One of the schematic systems which make up the conceptual structuring system. This system relates to our experience of how physical entities interact with respect to force, including the exertion and resistance of force, the blockage of force and the removal of such blockage.

The force-dynamics system assumes two entities that exert force. The agonist is the entity that receives focal attention, and the antagonist is the entity that opposes the agonist, either overcoming the force of the agonist or failing to overcome it. The force intrinsic to the agonist is either ‘towards action’ or ‘towards rest’, and the force intrinsic to the antagonist is the opposite.

Consider the set of examples below that encode physical entities. The subscripts ago and ant represent ‘agonist’ and ‘antagonist’, respectively:

1. (the ball)ago kept rolling because of (the breeze)ant
2. (Isabella)ago kept standing despite (the gale) ant
3. (the ball)ago kept rolling despite (the mud) ant
4. (the ball)ago stayed lying on the slope because of (the grass)ant In (1), the force tendency of the agonist the ball is towards rest, but this is overcome by the greater force of the antagonist the breeze, which is towards motion and thus stands in a causal relationship with the agonist. In (2), the force tendency of the agonist Isabella is also towards rest, and in this case the agonist’s force is greater. In (3), the force tendency of the agonist, the ball, is towards motion, and the agonist’s force is greater than the opposing force of the antagonist, the mud. Finally, in (4), the force tendency of the agonist, the ball, is also towards motion, but this time the opposing force of the antagonist, the grass, is greater and prevents the motion. In these examples the force dynamics of the interaction are expressed by closed class forms : the conjunctions because of or despite. While because of encodes the greater force of the antagonist, which overcomes the force of the agonist and thus entails causality, despite encodes the greater force of the agonist.