Space is a archphenomenon — an irreducible dimension of the entity that cannot be reduced to other categories (cf. Bexten 2017, pp. 160 ff.).
In her treatise Der Raum, Hedwig Conrad-Martius showed that spatiality constitutes an independent ontological reality. It is neither merely a subjective form of intuition (Kant) nor a pure abstraction from sense impressions. Space is the dimension in which spatial entities have their extension and exist in a place.
For the ontology of the person, space is significant because the human body is essentially spatial. Bodily spatiality is the specific mode in which the person, as a body-soul unity, is present in space. Aristotle determines place as the inner boundary of the surrounding body — a determination that points to the real constitution of the spatial.
Ontological relations:
- is a subclass of: archphenomenon
Region
A region is an extended, contiguous spatial domain. Regions can be contained within one another, overlap, or be adjacent. As a subconcept of the spatial entity, the region forms the structural parallel to the interval in the temporal order. For the person, regions are not merely geometric surfaces but lived spaces: the life-world space, the homeland, and the public space are personal regions in which personhood is actualized in its dimensions.
Ontological classification: Superordinate concept: Spatial Entity
Life-World Space
The life-world space is the comprehensive spatial domain in which a person conducts their life and actualizes their dimensions. It forms the spatial counterpart to the lifespan in the temporal order. The life-world space encompasses the dwelling, the public space, the homeland, and all places at which the person realizes the first, second, and third dimension of personhood. It is not a neutral container but a personal space that can foster or hinder the person’s unfolding.
Ontological classification: Superordinate concept: Region
Place
Place (Greek topos, Latin locus) is a determinate, delimitable spatial position. It corresponds to the Aristotelian where — the immediate spatial boundary of a body. Every body is in a place, and thus every bodily constituted person is always in a place. Place is a subconcept of the spatial entity and stands in relation to the region, which can encompass several places. The dwelling is a particular place: the protected, private space of the person and the family.
Ontological classification: Superordinate concept: Spatial Entity
Locomotion
Locomotion (Greek κίνησις κατὰ τόπον, Latin locomotio) denotes the change of place of an entity. For persons it is bodily movement in space, an expression of freedom and self-determination. As one of the four Aristotelian-Thomistic kinds of motion, it belongs to the fundamental ways in which change occurs in an entity.
Locomotion has a starting position and a destination. For the person as a body-soul unity, locomotion is not merely a physical occurrence but can be a personal expression: the person moves freely toward a place at which they wish to be. Captivity as the enforced restriction of locomotion shows ex negativo what significance free movement in space has for personal life.
Ontological classification
Superordinate concept: Motion
Ontological relations:
Spatial Extension
Spatial extension (extensio) is the property of a material entity to occupy space and to have spatial boundaries. It inheres in substance as an accident — it is not an independent entity but a determination of the entity to which it belongs (ontological non-self-sufficiency (German)).
The ontology classifies spatial extension as a subclass of accident. The relation has extension connects a substance with its spatial extension. A specific form is bodily spatiality — the proper spatiality of the human body, which is more than physical extension in space.
Ontological classification:
- Superordinate concept: accident
- Subordinate concept: bodily spatiality
- Domain of the relation: has extension
Extension as a property of material substance
An ontological relation describing that a substance possesses spatial extension. Every material entity occupies space — this property inheres as an accident in the substance. Spatial extension is the property of a material entity to occupy space and to have spatial boundaries (cf. Bexten 2017, ch. 4). For the human person this is relevant in particular as bodily spatiality: the body is not merely a physical object in space but the lived zero-point of the person’s spatial orientation. As such, extension concerns only the material — a spiritual substance possesses extension only insofar as it is a form-matter composite.
- Domain: Substance
- Range: Spatial Extension
Spatial Entity
Spatial entity is the superordinate concept for all spatial givens: places, regions, and spaces. It forms a structure parallel to the temporal entity and, as an entity, belongs to the fundamental doctrine of categories in ontology.
For the person as a body-soul unity, the spatial dimension is constitutive: the body occupies space and is located in a place. Spatial entities can foster or hinder the actualization of the dimensions of personhood — a place of security fosters unfolding differently than a place of captivity. Locomotion as change of place is an expression of the person’s freedom in space.
Ontological classification
Superordinate concept: Entity
Subclasses: Place, Region
Ontological relations:
- can foster/hinder: dimension actualization
Sources: Generated by querying the Personhood ontology.
Further sources:
- Conrad-Martius, H.: Das Sein (1957). Munich: Kösel. (German) (Ontology of space and spatiality)
- Aristotle: Physics IV, 1–5. (Determination of place as the inner boundary of the surrounding body)