The Family of Crossing Points: On Communion, Relation, and the Monad Among Monads

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Authors: Oscar Gaitan
Cited by: 2
References: 2

Abstract

This essay extends the topology developed in The Monad That Receives and Legion of Monads by asking whether plurality creates a higher-order subject. Using the family as its principal example, it argues that no created community possesses a single crossing point above its members. Birth therefore introduces not the addition of parts to a collective substance, but the emergence of a new monad alongside the integration of new relations within existing monads. The essay distinguishes communion from fusion, showing that genuine unity does not require the collapse of personal identity into a larger whole. This framework is then applied to ecclesiology, arguing that the Church's unity cannot be explained as a created super-monad but only through the uncreated Head, Jesus Christ. In doing so, the essay offers a metaphysical account of relation that preserves both individual integrity and authentic communion while distinguishing created societies from the Mystical Body of Christ.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Karl Barth and Christian Theology Catholicism and Religious Studies Christian Theology and Mission

Publication details

Journal / source
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Publication date
19 July 2026
Language
EN
Document type
Preprint