The Ontology of Finite Continuity: A Formalization of Structural Subjectivity

Western philosophy has long focused on the question of 'Being', but this paper argues for a shift to asking what conditions allow a meaning-system to persist structurally. It introduces the 'Ontology of Finite Continuity', centered on the 'Threshold of Sufficiency', a metric for measuring a system's capacity to withstand disruptions before changing phase. Unlike homeostasis, which returns to a fixed equilibrium, this model uses homeorhesis—a return to a developmental trajectory. The author proposes an eight-layer Structural Theory of Subjectivity and shows that hermeneutic friction arises from three types of failure across these layers. A case study on digital identity crises in the age of generative AI, supported by empirical research, illustrates the framework.

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Abstract

Abstract Western ontology, from Parmenides to Heidegger, has been persistently fixated on the question of "Being" (Was ist das Seiende?), thereby neglecting the formal mechanisms governing the survival and collapse of meaning-systems. This paper argues for a fundamental reorientation: the foundational question of philosophy should shift from "What is Being?" to "What conditions make the structural continuity of a meaning-system possible?" This reorientation—termed the "Ontology of Finite Continuity"—is anchored in the concept of the Threshold of Sufficiency: an objective metric for measuring a system's capacity to withstand structural perturbations before undergoing phase transition. Unlike homeostatic models that return to a fixed equilibrium, finite continuity operates through homeorhesis—a system's return to its developmental trajectory rather than to a static point. To formalize this dynamics, I propose a Structural Theory of Subjectivity comprising eight simultaneous layers. The paper engages critically with contemporary frameworks including Predictive Processing, Extended Mind, Autopoiesis, Enactivism, systems theory, and plasticity. I demonstrate that hermeneutic friction emerges as the nonlinear interaction of three failure types across the eight layers. The paper concludes with a case study—the crisis of digital identity in the age of generative AI—supported by empirical research on identity formation in digital environments. Keywords: Ontology of Finite Continuity, Threshold of Sufficiency, Homeorhesis, Structural Subjectivity, Finite Hermeneutics of Failure, Hermeneutic Friction, Generative Artificial Intelligence.