Energy as a Network of Meanings: An Ontosemiotic Approach to the Philosophy of Physics

Energy is central to every branch of physics, yet it resists a single, coherent definition—oscillating between property, substance, and abstract construct. Drawing on the Ontosemiotic Approach (OSA), originally developed in mathematics education and here extended to the philosophy of physics, this article analyzes how energy acquires distinct partial meanings within different configurations of scientific activity—mechanical, thermodynamic, field-theoretic, relativistic, and quantum—illustrated through a detailed case study of translational kinetic energy. These partial meanings are then articulated into a holo-meaning: a network of relations and dual processes rather than a fixed physical entity. On the resulting naturalist and emergentist view, longstanding disputes over the ontological status of energy—exemplified by the Bunge–Wilczek opposition between property and primitive substance—are reframed as structural tensions internal to the concept itself.