acts of interpretation require the activation of general world knowledge. What determines comprehension is not the situation as such, but the agents' subjective perception and interpretation of it. The cognitive representations of actions, persons, or events and the general situation refer to the imagined spatial distance from one's own worldview.
(Re)-acting for societal relevance
Z.z.z: Potention - Contextual - Outer focus
Societal relevance is about addressing current societal issues, such as climate change, democracy, inequality, and economics, while providing evidence that informs decisions by citizens, stakeholders, and policymakers. Societal relevance needs to be measured by the extent to which the intervention achieved what it set out to achieve. It is important to determine the effects, both positive and negative; decide whether to stop, continue, scale up, replicate, or adapt the intervention; and draw lessons for similar interventions.
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Conclusions
The quest for pure qualities
A remarkable observation is that humanity is constantly searching for people with pronounced 'pure qualities'.
Temperament
X.x.x: Action - Personal - Inner focus
Although the term 'temperament' does not have a consensual definition, most scientists would agree on the following sense: temperament refers to a distinctive profile of feelings and behaviours that originate in a person's biology and appear early in development. The biological foundation is usually genetic. An important source of the biological foundation of a temperamental bias is variation in the concentration and density of receptors for the large number of molecules that can affect brain function, including dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, opioids, acetylcholine, corticotropin-releasing hormone, vasopressin, and oxytocin.
Leading
Y.y.y: Evaluation - Relational - Other focus
‘Great Men’. All over the world, people are in search of larger-than-life figures who can lead them past crises and catastrophes, and into a bright future. As mentioned above, downward causation brings everything together in action. The same thing plays out on a larger scale in society, converging on the figure of the leader. The binding and lubricating agent here is the people's trust in their leader.
(Re)-acting for societal relevance
Z.z.z: Potention - Contextual - Outer focus
Societal relevance is about addressing current societal issues, such as climate change, democracy, inequality, and economics, while providing evidence that informs decisions by citizens, stakeholders, and policymakers. Societal relevance needs to be measured by the extent to which the intervention achieved what it set out to achieve. It is important to determine the effects, both positive and negative; decide whether to stop, continue, scale up, replicate, or adapt the intervention; and draw lessons for similar interventions.
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Whether it concerns social, political, or economic 'figureheads', society is always looking for people with a pure character (x.x.x), with the best leadership qualities (y.y.y), who live fully for the community (z.z.z). The leadership-economy is even aimed at developing these qualities. Political leaders are assumed to possess these qualities, and political marketing aims to highlight them. This all leads towards essentialist thinking.
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Against pure qualities
We can learn a lot from examples that aim for pure qualities but miss the 'essence'. For instance, Trump's terms as president of the USA.
X.x.y - Personal - Other focus: Behaviour
We all are active agents, continuously engaged in attempting to fulfill bodily needs and mental desires within complex and ever-changing surroundings, while interacting with our environment. Your inner focus, temperament, cognitions and emotions do not run independently of each other – their proper interaction enables you to perceive the world around you, listen to your inner wishes and respond appropriately to people in your surroundings. Behaviour can be regarded as any action of an organism that changes its relationship to its environment. Behavior provides outputs from the organism to the environment.
Y.x.x - Personal - Inner focus: Emotions
Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with behavioural responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. In short, a process that occurs in response to a body system's reaction to a trigger. Emotions are complex, involving multiple different components, such as subjective experience, expressive behaviour, and psychophysiological changes.
X.z.z - Contextual - Outer focus: (Re)acting for personal relevance
This is clearly not 'acting out of personal relevance' but 'acting for personal relevance'. The relational arrow points from the context towards one's own personality. Personal competencies are deployed to modify the context in such a way that the personal return exceeds the personal efforts.
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Life is messy and pure qualities are very rare.
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The strength of diversity robustness
When we combine all the patterns that carry every dimension within them, we get a robust whole.
Action dimension
X.y.z - Relational - Outer focus: Supporting
Supporting emphasises providing the right amount of assistance to others to maximise their independence, skill development, and engagement in meaningful activities.
X.z.y - Contextual - Other focus: Experimentation in contextual reality
Experimenting can be seen as the personal and basic form of science to understand the context we are in. A further aspect of it is not only what this research teaches us but also how it did so. These small actions give us the courage to adjust our worldview in small steps.
Evaluation dimension
Y.x.z - Personal - Outer focus: Culture
Dougald Hine defines culture as: worldviews, the background maps and stories that shape our perception of the world and our sense of what is possible, while mostly passing for just how things are. It’s not about fixing people or behaviours; it’s about understanding the conditions that shape behaviour. Furthermore, it’s understanding that understanding the conditions may require us to pay attention to the more-than-human: space, tools, roles, history, infrastructures, affective atmospheres, and how humans interact with them. Culture isn’t simply an outcome of individual decisions. It emerges from the interplay of habits, stories, physical environments, power dynamics, technologies, and implicit norms, values and belief systems. These are not static inputs but highly interdependent and locally enacted forces.
Y.z.x - Contextual - Inner focus: Relational competencies
Relational competencies describe the ability to build trust, navigate complex human dynamics, and foster genuine connections with others. It involves reading interpersonal spaces, managing conflicts, repairing ruptures, and acting with empathy. It can be seen as the "skill of playing in a band" rather than just a solo act; it is a learned capacity to cultivate deep, mutually beneficial relationships.
Potention dimension
Z.x.y - Personal - Other focus: Philosophy
Philosophy (from Ancient Greek philosophía 'love of wisdom') poses general and fundamental questions about topics such as existence, knowledge, mind, reason, language, value, etc. The philosophical pursuit of wisdom involves asking general and fundamental questions. It often does not yield straightforward answers but may help you better understand the topic, examine life, dispel confusion, and overcome prejudices and self-deceptive ideas associated with common sense.
Z.y.x - Relational - Inner focus: Appreciation
Appreciation is the clear link to your context. Without 'something else', appreciation is meaningless. Moreover, it is the positive link to that which is outside yourself, which is a starting point for reciprocity: 'I can appreciate that ...'.
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