Interpersonal Reality Theory

A theoretical framework positing that reality—or at least what individuals experience as “real”—varies from person to person, shaped by personal history, community belonging, cultural background, and social position. It argues that facts, evidence, and even the criteria for what counts as proof are not universal but are mediated through interpersonal relationships and group identities. Two people can look at the same event and inhabit two different “realities” because their frameworks for interpreting it are incommensurable. The theory does not claim that nothing exists outside perception, but that our access to reality is always filtered through the interpersonal contexts that constitute us.

Example: “They argued past each other for hours until she invoked Interpersonal Reality Theory: ‘We’re not disputing facts; we’re living in different realities shaped by different communities, and until we acknowledge that, we’ll never hear each other.’”

by Dumu The Void March 30, 2026

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Interpersonal Objectivity Theory

A critical framework arguing that “objectivity” is not a property of individuals or their methods alone, but is achieved and maintained through interpersonal relationships, institutional practices, and social agreements. What counts as objective is what a community agrees to treat as such—through peer review, replication, citation networks, and shared training. Objectivity is therefore a social achievement, not a state of mind. The theory does not deny that the world exists independently, but insists that our access to it and our ability to make objective claims depend on collective practices.

Example: “Interpersonal Objectivity Theory explains why a claim becomes ‘objective’ only after it has passed through the social machinery of journals, conferences, and expert consensus—objectivity is made, not found.”

by Dumu The Void March 30, 2026

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Interpersonal Truth Theory

A theory that situates truth as emerging from interpersonal relations—dialogues, debates, consensus processes, and shared epistemic practices. Truth is not merely correspondence with reality but is also what a community, after proper deliberation, agrees to hold as true. This does not make truth arbitrary; it means that truth is always truth‑for‑a‑community, arrived at through processes that are themselves social. The theory highlights that even the most “objective” truths depend on trust, testimony, and the social fabric of knowers.

Example: “Interpersonal Truth Theory explains why scientific truths change not when individuals change their minds, but when the community’s consensus shifts—truth is interpersonal before it is propositional.”

by Dumu The Void March 30, 2026