Glossary
           

 NOTE: Glossary is being edited in parallel with editing of RD. Untill RD is completely edited this version of the Glossary should be taken as temporary and subject to changes.

Awareness: Ontological base of RD; the unique Absolute admitted
("Foundations in Ontology")

Observation: Awareness of Imaginary Pattern ("Model of Mind") Fundamental Dialectic Dichotomy, Observation(Observer/Observed)
("Foundations in Physics")

Situation: "soft" synonym of Observation, Situation(Subject/Object)
("Foundations in Physics")

Observation Type: concrete, founded in perception virtual, founded in imagination

Phenomenon: Imaginary Pattern ("Model of Mind") Observed term of Observation or Object term of Situation Phenomenon Type: virtual or concrete corresponding to observation type.

#Space (prefix "#"): Conceptual structure synonymous with "Domain" or "Class".

Phenomenon #space (PS): Domain of Phenomena. It encompasses among other Patterns:
1. space, or 3D Euclidian #space,
2. time, or 1D time #space.

Model #space (MS): A particular subclass of #space which endeavors to map, to order and to coordinate Phenomena of PS into consistent and coherent structures.

Theory, or Model: A particular MS.

NOTE: PS is unique per observer and Theory independent.

Event: Elementary Phenomenon which may be mapped to a point or #Event of MS.

Entity: map of Phenomenon from PS to MS Abstract Entity or Abstraction; mapped from a virtual Phenomenon Factual Entity or Fact: mapped from a concrete Phenomenon Concrete Entity or Concreteness: Abstract Entity having Factual Parts directly or recursively.

Construct: synonym of Entity

Body. Synonym of Entity intruduced in order to keep in line with current terms of Physics' metalanguage.

Einstein's Covering Principle (ECP) (Gesetz der Lagerung starrer Koerper): When a virtual observation involves distance measurement, it has to be carried out with help of rigid bodies of known unit-, or reference length. We shall say that a segment is 5m long if and only if it is exactly covered with five rigid bodies of 1m each. Covering bodies and covered segment comply during the measurement with all laws of the involved MS. For instance covering bodies may be subject to Lorentz contraction and the covered segment has to be one of a geodesic of the involved MS. Shortly: Rigid bodies complying with MS's laws must exactly cover patterns complying with MS's geometry. In case of curved #space, covering bodies must have the curvature corresponding to that of the covered pattern.

Aspect: partial map of Phenomenon; map of some, but not all of its composing Events.

Relation: Link bewteen a couple of encompassing / encompassed Entities. Phenomena (Imaginary Patterns) encompass one another ("Model of Mind") and so do their MS maps, Entities. "Relation" has many homonymous connotations. Unless otherwise specified, within RD we shall understand "Relation" as this encompassing link.

Aggregate and Part: In a couple of related Entities, the encompassing is called "Aggregate" and the encompassed - "Part".

Equivalence, Conceptual and Phenomenal: Two Entities are conceptually equivalent when they have the same Aggregates and Parts. Otherwise they are conceptually distinct. Two conceptually distinct Entities may be phenomenally equivalent when they are Aspects of the same Phenomenon.

Field: a mathematical term associating a potential force vector with each point of MS #space of Field Theories (Special and General Relativiy, Quantum Field Theory). Field is observable in PS however not directly, but via its manifestations -forces acting on physical bodies- which may be mapped into Field in MS. Field having the measure of force and force being directly observable in PS, we find it admissible to consider Field, for simplification's sake, as a Factual Entity linked to concrete Phenomena.

Gravity Field: Field mapped from concrete gavitational forces of PS.

Inertial Field: Field mapped from forces acting on physical bodied within an accelerated Referential.

Matter: Metalanguage term synonymous with Singularity area of Field. We shall use "matter" (in inverted commas) in this connotation in order to distinguish if from the usual term crammed with lots of naive, misleading, often pseudo- ontological implications.

Inertial Field: In order to respect the term "inertial mass" of the Equivalence Principle we shall call the acceleration field "inertial field". Equivalence Principle makes "inertial" and "gravity" fields equivalent and indistinguishable by whatever experiment from inside of the involved referential. Thus, we may for convenience talk about inertial and gravity fields, always keeping in mind that we talk about two aspects of a unique concept "field".

Virtual Observations are "mental experiments" conceived in MS. They are the rockbed of scientific creativity and verification as well as, more generally, of any planned and purposeful human activity. Observations, whether concrete or virtual may be direct, i. e. perceived via observer's senses, or indirect, noted as output of technical devices. Design of such experimental devices falls into the field of virtual observations and is one of fundamental activities of science.

Sensorium, Imagery, Symbolics: Three aspects of Mind essential for RD
(see Model of Mind), encompassing respectively Sensations, Images and Symbols.

Intuition: Awareness of Imagery.

Logic: Awareness of Symbolics.

Lateral thinking or Reflection: Mapping of Images to Symbols (Symbolizing) and Symbols to Images (Understanding).

Naive View (NV): A fundamental, elementary MS constructed by the Subconscious Mind from subjective perceptions. Phenomena are mapped into NV and subjectively perceived as "real" objects and events. Their #space is perceived as "reality". NV's "reality" is the direct mapping or appearance of external, transcendental reality to the conscious mind. Transcendental reality is accessible to cognition only via its "reality" map into the NV. As such, "in itself", it stays outside of cognition and, more generally, outside of the human Universe of Discourse. We may occasionally drop the inverted commas and talk about reality when no ambiguity will be possible and always keeping in mind that we mean by it the "reality" of NV.

NV deals with the #space of PS encompassing as said above:
1. space, or 3D Euclidian #space,
2. time, or 1D time #space.

NV is a MS highly organized and ordered by the subconscious mind including its particular reason, often called "Common Sense". Highbrow, ivory tower scientists despise the "Common Sense" as the worst guide in science. And, indeed, it is a bad guide when applied out of NV to such MS's to which it is not pertinent. The first precept of rationality is to apply particular pertinent reason for particular context where it belongs. However, that's exactly what the well understood Common Sense tells us, thus becoming the best, indeed the only guide in science. Cutting us from the Common Sense results in acrobatic playing with impressing equations without getting the gist of the play.

We prefer the term "Naive View" to the sometimes used "Naive Realism" which points, misleadingly in our opinion, to some justified non-naive Realisms.

Referential: A particular context of #Events.

Reference System: A particular system of coordinates associated with a referential. We may use "system" for "reference system" where the context excludes ambiguity. Referential is a concept indispensable for intuitive creativity and understanding. It's enough to mention the importance of such concepts as a spinning disk or a box falling free in the gravity field for General Relativity. Intuitive referential precedes its mathematical formalization with help of some (reference) systems. After this formalization it often, if not always, carries the gist of a Model, which should be understandable without mathematical details. We shall not use (else than in quotations) the term "reference frame". It's redundant and misleading in its suggestion of some "container" of different nature than its contents. We hope to have introduced some order into the essential for Relativity, but badly muddled terminology. In Einstein's writings we have noted "reference system", "reference frame", "reference coordinates", "reference body", "reference object" and the German "Bezugssystem".