Existence and Interaction: A Dual Axis Analytic Framework for Explaining Phenomena

This paper proposes a dual-axis framework as a comprehensive, ontologically neutral schema for classifying and explaining all phenomena. The framework consists of two independent axes—Existence, ranging from immaterial to material, and Interaction, ranging from internal to external. By positioning any entity or event within a two-dimensional space defined by these axes, we aim to illuminate its nature without presupposing a specific metaphysical stance. We compare this framework to historical dualisms in philosophy, such as Descartes’s res cogitans vs. res extensa, Kant’s noumena vs. phenomena, and Frege’s sense vs. reference, as well as to contemporary debates in the philosophy of mind. In doing so, we show that the dual-axis model generalizes and refines these earlier distinctions while avoiding their ontological commitments. We argue that the framework has explanatory utility across domains: it can locate mental states, physical objects, social institutions, actions, persons, and even linguistic meanings within a single conceptual map. Adopting an analytic philosophy approach, the paper emphasizes clarity and logical argumentation. We provide rigorous examples and introduce diagrams to illustrate how various entities (from personal experiences and abstract concepts to organizations and professions) can be situated in the proposed 2D coordinate system. The dual-axis framework offers a unified way to describe reality’s diverse aspects—immaterial and material, internal and external—while remaining neutral about whether these distinctions reflect substances, properties, perspectives, or mere useful abstractions. We conclude that this model furnishes a versatile analytical tool that bridges classical philosophical dichotomies and fosters interdisciplinary understanding without succumbing to reductive or dualistic ontology.