Shared Reality as a Condition of Disclosure: Coherence, Constraint, and the Possibility of Finite Description

David T. Swanson · 2026

Abstract

Finite descriptions are partial, conditioned, and often plural. Yet they do not ordinarily present themselves as sealed worlds. They present themselves as renderings of a reality that can be more or less adequately disclosed, contested, and corrected. This paper argues that the very intelligibility of finite disclosure, substantive disagreement, descriptive misfit, and correction presupposes a sufficiently shared and non-fragmented reality. The claim defended here is modest but strong. It is stronger than the thought that distinct frameworks merely coordinate, overlap, or interoperate for practical purposes, but weaker than the thesis that reality must therefore admit one final exhaustive vocabulary. The paper thus advances a shared-reality or coherence-based unity thesis: reality must be common and constraint-bearing enough for multiple renderings to answer to one target, even though no single finite rendering can be presumed to exhaust that target. I situate this proposal between stronger forms of scientific realism, perspectival and plural realist positions, and condition-oriented or transcendental styles of argument. I then develop the core distinctions between shared reality, shared usage, interoperability, answerability, misfit, and correction, and show how the framework clarifies scientific model plurality, institutional representation, and cases of epistemic injustice. The paper does not claim to prove maximal monism, settle a complete process ontology, or eliminate all anti-realist alternatives. Its narrower aim is to show that shared reality is not an optional metaphysical add-on, but a condition of disclosure itself.

Citation

@misc{Swanson2026SharedReality,
  author       = {Swanson, David T.},
  title        = {Shared Reality as a Condition of Disclosure: Coherence, Constraint, and the Possibility of Finite Description},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Zenodo},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.19076915},
  url          = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19076915}
}