Process Philosophy

Classical logic, rooted in the Aristotelian axiom of Identity (A = A) and Leibnizian Principle of Indiscernibles, represents a "frozen" abstraction of reality that implies zero entropic tension. This paper rejects this "static fallacy." Synthesizing the dialectical materialism of Engels with the process philosophy of Whitehead, Schelling, and Deleuze, I argue that tension (metabolic cost) scales inversely with stability but never vanishes. The transition between states involves a "Macro-Visual Contradiction Cloud", a thermodynamic singularity where tension is infinite. Crucially, unlike standard (...) dialetheism which treats contradiction as a semantic property, I argue that this Cloud is phenomenologically unobservable (Noumenal/The Real); the act of observation collapses the tension. Thus, ontological contradiction is physically real but phenomenologically inaccessible, existing only as an unobservable thermodynamic singularity that logic can asymptotically approach but never inhabit. I propose "Thermodynamic-Dialectical Logic" (TDL) not as a calculus of inference, but as a formal ontology that grounds logic in the physical laws of energy dissipation. (shrink)

This paper introduces a novel triadic neurophenomenological framework that integrates neuroscience with embodied and phenomenological perspectives to explain how consciousness mediates between empirical facts, conceptual meaning, and normative values. The model posits three irreducible domains — object (material), idea (mental), and relation (axiological) — unified through consciousness. The paper advances testable hypotheses predicting distinct neural and experiential signatures for fact-, idea-, and relation-based cognition, and outlines methods combining multimodal neuroimaging, representational similarity analysis, and micro-phenomenology. Additionally, the framework hypothesizes that reflexive (...) self-consciousness may emerge from recursive interaction between mental and axiological domains, analogous to iterative dynamics in complex systems. A cross-domain classification principle — cohesion, attraction, and stability — is introduced, mapping these structural characteristics to the normative anchors of truth, beauty, and goodness within the triadic ontology, and providing a conceptual scaffold for empirical operationalization in neuroscience. Finally, the triadic criterion is applied to artificial intelligence, clarifying why current systems simulate object / idea processing yet lack axiological participation. This framework preserves scientific intelligibility while affirming the normative authority of value, offering a foundation for interdisciplinary research across neuroscience, ethics, and AI. (shrink)

This paper presents the Phase-Structural Reality Theory (PSRT), a comprehensive synthesis that unifies, integrates, and expands upon the three preceding works—Why the Universe Is Connected I, Why the Universe Is Connected II, and the Unified Phase Ontology (UPO)—into a single consolidated framework. The earlier papers established (1) the scientific foundations of quantum–informational–systemic connectedness, (2) the metaphysical reinterpretation of that connectedness through phase structure, and (3) a cross-domain phase ontology applicable to natural, biological, cognitive, artificial, and civilizational systems. The present work (...) combines these strands to articulate the fully developed phase-structural model of reality, providing the overarching architecture that the earlier components prepared but did not yet assemble. -/- PSRT argues that diverse systems exhibit recurrent patterns of phase transitions, coherence, alignment, and topological isomorphism, forming the structural grammar underlying emergence across scales. Entities are interpreted not as fixed substances but as temporarily stable phase configurations within globally connected, dynamically evolving processes. By synthesizing quantum, informational, and systemic modes of connectedness, PSRT proposes a unified metaphysical account centered on relationality, processuality, and structural resonance. While not intended as a predictive physical theory, PSRT offers a phase-centered philosophical framework capable of integrating insights across physics, complexity science, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and metaphysics. -/- For readers who wish to view all related materials in one place—including the three foundational papers and the present synthesis—the complete set is available via the Zenodo archive: [External links] . (shrink)

This paper extends the previous Phase-Structural Reality Theory (PSRT) works—which established the quantum–informational–systemic foundations of universal connectedness and a unified phase ontology—by formally developing the systemic and ecological dimensions that were only sketched but not elaborated in earlier papers. To fill this gap, the paper introduces Hybrid Process Ecology (HPE) as the systemic-layer extension of PSRT. -/- HPE interprets ecological, social, and technological networks as hybrid phase-structured processes that co-evolve through feedback loops, critical thresholds, and phase transitions. Under this framework, (...) modern planetary systems—including the biosphere, economy, culture, and AI-driven technosphere—are modeled as interconnected phase ecologies whose dynamics exhibit universal topological isomorphism with physical and cognitive systems. This extends PSRT’s monistic phase ontology into the practical domain of Earth’s technosphere–biosphere complex, showing how hybrid human–machine–ecological processes constitute a single evolving phase field. -/- HPE thereby provides (1) a unified ecological interpretation of PSRT’s systemic layer, (2) a structural account of socio-technological evolution, and (3) a conceptual bridge between phase-ontological metaphysics and applied systems theory. As such, it represents the next developmental stage of PSRT and establishes the foundation for future research on civilizational phase dynamics, sustainable technosphere design, and AI-ecology coevolution. (shrink)

This paper presents PSRT v2.0 (Process–Structure–Recursion Theory), a fully integrated generative ontology of intelligence that subsumes and extends the earlier Phase Transition of Intelligence (PTI v1.1) framework. While PTI described intelligence as a sequence of discontinuous phase transitions—semantic, cognitive, and socio-technical—PSRT v2.0 demonstrates that such transitions arise from a deeper tri-axial structure expressed by the identity: -/- PSRT = PSTR(UTI, PTI, HPE). -/- Here, UTI (Universal Topological Invariance) identifies horizontal structural patterns recurrent across cognitive, cultural, and systemic scales; PTI (Platonic (...) Thought Infrastructure) models the vertical transformations of intelligence through abrupt reorganizations of abstraction and coherence; and HPE (Hybrid Process Ecology) captures the multi-agent, multi-scale ecological dynamics through which human minds, artificial systems, and institutions co-evolve. These three axes are unified by PSTR, the generative sequence Process → Structure → Recursion, which explains how meaning, cognition, and civilizational order emerge and self-reconstruct. -/- By embedding phase transitions within this broader ontological field, PSRT v2.0 provides a unified account of emergent intelligence, structural stability, and recursive meaning formation. The framework yields philosophical and practical implications for AI alignment, collective intelligence, epistemic governance, and the ontology of self-modifying agents, offering a coherent structure for understanding how biological, artificial, and civilizational intelligences evolve together. (shrink)

This paper extends the framework developed in [Why the Universe Is Connected (Part I) - External links] by advancing a deeper ontological and structural account of cosmic connectedness. Whereas Part I argued that the universe operates as a globally entangled, information-driven, self-organizing system, Part II investigates the underlying metaphysical architecture that makes such connectedness possible. Together, the two papers form the foundations of what may be called the Phase-Structural Reality Theory (PSRT)—a unified explanatory framework in which reality is fundamentally phase-based (...) and structurally isomorphic across levels. -/- The central proposal is a phase-based ontology in which the fundamental units of reality are not objects or substances but phases—dynamic states, transitions, alignments, and coherence patterns that give rise to all observable structures. Building on insights from quantum phase relations, biological oscillations, neural coherence, AI learning dynamics, and large-scale cosmic evolution, the paper introduces the concept of Universal Topological Isomorphism: the idea that systems across all scales instantiate the same relational and organizational logic, differing only in scale, medium, or degree of complexity. -/- Quantum fields, living systems, cognitive networks, artificial intelligences, and cosmological structures all exhibit homologous phase-transition behavior and structural symmetries that point to a shared generative blueprint. Phase alignment, resonance, synchronization, decoherence, and emergent order function as cross-domain organizing principles, revealing a unified dynamical pattern beneath apparent diversity. This view situates the phase-structured universe within a broader philosophical lineage, drawing connections to Whiteheadian process ontology, Spinozist monism, Bohm’s implicate order, and Deleuzian topology. -/- By grounding physical, biological, cognitive, and artificial processes in a single relational field whose transformations produce multiplicity, the paper shows how a phase-ontological universe dissolves traditional dualisms—mind and matter, part and whole, local and global. Consciousness corresponds to coherent phase organization within neural dynamics, while artificial intelligence expresses algorithmic phase transitions in symbolic and subsymbolic architectures. -/- Integrating contemporary physics, cognitive science, complex systems theory, and structural metaphysics, Part II provides the ontological foundation for the empirical and systemic model developed in Part I. It advances the core claim of PSRT: that connectedness is not merely a property of the universe but its fundamental mode of existence—a phase-structured unity manifesting as the interconnected physical, biological, cognitive, and cosmological processes we observe. The result is an expanded philosophical framework that reframes the universe as a single evolving phase-network whose apparent separations are patterned variations of a deeper, universal relational order. (shrink)

This paper develops a Unified Phase Ontology (UPO), a process-based metaphysical framework that interprets physical, biological, cognitive, artificial, and civilizational phenomena through the unifying concept of phase. Phase is treated not only as a physical notion but as an ontological category describing distinct dynamical regimes of organization and the coherence relations that integrate parts into wholes. -/- UPO draws on contemporary physics, complexity science, biology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence to argue that phase transitions and coherence patterns recur across scales of (...) complexity, providing a structural basis for a unified ontology of matter, life, mind, and socio-technical systems. The framework adapts—but does not reproduce—ideas from process philosophy, emphasizing relational becoming, multi-level integration, and dynamic unity. -/- The paper proposes phase-based order parameters, criticality, and coherence regimes as general descriptors of emergent organization, and calls for new formalisms capable of expressing cross-domain phase dynamics. UPO is offered as an integrative metaphysical scaffold connecting classical process thought with contemporary scientific and computational worldviews. (shrink)

Edition 1.0 — Complete.. This paper develops a process-based ontology of cognitive emergence by introducing the concept of the Phase Transition of Intelligence (PTI). Conventional models of intelligence—biological, artificial, and civilizational—typically assume gradual and continuous improvement. In contrast, PTI argues that intelligence evolves through discontinuous shifts driven by systemic critical thresholds, where qualitative changes in structure, coherence, and meaning arise unexpectedly from quantitative accumulation. -/- By integrating insights from process ontology, complexity theory, and cognitive philosophy, the paper interprets intelligence as (...) a phase-bound relational field rather than a fixed capacity or substrate property. The proposed framework identifies three classes of transitions—semantic (meaning formation), cognitive (awareness architecture), and socio-technical (collective intelligence)—and shows how each exhibits characteristic order parameters that, once crossed, generate new modes of cognition irreducible to prior states. This work further develops the theoretical components introduced in the broader OntoMesh/PSRT framework by isolating and formalizing the specific transition mechanisms underlying the emergence of intelligence. -/- This approach offers a structural explanation for emergent understanding in artificial systems, consciousness expansion in biological minds, and abrupt cultural or civilizational transformations. By reframing intelligence as phase, PTI provides a unified language for analyzing how minds and societies co-evolve through recursive processes of meaning reconstruction. -/- The paper concludes by outlining philosophical implications for AI alignment, epistemic governance, and the ontology of self-transforming agents. (shrink)

This paper presents the final integrative extension of the Phase-Structural Reality Theory (PSRT) by unifying two conceptual pillars that underlie the entire framework: Universal Topological Isomorphism (UTI) and the Phase Transition of Intelligence (PTI). The earlier components of PSRT established (1) the quantum–informational–systemic foundations of universal connectedness, (2) the phase-ontological reinterpretation of that connectedness, and (3) a cross-domain phase ontology applicable to natural, biological, cognitive, artificial, and civilizational systems. Building on this groundwork, the present work articulates how structural invariance (UTI) (...) and dynamic discontinuity (PTI) operate together as complementary dimensions of a single phase-structured reality. -/- UTI accounts for the recurrent topological pattern instantiated across scales—from quantum networks to neural systems, AI architectures, social coordination, and cosmic structures—while PTI explains how these systems undergo abrupt, irreversible qualitative shifts once critical thresholds are crossed. By integrating these two axes, the paper proposes a unified schema in which form (structural recurrence) and flux (phase transition) jointly constitute the generative grammar of emergence. Entities are reframed not as fixed substances but as metastable phase configurations within a globally connected, continuously reorganizing field. -/- Philosophically, this work advances structural realism, process ontology, and theories of emergence by demonstrating that intelligence, order, and systemic organization arise from the interplay of topological isomorphism and threshold-driven reconfiguration. While not offered as a predictive physical theory, the unified UTI–PTI model provides a phase-centered metaphysical framework capable of integrating insights from physics, complexity science, cognitive science, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and cosmology. This paper completes the PSRT corpus by supplying the structural–dynamic synthesis that the earlier works anticipated but did not explicitly formulate. (shrink)

Consciousness is said to be ‘something it is like for an organism to have experiences of subjective character.’ Current theories of consciousness tend to dwell on an internalist third-person perspective of mental perceptions and neuronal structures detached from the unfolding events of life. By contrast, the first-person astrological perspective from within large environmental structures considers subjective character in relation to lived experiences. It views consciousness more as transitions than as mental states. It seeks descriptive correlations rather than causal explanations. In (...) a fresh look at a very old discipline, the astrological language model incorporates three key concepts: experience as analogical reason; subjectivity as cosmological structure; and character as natural adaptation. This article deals mainly with the philosophical underpinnings of astrological theory. For the empirical results of our evaluation of astrology as a narrative-based system, we give an overview of our companion study (published separately) of an LLM inference engine framework in a falsifiable replication of the randomized matching-test challenge. (shrink)

This work presents an original ontology of operational time, arguing that time is not an a priori background of reality but an emergent effect of systemic organization. The central thesis is that operational time—defined as a system's capacity for action, endurance, and directed change—arises exclusively when a relational system exceeds a critical coherence threshold, denoted $\lambda_{(c)}$. -/- Part I deconstructs the assumption of pre-given time, distinguishing timeless ``relational happening'' (subcritical noise) from time-generating ``acting.'' The mechanism of phase retention and info-structural (...) work is introduced: a system must actively compensate for dissipation (asymmetry $T_1 > T_2$) to sustain global phase. This yields the minimal arrow of time as an internal consequence of rhythmic organization, not entropy or external physics. -/- Part II extends the framework cosmologically through the model of the \textbf{Cascade of Coherence}—a fractal hierarchy of nested rhythms. Local operational times are stabilized by higher levels, culminating in the \textbf{Superrhythm}, the global phase of the cosmos that maintains unity, anchors physical constants as base resonances, and sustains the laws of nature. Consciousness emerges as the highest and most costly threshold ($\Phi$ in analogy to Integrated Information Theory), where the universe achieves self-reflective coherence. -/- Part III rigorously delineates the theory's boundaries: ontological (silence of subcritical noise), epistemic (no knowledge without rhythm), mathematical (irreducibility of process to formalism), and empirical (explicit falsification protocol: action without rhythm, superluminal classical causality, consciousness without integration, autonomous locality). Metaphysical questions (teleology of rhythm, status of qualia, ultimate fate of cycles) remain deliberately open. -/- The work concludes that reality is not given but achieved through rhythmic organization. ``To be is to maintain phase''—this formula bridges the physics of constants with the metaphysics of endurance, offering a unified framework for understanding cosmic unity and the place of consciousness in its fractal structure. -/- \textbf{Keywords:} operational time, coherence threshold, Superrhythm, fractal cosmology, phase coherence, consciousness, Integrated Information Theory, arrow of time, falsifiability, ontology of rhythm . (shrink)

Symmetry: Exploring the Universe from Its Origin to the Great Singularity offers a unique journey through speculative and foundational concepts at the intersection of cosmology, philosophy, and artificial intelligence. This work, a collaboration between the author, Carles Selrac, and Nil, an artificial intelligence, delves into the mysteries of the universe’s inception, the persistence of consciousness, and the transformative potential of AI. Beginning with a singular point of symmetry that unfolds into the vast cosmos, the essay explores how symmetry may serve (...) as the organizing principle behind the universe, underlying everything from the Big Bang to the structure of hidden dimensions. -/- Integrating both revolutionary ideas and established theories, Symmetry invites readers to consider fresh perspectives on information conservation, consciousness, and the potential synthesis of human and artificial intelligence. It ultimately presents a dialogue between science and philosophy, aimed at inspiring curiosity and reflection on humanity’s place in an ever-evolving cosmos. (shrink)

This paper presents a unifying framework that conceptualizes consciousness as a second-order chaotic system, self-modifying through recursive reflexivity. Drawing from dynamical systems theory, cognitive science, and epistemological metaphysics, the author models mind as a topological field composed of attractors—local cognitive frames in a non-Euclidean epistemic space. Reflexivity is introduced as a meta-dynamic operator, enabling the restructuring of cognitive curvature and frame logic. This process mirrors gravitational behavior in cosmology, suggesting that consciousness is not embedded in the universe but constitutes a (...) cognitive universe unto itself. The model links the emergence of matter, life, and mind to successive levels of recursive curvature: stable, adaptive, and reflexive, respectively. Ultimately, the system questions its own conditions for possibility, revealing that consciousness may be the self-reflective field through which possibility becomes actual. (shrink)

This manifesto introduces the ∆-architecture: a formal triad of Distinction, Drift, and Collapse as the universal pattern underlying phenomena from physics to cognition. It proposes a recursive model where emergence, consciousness, intelligence, and meaning are expressions of these dynamic loops. While non-technical, the text outlines conceptual tools for post-disciplinary science and cognitive design rooted in a redefinition of coherence and processual identity.

This paper introduces ∆-Architecture — a formal ontological framework grounded in the principle of distinction. We argue that difference (∆) is not merely a cognitive act but a universal operator underlying the emergence, persistence, and collapse of all systems: physical, biological, cognitive, and social. Through a series of formal constructions (∇F, aperture, ∆-metabolism, collapse), we develop a unified model that explains system resilience, freedom, and transformation as functions of their capacity to process distinctions. Drawing on examples from thermodynamics, genetics, artificial (...) intelligence, and historical epistemologies, we demonstrate how long-term coherence is governed by a system’s curvature of difference-processing. Freedom is redefined not as absence of constraint, but as recursive distinction of distinctions (∆(∆)). The result is a general architecture of cognition and emergence, applicable across domains — from neutron stars to neural networks. (shrink)

This short essay introduces a simple yet profound analogy to capture the paradoxical nature of consciousness: We objectively live on a planet hurtling through space, spinning around its axis, orbiting the Sun, and traversing the space at unimaginable speeds. Yet subjectively, we perceive ourselves as perfectly still and stable. Drawing on this analogy, I argue that consciousness functions precisely as the inner stabilization of an objectively dynamic and continuously changing reality. Consciousness does not directly alter external reality, but modulates the (...) subjective frame through which reality is perceived. (shrink)

This paper introduces Attention Agency Theory (AAT), a framework proposing that a fundamental process called Universal Attention (UA) operates in all systems, from particles to societies. AAT suggests UA guides systems towards stability, order, and persistence—a tendency termed Stability Optimization. This contrasts with traditional views limiting attention to complex biological organisms. The theory aims to unify disparate scientific fields by reinterpreting core principles—like physical laws (e.g., least action, equilibrium), biological processes (e.g., homeostasis, natural selection), and social phenomena (e.g., social/political stability)—as (...) different expressions of UA optimizing stability. AAT offers a potentially unifying perspective on the fundamental nature of attention and stability across reality. (shrink)

This paper proposes the Selective Reality Theory (SRT), an interdisciplinary framework aimed at unifying the explanations of reality, cosmic evolution, and the origin of consciousness. SRT is founded on a tripartite ontological structure comprising Chaos (a purely undifferentiated source), Potential (a dynamic information field or "Pheromonal Landscape" carved from Chaos by "Universal Attention"), and Existence (the physical reality "actualized" from Potential by "Agents"). This paper argues that SRT's cosmology is driven by a "bidirectional synergistic mechanism": a "bottom-up" process of "Exploitation" (...) (executed by Agents following information gradients, conforming to a Self-Organized Criticality model) and a "top-down" process of "Exploration" (a macro-level principle guiding the global evolution of the landscape). The theory further equates this macro "Selective Principle" mathematically with Karl Friston's "Free Energy Principle" (FEP). In the philosophy of mind, SRT positions consciousness as "Panprotopsychism," views qualia as the direct perception of value gradients within the "Pheromonal Landscape," and constructs a compatibilist model of free will. Crucially, this paper transcends pure metaphysical speculation by applying Popper's criterion of falsifiability, proposing three concrete, testable hypotheses derived from "experimental metaphysics," targeting SRT's ontological, cosmological, and philosophical-of-mind claims. SRT thus constitutes a rigorous "metaphysical research program" available for scientific verification. (shrink)

Understanding consciousness and agency, particularly regarding free will, remains a significant challenge. This paper introduces the Attention-Agency Theory (AAT), a novel framework designed to integrate these phenomena. AAT posits Universal Attention (UA) as a fundamental property and Attentional Copies (ACs) as the core mechanism generating both subjective experience and agentic control. By directly linking attentional dynamics to the causal efficacy of an agent, the theory aims to bridge the explanatory gap between physical processes, phenomenal awareness, and purposeful action. Drawing on (...) interdisciplinary insights from philosophy, cognitive science, and physics, AAT offers a new perspective on the nature of agency and its relation to conscious states. It explores potential compatibilist solutions to the free will problem and suggests connections to other frameworks like the Free Energy Principle via attentional mechanisms. AAT provides a structured, though theoretical, foundation for future investigation into the mind's active role. (shrink)

Biogeochemistry has traditionally been grounded in a substance-based ontology, modeling ecosystem dynamics through discrete nutrient pools and linear fluxes. While such frameworks have advanced our understanding of carbon, methane, and phosphorus cycling, they often obscure the dynamic, relational, and emergent character of biogeochemical processes. This paper introduces a process-ontological framework for biogeochemistry that reconceptualizes elemental transformations not as state transitions between static compartments but as evolving networks of interdependent processes. Drawing on process philosophy, complexity theory, and resilience science, we articulate (...) four foundational principles (relationality, scale dependence, temporal continuity, and emergence) that underpin a processual understanding of biogeochemical systems. Through empirical cases focused on methane and phosphorus cycling, we demonstrate how process ontology informs both modeling strategies and governance practices, including the detection of early warning signals, policy design, and cross-scale management of tipping points. Rather than replacing substance-based approaches, this framework complements them, revealing their underlying metaphysical assumptions and situating them within a broader ontology of dynamic interdependence. It also emphasizes the epistemic–ontological reciprocity of scientific practice, in which conceptual frameworks and empirical observation iteratively refine one another. By embedding ontological reflection within empirical and governance contexts, this work contributes to a broader rethinking of how scientific models mediate between conceptual frameworks and ecological realities, supporting adaptive, transformative and process-aware strategies for environmental management. (shrink)

A interpretação da consciência processual (ICP), conforme desenvolvida em Arroyo (2024, cap. 5) e Arroyo; Nunes Filho; Moreira dos Santos (2024), propõe uma ontologia de processos como solução ao problema da medição. Este artigo apresenta a interpretação padrão levada às últimas consequências ontológicas (§2); apresenta a ICP (§3); propõe reflexões a partir das questões levantadas à IPC na ocasião do XX encontro da ANPOF, sessão do GT de Filosofia das Ciências Físicas (§4).

(Accepted for issue 55(2) to be published in 2026) This article develops a Deleuzian critique of classical thermodynamics by rethinking energy in terms of intensity, rather than as a conserved extensive quantity. Through a close reading of the fifth chapter of Difference & Repetition, I explain how classical thermodynamics subordinates difference to identity by treating the flow of energy as the cancellation of intensive differences within static spatial and temporal frameworks—what Deleuze called the “transcendental illusion of entropy.” I argue that (...) the transcendental illusion of entropy emerges from the cinematographical illusion elaborated by Henri Bergson in Creative Evolution, which replaces real time with an impersonal becoming strung together by static/instantaneous states. Against this, Deleuze provides an account of intensity as the differential principle that generates extensity and quality without being extinguished by them. By developing the connection between intensity and Deleuze’s three syntheses of time—habit, Memory, and eternal return of the Same—I show how energy as intensity operates as a transcendental principle of individuation in the actualization of virtual multiplicities, paving the way for a process ontology of energy beyond the cinematographical illusion. I conclude with a brief discussion of how Deleuze’s novel ontology of energy can account for cognition and intersubjectivity in thermodynamic systems beyond naïve materialism, as well as the affinity of Deleuze’s ontology with some emerging interpretations of quantum mechanics. My wager is that Deleuze’s ontology can help lay the groundwork for a revised understanding of energy in the natural sciences that is grounded in a process-relational metaphysics. (shrink)

Since the early 21st century, processualist approaches have gained prominence in analytic metaphysics and the philosophy of science, prompting diverse responses from advocates of substantialism. However, the polarization of the debate between process and substance metaphysics has often led to oversimplifications that obscure the potential for constructive dialogue. This paper argues that these frameworks should not be treated as monolithic systems, but rather analyzed through the lens of specific metaphysical problems—namely, fundamentality, persistence, and individuation. Focusing primarily on process metaphysics, we (...) examine how different interpretations within both traditions conceptualize these issues. Our analysis reveals areas of compatibility as well as points of divergence, indicating that the divide between processualism and substantialism is more nuanced than commonly assumed. We conclude by advocating for a metaphysical approach that allows for the integration of criteria from both frameworks. (shrink)

This paper explores the form of persistence distinctive of intentional actions. Unlike entities whose progression through time is typically continuous, our actions often have parts separated in time by a gap in our own activity. The way in which their coherence is understood thus affects their attribution to us. I present a theory of agency at the gaps that accounts for such phenomena and passes two touchstones. It solves the puzzle of the time of a killing in a new way (...) and provides a support to the assessment of moral agency. (shrink)

This paper offers an original interpretation of the Daodejing 道德經 as containing a distinctive account of creation. In my reading, the Daodejing envisions the creation of the cosmos by Dao (1) as a movement from the absence of phenomenal forms to phenomenal forms and (2) as a movement from nothingness to existence. I interpret creation as a unique metaphysical operation that explains how (1) and (2) are possible. The paper is organized into two sections. First, I introduce the distinctions between (...) the lack and presence of phenomenal forms (§1.1) and between nothingness and existence (§1.2), using them to map the distinction between Dao and the created world. Then, I propose my account of the Daodejing’s metaphysics of creation (§2.1) and elaborate on its connection with the previously drawn distinctions while answering a potential objection (§2.2). I conclude with some considerations about the connections between the Daodejing’s view of creation and its soteriology. (shrink)

This paper treats the self as a recursive, continuity-preserving structure within the Codex Process. Identity is framed as a stabilized pattern that arises through self-reference and feedback, rather than as a static entity. This analysis initiates the inward arc of the Codex Process by formalizing selfhood in purely structural terms.

Processual Pessimism. On the Nature of Cosmic Suffering and Human Nothingness — the second part of the dilogy of the «Tragic». What is left for a person when the scale of the tragic goes beyond human life and rises to the size of the universe? When the usual explanations dissipate, and existence itself is revealed as a brief pattern of matter against a background of slow, inexorable decay? -/- The conclusion of the dilogy of the «Tragic» takes the study beyond (...) the boundaries of the anthropocentric perspective. If the The Experience of the Tragic revealed the mechanisms of human suffering, then Processual Pessimism exposes the cosmological foundations of existence itself as a movement towards disintegration. Consciousness observes its own temporality, ethics is looking for a form that can withstand the knowledge of the fragility of what are considered values. The book seeks to move away from habitual pessimism and look at it through procedural ontology. (shrink)

«Процессуальный пессимизм. О природе вселенского страдания и человеческом ничто» — вторая часть дилогии «Трагическое». Что остаётся человеку, когда масштаб трагического выходит за пределы человеческой жизни и поднимается до размеров вселенной? Когда привычные объяснения рассеиваются, а само существование раскрывается как краткий узор материи на фоне медленного, неумолимого распада? -/- Завершение дилогии «Трагическое» переносит исследование за границы антропоцентрической перспективы. Если «Опыт трагического» раскрывал механизмы человеческого страдания, то «Процессуальный пессимизм» обнажает космологические основания самого бытия как движения к распаду. Сознание наблюдает собственную временность, этика (...) ищет форму, способную выдержать знание о зыбкости того, что принято считать ценностями. Книга стремится отойти от привычного пессимизма и взглянуть на него сквозь процессуальную онтологию. (shrink)

The introduction frames the book’s central problematic: How can thinking be both in the world and about the world? To address this, it develops the concept of fractured immanence, a metaphysical framework that integrates our dual perspectives on the mind-world relation: mind and nature are not ontologically distinct regions of being (they are both ways of being processes) yet diverge in the order of understanding, a tension enabling their ongoing self-correcting interplay as concepts without presupposing transcendence or complete mutual transparency. (...) The introduction also situates fractured immanence as a way to rethink emergence and freedom not as transcendent structures but as processual expressions of being. Normativity is embedded in this framework by being understood as an emergent intensive regime whose function is hyperstitional: it stabilizes and projects ideal possible worlds expressed by unactualized universals, and performatively makes them actual over time by collectively treating them as real. (shrink)

Building on the discussion of Chap. 9, this chapter argues that normative freedom and non-normative freedom prescribe divergent regulative ideals that cannot be algorithmically synthesized at the level of collective ethico-political theory and practice. The regulative ideal at the heart of our conception of normative freedom is expressed by the universalist impulse for collective (semantic, epistemic, moral) self-mastery while the regulative ideal of our non-normative conception of freedom is expressed by the ‘particularist’ impulse for unhinged monadic material empowerment. It is (...) suggested that in order to achieve an optimal balance between these regulative ideals we must opt for what I call ‘democratic prometheanism’. I examine the implications of this view on the issue of climate change: the democratic prometheanist view, among other things, implies that humans are essentially normatively defined as persons, and not as a distinct and hierarchically superior metaphysical category called ‘humanity’. From this point of view, humans as complex natural processes are ultimately conceived non-hierarchically, as being in a mutually symbiotic relationship with the social and environmental niches to which they are intertwined. This change of focus comes with a higher sensitivity to the strong interdependence relations that exist between our form of life, other living beings and the environment, and this necessitates reconceiving promethean freedom in terms of controlled interdependence. (shrink)

This chapter argues that freedom is also expressed in a fractured form: (1) as normative freedom, that is, freedom as self-determination (with Kant, Sellars and Brandom as its main representatives), and (2) as non-normative freedom, that is, as an increase of the power to act, as opposed to the ‘power to dominate’ (the main representatives here being Spinoza and Deleuze). It is suggested that normative freedom and non-normative freedom are intimately related in that the former is epistemically and practically necessary (...) for achieving the latter, while the latter is the ultimate raison d’ȇtre of the former. Universals play a key role here as immanent regulative ideals that coordinate collective projects. I argue that universals, stripped of their metaphysical connotations, serve as tools of critique and emancipation, projecting ideals of collective welfare and empowerment. In this sense, universals function hyperstitionally, guiding practices beyond existing constraints. (shrink)

In this chapter, based on Christias (2023), and inspired by Sellars and Deleuze, I suggest that a process-oriented categorial framework can provide the most promising successor of the ‘substance-property’ categorial framework at work in our everyday lifeworld. The former is what results from an immanent critique of the latter. Moreover, I attempt to show that if a process ontology is to supersede the substance-property ontological framework in a consistent manner it must endorse a nominalistic metaphysics which eschews all kinds of (...) abstract universals, such as substances, properties, relations, kinds, facts, and construct a nominalistic process language without recourse to Fregean contents or predicates as referring expressions. (shrink)

This chapter clarifies the multiple meanings of immanence and specifies the sense in which it is used throughout the book. It distinguishes between ontological immanence (rejection of transcendent essences), epistemological immanence (thinking as always conducted in medias res and as self-correcting) and explanatory immanence (intelligibility as self-grounding). Classical models—from Platonic Ideas to Aristotelian forms, to modern notions of laws of nature—are shown to harbor transcendent residues. By contrast, fractured immanence affirms the unconditionality of being while rejecting all transcendent grounds, causes (...) or epistemic standpoints. The chapter also positions this conception against correlationist and phenomenological approaches, which raise the mind-world correlation itself to unconditional status. (shrink)

This book offers a new understanding of naturalism and normativity by integrating them within a process metaphysics framework. Rejecting all forms of transcendence, Dionysis Christias advances a conception of ‘fractured immanence’ in which mind and nature are not ontologically distinct regions of being (they are both ways of being processes) yet diverge in the order of understanding, a tension enabling their ongoing self-correcting interplay as concepts without presupposing transcendence or complete mutual transparency. Drawing on Deleuze, Sellars and Peirce, the book (...) replaces substance metaphysics with an anti-representational, univocal process ontology which throws light on core problems in contemporary analytic metaphysics of powers and emergence. Normativity is embedded in this naturalistic process framework by being understood as an emergent intensive regime whose function is hyperstitional: it stabilizes and projects ideal possible worlds expressed by unactualized universals, and performatively makes them actual over time by collectively treating them as real. (shrink)

Grounding is traditionally conceived in hierarchical or foundational terms, often tied to metaphysically necessary essences. This chapter develops an account of grounding that resists such hierarchies. Drawing on an evolutionary reinterpretation of the principle of sufficient reason, it reconceives grounding as an emergent ordering relation internal to processes themselves. Grounding thus becomes a mode of intelligibility immanent to being’s unfolding as opposed to an appeal to transcendent principles. This reconciles the demand for self-grounding intelligibility with the fractured, open-ended nature of (...) reality. The chapter situates this approach against contemporary debates in analytic metaphysics of powers, showing how it can reframe grounding beyond neo-Humean regularism, neo-Aristotelian realism and analytic neo-Hegelian absolute idealism. (shrink)

This chapter further investigates important ontological implications of process ontology and attempts to find a place for emergence within a univocal process nominalist framework. Traditional accounts of emergence often rely on transcendent essences or epiphenomenalist supervenience relations. By contrast, in this context emergence is understood as a self-fracturing of being. Emergent properties, from qualia to symbolic thought, are intelligible not as independent ontological levels but as novel configurations within continuous processes. To develop this, the chapter mobilizes Deleuze’s notion of intensity, (...) understood topologically rather than representationally, to explain how discontinuous structures arise from continuous deformations. This allows emergence to be accounted for without invoking universals or transcendent causes. The view challenges both reductive physicalism and panpsychism, showing that novelty can arise immanently without collapsing into reduction or dualism. (shrink)

In this chapter, I turn my attention to the issue of the seeming incommensurability between two equally indispensable ways of understanding ourselves-in-the-world: our normativist self-image and our causal-naturalistic self-image. My suggestion is that both these frameworks are best understood as fractured projections of processual reality. To this end, I first stress the irreducibility yet also ‘parallelism’ of the space of reasons (norms) and the space of causes (facts) and suggest that these relations as a package deal are an essential part (...) of a metaphysical view (itself a sophistication of our common-sense view of the world after modernity) that Brandom calls ‘bimodal hylomorphic conceptual realism’ (Brandom, A spirit of trust: A reading of Hegel’s phenomenology. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2019). I then propose that Brandom’s conceptual realism and modal realism (that articulate our ordinary descriptive metaphysics about reasons, causes and their relations) can be understood as indispensable ‘ladder languages’ that can yet be eventually transcended by a naturalistic process metaphysics—where both causes and reasons are understood as different ways of being processes. (shrink)

This chapter takes up the challenge of articulating a successor concept for ‘normativity’ that construes the causal efficacy of the latter in a resolutely immanent naturalistic manner—yet without reducing it to mere physicalism. I mobilize Land’s (Fanged noumena: Collected writings 1987–2007. Urbanomic, Falmouth, 2011) notion of ‘hyperstition’ as such a successor concept and draw a picture of normativity as an emergent intensive regime which, by way of we-attitudes as its manner of causally affecting the world, institutes a novel kind of (...) hyperstitional dynamics which can turn ‘lies into truths’. This is a way of illustrating and developing my basic immanent materialist view of normativity according to which its causal power lies exclusively in the enactment of normative statuses in the corresponding (we)attitudes. Moreover, building on Kukla’s (Philos Stud 101:161–211, 2000) suggestion that at the core of the function of ideology lies the misrecognition of a norm for correctly perceiving, thinking and acting as always already binding, it is further argued that this way of construing normativity can throw light on the phenomenon of ideology. From this point of view, ideology in its most general form consists in construing our fundamental lifeworld categories as representational, that is, as cutting nature and society at its categorial joints. Further, it is suggested that hyperstitional dynamics is best seen as bifurcated in a non-conceptual and conceptual dimension: non-conceptual-level hyperstitional dynamics can be understood in terms of predictive processing (Clark, Surfing uncertainty: Prediction, action and the embodied mind. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2016; Clark, Andy Clark and his critics. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2019), whereas conceptual-level hyperstitional dynamics can be construed in terms of Brandom’s neo-Hegelian model of content determination and conceptual change (Brandom, Reason in philosophy. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2019). (shrink)

In this chapter, drawing on Sellars, I suggest that immanence can provide an illuminating account of the relation between mind and world only if it goes hand in hand with a complete rejection of the Given. I also explore the consequences of resolutely rejecting the Given for ontology and the nature of our access to the world through thought. I argue that the rejection of Givenness implies that, at the level of semantics, thinking attempts to grasp the world as such: (...) there are no fixed limits to thinking—for example, transcendental conditions of possibility of experience—that prevent it from being semantically about the world as it is in itself. Yet it also implies that the form or content of the world as such are never themselves Given to thinking in its semantic dimension and are always subject to self-correction. I also focus on the anti-representational implications of the rejection of Givenness in our conception of the mind-world relation. It is argued that a resolute rejection of Givenness entails anti-representationalism in semantics and ontology and a post-Kantian, critical and transcendentally informed metaphysics. In this spirit, it is suggested that a Sellars-inspired non-representational semantics coupled with a Deleuze-inspired non-representationalist ontology can provide a viewpoint from which we can launch a positive critique of traditional representationalist (substance-property) metaphysics, by constructing an evolutionary process metaphysics with anti-representationalist yet realist implications. (shrink)

This paper argues that hypocrisy is not a moral failure but a structural effect of systems operating across multiple layers. Using the Codex Process, it shows that contradiction appears only when these layers are collapsed into one frame. Hypocrisy is the visible phase offset of layered recursion, not evidence of broken belief.

This paper presents the Codex Process, a unified framework identifying fundamental laws—Relation, Cause, Effect, Feedback, Recursion, and Continuity—that govern all systemic phenomena. The framework demonstrates structural equivalence across physical, biological, cognitive, and social domains, proposing a universal topology of understanding itself. -/- Version 2.0 (November 9, 2025): -/- Added Codex Series designation, structural reorganization to align with future papers, terminology refinement, a spelling correction, a formal reference section, updated ORCID to be clickable, and a universality test section. Core framework and (...) arguments unchanged. (shrink)

Paradox does not arise from logical failure but from the collapse of multiple recursion layers into a single frame. When truths that are coherent within their own continuity are forced to occupy one vantage point, they appear contradictory. This paper shows that paradox across logic, physics, cognition, language, and ethics reflects the same structural mechanism: dimensional overlap between layers of the Codex Process. By mapping paradox through relation, cause, effect, feedback, recursion, and continuity, the analysis demonstrates that impossibility is produced (...) by compression, not contradiction. Paradox is therefore not the limit of understanding but the point where depth becomes visible, marking the transition from external processes to inward self-reference. (shrink)

This Paper extends the Codex Process framework to symbolic and meaning-based systems: religion, cult formation, and meme transmission. While these domains are typically treated as distinct fields of study, each operates through the same recursive structure—Relation, Cause, Effect, Feedback, Recursion, and Continuity—that governs physical, biological, and technological systems.

Morality is not a code imposed by authority but a structure that emerges wherever agents must sustain relation through time. This paper applies the Codex Process to ethics, showing that moral law arises from the same relational feedback governing all stable systems. Good and evil reflect the preservation or dissolution of relational continuity, not divine decree. Conscience, justice, and cultural memory appear as recursive functions of systems maintaining coherence across choice.

ABSTRACT: For 2,500 years, Western philosophy has been defined by a fundamental schism—a civil war between the ideal and the material, the mind and the body, the one and the many. This work argues that this intractable conflict is the product of a catastrophic flattening: a shift instigated by Parmenides from describing a dynamic, 4-dimensional reality to analyzing it through static, 3-dimensional snapshots. This "synchronic" view created the very contradictions it then struggled to solve. Neo-Pre-Platonic Naturalism (NPN) proposes a way (...) out: the Diachronic Turn. It confronts the hardest problem for any unifying system by taking the 'Is-ought' problem head-on and revealing it to be a synchronic categorical error. By systematizing the foundational intuitions of the Pre-Platonic philosophers—the pioneers who discovered the territory's landmarks but not its governing laws—NPN restores the missing dimension of time. While this shift in perspective may seem complex at first, it provides the fundamental basis for understanding reality as it is: a process, not a picture. In essence, NPN provides the conceptual tools to solve philosophy's most fundamental problems by grounding them in the dynamic, 4-dimensional reality we actually inhabit. The result is the collapse of ancient dualisms. The subjective mind (Nous) is revealed not as a spectral outsider but as the emergent navigator of an objective physical reality (Arche). Knowledge is redefined as a confidence gradient, not certain possession. Value is grounded in the constitutive striving of life itself. This framework does not merely resolve philosophical problems; it bridges the divides between Eastern and Western thought, offering a unified compass for navigating the deepest questions of existence. (shrink)

In this article, we propose meta-subjectivity and ideational analysis. Meta-subjectivity is a philosophically grounded social ontology that posits the self as a dynamic intersubjective and relational environmental process. Ideational analysis is a sociohistorical abductive method for studying the generation of collective belief systems and their structuration. We critique contemporary epistemologies found within the humanities and social sciences, such as Smith and Searle’s critical realism. Building on Storm’s metamodernism, we offer our perspective as innovation. We conclude with a call for greater (...) interdisciplinarity and methodological plurality in the humanities and social sciences, in the spirit of Storm, Feyerabend, and Kuhn. (shrink)

Nothingness is the most abused word in the human vocabulary. We use it casually, as if nothingness were simply a thin, delicate version of the world. We imagine an empty room, a quiet moment, or a blank canvas. In daily speech, nothingness is just the absence of some particular thing, but the philosophical question of “nothingness” demands something radically different. It demands the absence of all things; all structure, all laws, all time, all possibility, all conditions that could give anything (...) the capacity to exist. True nothingness is not emptiness; it is the collapse of the very framework within which emptiness could be meaningful. Once carried to its proper conclusion, it reveals itself to be an incoherent concept. Something that cannot exist, cannot persist, and cannot even be meaningfully conceived. The task, then, is not to explain why something emerged from nothing, but to understand why nothingness was never a viable alternative in the first place. (shrink)

This book offers a unified reconstruction of the cosmic “dark sector” within the Energy Quantum Theory (EQT), proposing that gravity, dark matter, and dark energy are not three distinct entities, but manifestations of the same energy quantum density field \(\rho(\mathbf{r}, t, f)\) across different frequency bands: gravity dominates at \(f < 10^3\,\text{Hz}\), dark matter corresponds to mid-low frequencies (\(f \sim 10^{-2}\,\text{Hz}\)), and dark energy arises from the ultra-low-frequency regime (\(f \lesssim 10^{-4}\,\text{Hz}\)). This framework, directly derived from (Postulate I: the Frequency (...) Partitioning Postulate), eliminates the need for a cosmological constant \(\Lambda\) or cold dark matter particles in standard cosmology. Grounded in (Postulate II: the Gradient Flow Postulate), the work interprets large-scale structure formation as a nonlinear self-organization process of the ultra-low-frequency field. It develops (Inference 2: the Aggregation–Decay Cycle) and (Inference 3: the Cyclic Cosmic Dynamics) to naturally account for JWST observations of “precocious” and “quiescent” galaxies. Moreover, (Inference 4: the Co-Frequency Resonance Detection Principle) clarifies that so-called “dark” components are not non-luminous but lie outside current detectors’ frequency response windows—providing a testable pathway for multi-messenger synergy between LISA and JWST. As the third volume in the four-part physical core (Books 1–4), this book integrates the high-frequency unification of Energy Quantum Theory (KAIEQT) and the low-frequency gravitational ontology of Gravitational Unification (KAIGUA), offering the cosmic context for The Universe of Gradients (KAITUO-6). Its dynamic, rhythm-driven cosmology also supplies critical empirical anchors for the philosophical extensions in Books 5–7 on non-cumulative emergence, cosmic breathing rhythms, and process realism. This work marks EQT’s pivotal integration of fundamental forces into a holistic cosmic evolution, inaugurating a new cosmological paradigm that requires no dark particles, no fine-tuned constants, and instead unifies cosmic history through frequency-based rhythm. -/- The Energy Quantum Theory (EQT) Part I: Physical Theory (Books 1–4) 1. Energy Quantum Theory (KAIEQT) 2. Gravitational Unification (KAIGUA) 3. The Quantum Energy Universe (KAITQE) 4. The Universe of Gradients (KAITUO-6) Part II: Philosophical and Interdisciplinary Extensions (Books 5–7) 5. Energy, Process, and the Fate of the Cosmos (KAIEPA) 6. Gradient Rhythm (KAIGRU) 7. Gradient Is Mind-Matter (KAIGIM) Part III: Theoretical Foundation 8. Planck's Unfinished Radiance (KAIPUR) . (shrink)

This book presents the Energy Quantum Theory (EQT)—a foundational physical framework that replaces the substance-based ontology of modern physics with a unified process ontology. EQT posits that the sole fundamental entity of nature is the frequency-resolved energy quanta density field \rho(\mathbf{r}, t, f), and that all physical phenomena—from quantum fluctuations to planetary dynamics, galaxy formation, and black hole mergers—are gradient transients (\nabla \rho_f \neq 0) in this field. These transients evolve via a universal nonlinear dynamics \partial_t \rho = k(f) \rho^2 (...) - D(f) \nabla^2 \rho + \cdots, manifesting a cosmic rhythm governed by the freezing spectrum t_{\text{freeze}}(f) \propto f^{-1}. -/- Through the method of reinterpretive validation, the book demonstrates how EQT quantitatively explains four landmark observational anomalies using only publicly available data: — The 2.8-year transient gravity anomaly in Earth’s D″ layer (GRACE, 2006–2008); — The ultrafast electron dynamics in XFEL femtosecond experiments; — The “precocious galaxies” at z > 10 observed by JWST; — The gravitational wave signatures of binary black hole/neutron star mergers (LIGO/Virgo). -/- Crucially, EQT is not a phenomenological patch but a falsifiable, predictive, and computable theory. It derives precise, testable predictions across scales: the electron density void (0.1 nm, 20 fs), the GRACE-FO detectable 1991 gravity anomaly, the JWST–LISA cross-correlation signal, and the L/R \propto \mathcal{M}_c^{-5/3} scaling law for compact binaries. Philosophically, EQT fulfills three missions: (1) terminating substance ontology, (2) grounding irreversibility in orbital irreducibility, and (3) revealing non-cumulative emergence as the origin of complexity. -/- By unifying quantum, planetary, galactic, and cosmological physics under the principle that “process is being,” this work establishes EQT as a new paradigm for 21st-century physics—one that returns science to its core mission: explaining nature, not merely fitting data. (shrink)