ABSTRACT
We have now, in parallel fashion, managed to unpack and dissect the ontological content of two unlike things-a physical object (the Jena Chair) and a social phenomenon (the New York City Draft Riots). In so doing, we uncovered certain ontological di erences between a physical object and a social phenomenon while also a rming the freedom of both a chair and a riot as a self-positing ontological whole. Turning to a fl ood, we now encounter a third category of thing-a natural phenomenon. Importantly, although many bodies of water may fl ood, our analysis here is limited to a river. How then will our experiences of a fl ood compare with our experiences of a chair and a riot? Is a natural phenomenon also constituted by multiple embedded ontological spheres? Is a natural phenomenon also further constituted by multiple embedded temporal realms (Events, Ages, and Eras)? Does consideration of its ontological content result in forms of freedom for a fl ood more akin to the autonomous determination of a chair or the self-determination of a riot? Or is the notion of freedom-autonomy from external determination-simply absent in the case of a natural phenomenon?
