Difference

as 'condition of bearing apart'

Morphological Analysis

• Etymon: Latin differō: 'bear apart'
• Morpheme breakdown: *difference* (dif.fer.ence) *dif*: 'apart' + *fer*: 'bear' + suffix --*ence*: 'condition of' → 'condition of bearing apart'

Essential Definition

The condition or state characterized by the action of bearing or carrying apart.

Semantic Context

• Conventional sense: The state or relation of dissimilarity (Note: Semantic drift from essential meaning)
• Essential meaning (my usage): condition of bearing apart

Philosophical Significance

Defining difference as the 'condition of bearing apart' establishes relationality as the fundamental ground of being. It posits that existence itself is not a state of isolated substances, but a dynamic, generative process born from the tension between separation and connection. This moves philosophy from a static ontology of 'things' to a process ontology of 'becoming' through relational conferencing.

Usage in This Lexicon

When I use the word difference in my work, I mean exactly 'condition of bearing apart'. This enables:

• Establishes a Foundational Dialectic: It creates the necessary ontological counterpart to 'bearing together,' setting up a dynamic tension essential for any relational model of existence.
• Prevents Conceptual Collapse: It safeguards the integrity of individual entities by providing a principle of distinction, without which the concept of relation would have no discrete terms to connect.
• Grounds Possibility and Potential: It represents the field of pure potential, multiplicity, and alternative states that must exist prior to any specific instance of actualization or 'bearing together.'
• Provides a Generative Source: It frames difference not as a negative lack, but as an active, productive condition that is the source of variety, change, and emergence.
• Universalizes the Relational Framework: By explicitly naming this polar condition, the overarching principle becomes a universally applicable lens for analyzing disparate systems.
• Clarifies Process Ontology: It presents being as an active process or transformation from a state of bearing apart to a state of bearing together, emphasizing becoming.
• Facilitates Hierarchical Integration: It allows for the coherent nesting of relationships, where a stabilized 'bearing together' at one level can become a new unit of 'bearing apart' at a higher level.
• Unifies Diverse Phenomena: It offers a single ontological lens to analyze systems—from cosmology to consciousness—by identifying the same dynamic of separation-and-relation at work.

Related Terms

• Conference

Sources

• Wiktionary

This definition follows morphological essentialism principles. See [[Methodology]] for details.