  Underlying any theory of physics is a layer of conceptual frames. They
connect the mathematical structures used in theoretical models with physical
phenomena, but they also constitute our fundamental assumptions about reality.
Many of the discrepancies between quantum physics and classical physics
(including Maxwell's electrodynamics and relativity) can be traced back to
these categorical foundations. We argue that classical physics corresponds to
the factual aspects of reality and requires a categorical framework which
consists of four interdependent components: boolean logic, the
linear-sequential notion of time, the principle of sufficient reason, and the
dichotomy between observer and observed. None of these can be dropped without
affecting the others. However, in quantum theory the reduction postulate also
addresses the "status nascendi" of facts, i.e., their coming into being.
Therefore, quantum phyics requires a different conceptual framework which will
be elaborated in this article. It is shown that many of its components are
already present in the standard formalisms of quantum physics, but in most
cases they are highlighted not so much from a conceptual perspective but more
from their mathematical structures. The categorical frame underlying quantum
physics includes a profoundly different notion of time which encompasses a
crucial role for the present.
