Objecthood as Alternation: Dynamic Existence and the Infinitesimal Center
Knowledge Commons (Lakehead University) June 2, 2026 Claus Janew
Objecthood is best understood as dynamic relational individuation rather than static self-presence. An object appears as one through structured perceptual, temporal, bodily, practical, mnemonic, anticipatory, and intersubjective transitions. The paper introduces the notion of an infinitesimal center: a non-objective unity-function that gathers a manifold as one object. Alternation extends Husserlian horizonality, Merleau-Pontian motor intentionality, Gibsonian affordance theory, Gestalt organization, and sensorimotor enactivism by explaining objectivity as stabilized transposability among standpoints. The ontological proposal is abductive, asking what account of objecthood best explains effective reidentifiability, resistance, and unity across variation. A final implication suggests a field-priority alternative to atomistic micropsychism.