Riss, Uwe V. (2025) Representational Interference and the Limits of Abstract Representation. [Preprint]
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Abstract
This paper introduces the Representational Uncertainty Principle (RUP) as a structural account of the limits of representational precision. We argue that as representations become more narrowly defined—by fixing more internal structure—they constrain the integration of perceptual and contextual cues. This often suppresses representational flexibility: the capacity to draw on multiple situational cues to stabilize meaning. When this flexibility is reduced, representational diffraction becomes more prominent: a structural phenomenon in which aspects of a situation are subsumed under a representation that deviates from the expected or standard framing, resulting in ambiguity or tension. Drawing on a structural analogy with quantum mechanics, we treat interference and diffraction as complementary manifestations of how representational content is formed. This framework explains why overly precise representations often fail in contexts that demand sensitivity to subtle variations. We support this account through examples of conceptual ambiguity and apparent contradiction, and by developing a framework that distinguishes between the structuring role of the representational vehicle and the dynamic process of integration that gives rise to content. The RUP thus highlights a structural tension between abstraction, context sensitivity, and the need for orientation within experience.
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