Abstract

When assuming the possibility of a complementary, material and more-than-material relational ontology, various material facets of experience can actually work to support notions of ontologically irreducible more-than-material elements. In addition, by expunging human/nature dualisms, more-than-material evidence can also be gathered directly via Peircian shared feelings, poetic knowledge and personal acquaintance knowledge as detailed in the previous chapter. Lastly, more-than-material relational elements such as beauty, meaning, and the capacity to astonish are generally taken by modern theorists not to exist in relational participants or the relational space between them. Instead, they are thought to be post hoc concepts created by human or human-like participants in response to material relational conditions. This is erroneous, and such qualities should be taken to be more-than-material ontological elements irreducible to the material—ones that can be inherent in relational participants and/or the relationships themselves.