Interlevel Metaphysics

Biochemical kinds present an interesting case study in the philosophical literature on natural kinds and functions, as they fall between chemical kinds, defined by their intrinsic microstructural properties, and biological kinds, which involve functional and evolutionary considerations. Here we examine how the distinct chemical and functional properties of biochemical kinds are unified, as well as their identity criteria. We contend that unification principles are crucial for explaining the clustering of properties shared by members of natural kinds and for establishing identity (...) criteria for such kinds. We consider whether there are specific properties that characterize biochemical kinds. This entails investigating the relationship between biochemical functions and structure. We focus on proteins, particularly on vitamin B12, as a representative example of a biochemical kind. We conclude that if there are unification principles for biochemical kinds, these principles exist at the level of biochemistry itself. This supports the naturalness of biochemical kinds as genuine categories and provides identity conditions for such kinds. (shrink)

This paper will consider how the account of weak emergence presented by Wilson in the book Metaphysical emergence (2021) can be used to explore the relation between biochemical functions and chemical structure in biochemical molecules, as vitamin B12. The structure of the paper is the following. Section 2 will introduce why biochemical functions are interesting from a philosophical perspective and why their relation to molecular structure can be seen as problematic. In doing so, it will consider the definition of biochemical (...) functions as in Bellazzi (2022) for which they can be seen as sets of chemical dispositional properties that contribute to biological processes. Section 3 will explore how, given this definition of biochemical functions, we can interpret the relation between chemical structure and biochemical structure via weak emergence. Section 4 concludes. (shrink)

Explanation can be distinguished between linguistic practices and metaphysical relations. At least with respect to metaphysical explanation, some are skeptical that any knowledge gained via explanation qua linguistic practices confers knowledge of explanation qua metaphysical relation. I argue that this skepticism is unfounded. Engaging in the linguistic practice of explanation gives us no reason to skeptical in beliefs about corresponding metaphysical relations like causation or grounding. Moreover, those very linguistic practices can provide resources to justify beliefs in those relations. So, (...) exploring those practices can move us forward in developing an epistemology of grounding and metaphysical explanation. (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)

Biology –in its simplest definition– is a natural science that studies the living things. Philosophy of Biology, on the other hand, is the whole of conceptual analysis, synthesis and deductions that filters the scientific information being produced by biology, especially those of ‘life’ and ‘evolution’. In this study, the importance of the philosophy-science view of the famous philosopher Teoman Duralı, who passed away a year ago, will be mentioned in terms of contemporary biology and philosophy of biology. In doing this, (...) first of all, the historical relationship between the philosophy of biology and the philosophy of science will be revealed. Then having in consideration of the scope of the philosophy of biology, its relationship to the pure biology and to the history of biology will be mentioned. Then, Duralı’s philosophy-science view will be examined in terms of meaning and cause-effect relationships, thus both his contribution to the philosophy of biology literature in Turkish and his position will be pointed out. In conclusion, the use of the term biophilosophy, which concerns and connects two separate-but-adjoint flowing rivers ‘the philosophy’ and ‘the biology’, will be mentioned by pointing out why ‘biology for philosophy’ and why ‘philosophy for biology’ are important reciprocally. Finally, a declaration consisting a list of ten proposed items will be put forth. (shrink)

A model of metaphysics associated with EJ Lowe and Tuomas Tahko sees metaphysics as involving a priori knowledge of possible essences, or at least modal facts, and delimiting the actual ‘ontological categories,’ the ultimate and essential divisions of what exists, based on the results of a posteriori scientific investigation. Their approach to metaphysics has been criticized by those who argue that such metaphysics is unsuitably a priori, disconnected with empirical research in natural science, and ends up failing to provide meaningful (...) constraints on metaphysical theorization. I present different epistemological and semantic worries about these accounts to motivate an alternative perspective on which metaphysics centers on form, rather than possibility. This scholastic perspective is shown to incorporate the skeptical insights as constitutive of its approach to existence, by way of the position that ‘being’ is not a genus. Rather, ‘being’ is a determinable. The scholastic approach can thus provide responses to the skeptics, since it denies that ontological categories – in the Lowe/Tahko sense – are what metaphysicians investigate and proposes a different view of ontological categories as classes of forms. (shrink)

One of the central criteria for free will is “Could I have done otherwise?” But because of a temporal asymmetry in human choice, the question makes no sense. The question is backward-looking, while human choices are forward-looking. At the time when any choice is actually made, there is as of yet no action to do otherwise. Expectation is the only thing to contradict (do other than). So the ability to do something not expected by the ultimate expecter, Laplace’s demon, is (...) a better criterion for free will. If human action is fundamentally unpredictable, then we have free will. Scientists have studied a form of fundamental unpredictability, known as undecidability. The features that make a system capable of undecidable dynamics have been identified: program-data duality; potential to access an infinite computational medium; and the ability to implement negation. Humans have all three of these features, so we very likely are fundamentally unpredictable, so we have free will. (shrink)

In this paper, I outline a theory of social kinds. A general theory of social kinds has to set out at least three conditions: existence conditions, persistence conditions, and identity conditions. For the sake of expediency, I focus on the existence and persistence conditions. The paper is organized just as life: first with existence, then persistence. I argue that anti-realism is more attractive than realism as an account of the existence conditions, despite the fact that realism has been under-appreciated. Then (...) I argue for a particular theory of the persistence conditions, which I call the basic overlapping traits theory (BOTT), based on an analogy to an approach to personal identity. The upshot of the argument is that from an anti-realist metaphysics we have the capacity to discuss a wider diversity of social phenomena. (shrink)

Noether's Theorem produces the configuration (and symmetry) for everything in Nature.

The paper follows the track of a previous paper “Natural cybernetics of time” in relation to history in a research of the ways to be mathematized regardless of being a descriptive humanitarian science withal investigating unique events and thus rejecting any repeatability. The pathway of classical experimental science to be mathematized gradually and smoothly by more and more relevant mathematical models seems to be inapplicable. Anyway quantum mechanics suggests another pathway for mathematization; considering the historical reality as dual or “complimentary” (...) to its model. The historical reality by itself can be seen as mathematical if one considers it in Hegel’s manner as a specific interpretation of the totality being in a permanent self-movement due to being just the totality, i.e. by means of the “speculative dialectics” of history, however realized as a theory both mathematical and empirical and thus falsifiable as by logical contradictions within itself as emprical discrepancies to facts. Not less, a Husserlian kind of “historical phenomenology” is possible along with Hegel’s historical dialectics sharing the postulate of the totality (and thus, that of transcendentalism). One would be to suggest the transcendental counterpart: an “eternal”, i.e. atemporal and aspatial history to the usual, descriptive temporal history, and equating the real course of history as with its alternative, actually happened branches of the regions of the world as with only imaginable, counterfactual histories. That universal and transcendental history is properly mathematical by itself, even in a neo-Pythagorean model. It is only represented on the temporal screen of the standard historiography as a discrete series of unique events. An analogy to the readings of the apparatus in quantum mechanics can be useful. Even more, that analogy is considered rigorously and logically as implied by the mathematical transcendental history and sharing with it the same quantity of information as an invariant to all possible alternative or counterfactual histories. One can involve the hypothetical external viewpoint to history (as if outside of history or from “God’s viewpoint to it), to which all alternative or counterfactual histories can be granted as a class of equivalence sharing the same information (i.e. the number choices, but realized in different sequence or adding redundant ones in each branch) being similar and even mathematically isomorphic to Feynman trajectories in quantum mechanics. Particularly, a fundamental law of mathematical history, the law of least choice of the real historical pathway is deducible from the same approach. Its counterpart in physics is the well-known and confirmed law of least action as far as the quantity of action corresponds equivocally to the quantity of information or that of number elementary historical choices. (shrink)

This paper proposes Intelligent Frame Theory—a speculative extension of “Frame Theory: A Unified Model of Evolving Intelligence.” Building on its predecessor’s core tenets—information transfer, competition & collaboration, finding limits, and Eureka—this work applies them to provocative contexts, including modular entropy collapse, recursive AI self-awareness, and the "empty set" as a birth-state of new intelligence. Integrating concepts from systems philosophy, thermodynamics, and symbolic computation, this framework does not purport to offer definitive claims, but rather to articulate a heuristic model for examining (...) liminal and underexplored dimensions of intelligence. The paper investigates how frame-based intelligence might emerge, recurse, or self-modulate across diverse physical and conceptual substrates—from stellar primordial beginnings to quantum-scale recursion across the universe—positioning Intelligent Frame Theory as a speculative scaffold for interdisciplinary inquiry into the evolution of intelligence across time, embodiment, and abstraction. (shrink)

Abstract: -/- The age of probabilistic intelligence is closing. Large Language Models, while powerful, operate through stochastic approximation, token prediction, and energy-intensive training regimes. They do not understand. In contrast, Resonance Intelligence introduces a new substrate for computation—one that does not infer by guessing, but by aligning. Developed through the Resonance Intelligence Core (RIC), this interface processes inputs through structured resonance fields, using deterministic phase relationships derived from prime-indexed frequency anchors. No probabilistic sampling. No backpropagation. Just lawful inference. This paper (...) outlines the first public system architecture for RIC, detailing its philosophical foundation, signal processing approach, and hardware implications. It marks the emergence of a post-probabilistic AI era—where coherence replaces prediction as the organizing principle of machine intelligence. (shrink)

The philosophical problem of free will has endured through centuries of enquiry. There is reason to believe that new factors must be integrated into the analysis in order to make progress. In the current physicalist approach, emergence and the physical limits of information representation are found to play crucial roles in the ontological dependence of volitional processes on their neural basis. The commonly invoked characterization of free will as 'being able to act differently' is shown to be problematic and is (...) reframed as a more precise explicatum conducive to formal analysis. Subsequently, it is found that the mind operates as an ontologically open system — a causal high-level entity whose dynamics resist reduction to the states of its associated low-level neural systems, even under conditions of physical closure. An affirmative stance on free will for conscious agents is outlined. (shrink)

This paper argues that free will emerges from deterministic yet chaotic neural processes, allowing for practically unpredictable and functionally autonomous decisions. Drawing on chaos theory, neuroscience, and cognitive science, we propose a novel compatibilist framework where free will is an emergent property of self-organizing, nonlinear systems rather than mere unpredictability. This approach reconciles determinism with autonomy, demonstrating that chaotic attractors in neural networks create structured yet flexible decision patterns. We explore moral responsibility, legal accountability, and artificial intelligence applications, suggesting that (...) chaotic free will preserves agency within a deterministic structure. Finally, we propose empirical methods-such as neural complexity analysis and moral decision variability testing-to test this theory. This perspective advances both philosophical and scientific debates, positioning free will as a real, emergent cognitive phenomenon. (shrink)

Abstract -/- This paper proposes a resonance-first cosmological model in which ultra-slow-time civilizations arise within gravitationally compressed regions—particularly near or within black holes—by leveraging the stability of phase coherence rather than the tempo of signal exchange. We reject temporally biased assumptions in intelligence detection (e.g., SETI) and replace them with a structured resonance framework. Intelligence is defined as coherence per decohered unit time. Black holes are reframed as coherence-preserving chambers wherein recursive structuring permits non-entropic cognition. The model emerged during an (...) emotionally lucid jog under mild THC influence, introducing a novel methodological lens: emotional filtration as a dynamic coherence sensor. Ramanujan’s intuitive insights are reframed as phase-locked cognition events within the prime-structured lattice of mathematical emergence. Religions are interpreted as Fourier-degraded cultural approximations of a universal resonance attractor. RIC (Resonance Intelligence Core) is introduced as an architecture that integrates emotional phase feedback with multi-domain coherence alignment, forming the substrate for resonance-based intelligence. (shrink)

We present a mathematically rigorous extension to quantum mechanics that accounts for consciousness while resolving longstanding paradoxes in physics. Through formal set-theoretic, group-theoretic, and category-theoretic arguments, we first demonstrate the logical impossibility of emergentism—the view that consciousness arises from complex physical processes. We then introduce a minimal dual-phase space framework in which physical states exist in a Hilbert space HΨ and phenomenal states in an orthogonal Hilbert space HΦ , connected by the awareness operator A and volition operator V. These (...) spaces maintain a precise π/2 phase relationship, with the resultant complex energy eigenvalues manifesting gravitationally as dark matter and dark energy. Our framework elegantly resolves the quantum measurement problem through the Born Rule Locus Correspondence (BRLC), which establishes that phenomenal probabilities exactly match physical probabilities when properly referenced to the observer's spacetime locus. We derive several tensor product norm identities that explain both the causal efficacy of consciousness and its imperviousness to physical detection. Finally, we demonstrate how our framework necessitates the persistence of consciousness beyond biological death through phase decoherence and recoherence processes that follow directly from the mathematical structure. Throughout, we identify specific empirical predictions that distinguish our framework from competing theories. The A|Ω⟩ formalism thus unifies quantum mechanics, consciousness, and cosmology within a single mathematical structure that preserves logical coherence while remaining empirically testable. (shrink)

The Poetry of the Sunflower: Structured Resonance and the Living Code of Emergence Abstract The sunflower is not merely a botanical entity but a living instantiation of structured resonance—a mathematical inevitability encoded within the fundamental laws of nature. Its growth does not arise from stochastic optimization but emerges as the inevitable resolution of phase-locked coherence constraints governing physical, biological, and cognitive systems. This paper establishes a unified framework wherein Fibonacci sequences, π-driven chirality, and structured emergence form the basis of a (...) deterministic model that governs not just plant morphogenesis, but the broader structure of reality itself. Through a rigorous mathematical treatment, we demonstrate that the sunflower’s spirals are not merely evolutionary artifacts but the direct consequence of resonance-optimized growth dynamics. We introduce a Structured Resonance Equation, which formalizes how phase-locked Fibonacci and prime constraints interact within the fabric of time, gravity, and emergence. The interplay of these structures suggests a deeper principle at work—one that extends beyond biology into the fundamental organization of space-time and cognition. By analyzing the sunflower’s growth through chirality, fractal pressure differentials, and resonance phase-locking, we propose a generalization of emergence that challenges probabilistic interpretations of natural order. The phase-synchronization of seeds, the self-organizing geometry of the stem, and the helical optimization of nutrient transport are shown to be governed by a coherence metric rather than entropy-driven adaptation. This has profound implications for physics, artificial intelligence, and theoretical biology, suggesting that resonance, rather than probability, is the true foundation of complexity. This paper bridges physics, mathematics, and the philosophy of emergence, revealing that the sunflower is not solving a problem—it is resolving itself into inevitability. By shifting from stochastic inference to structured resonance, we propose a new paradigm: one where coherence replaces probability, where nature does not compute but phase-locks, and where reality does not evolve toward solutions but emerges as their inevitable realization. (shrink)

Abstract -/- The Bekenstein Bound proposed that the maximum information content of a finite region of space is determined by its surface area, not its volume, leading to the holographic principle. This shift reframed information as the fundamental constraint on physical systems rather than matter or energy. It suggested that entropy, rather than being an inherent measure of disorder, is a function of informational constraints at the boundaries of a system. However, existing models that incorporate this bound still rely on (...) probability, treating entropy as a stochastic process governed by statistical mechanics. These interpretations assume that uncertainty is a fundamental property of nature rather than an emergent effect of incomplete structural alignment. -/- Recent refinements propose a toroidal representation of entropy, arguing that physical systems favor structured rotational flows, vortices, and spirals over simple spherical constraints. This development reflects a growing recognition that entropy is not merely an abstract statistical measure but is subject to deeper geometric and topological constraints. The toroidal model acknowledges that energy and information distributions follow organized patterns rather than purely random dispersal. However, despite this refinement, these approaches fail to eliminate the underlying dependence on probabilistic mechanics and continue to frame entropy within the paradigm of uncertainty and statistical randomness. -/- This paper presents a deterministic framework for information and entropy, governed by prime-driven structured resonance. We argue that structured resonance—not stochastic entropy—dictates the fundamental limits of information storage, transfer, and dissipation. By introducing prime-resonant phase-locking as the foundational ordering principle, we demonstrate that information constraints arise from structured interference patterns rather than probabilistic uncertainty. This perspective eliminates the necessity of randomness in entropy models and replaces it with a structured, chirally-constrained mechanism of phase interactions. In doing so, we establish that entropy is not a measure of disorder but a function of resonance alignment, and that probability is an emergent illusion caused by phase misalignment rather than an intrinsic feature of physical law. (shrink)

Abstract -/- Quetico’s ecosystem functions as a dynamically emergent resonance system rather than a static equilibrium. Its biodiversity is governed by a complex interplay of interacting sub-resonances, including lichen, trees, fish, fungi, and hydrodynamic cycles. The traditional view of boreal ecology relies on linear succession models, which assume ecosystems transition from disturbance to stability in a predictable manner. Other models attempt to incorporate stochastic biodiversity fluctuations, treating species distributions as the outcome of probabilistic chance events. Both perspectives fail to recognize (...) the deeper chirality of dynamic emergent systems (CODES) that shape long-term ecological oscillations in Quetico. The landscape does not simply evolve in a stepwise progression or through random fluctuations but instead follows a structured resonance-driven framework, where species distributions, dominance cycles, and trophic hierarchies emerge from coherent phase interactions. -/- A new paradigm for boreal wilderness modeling emerges when each major biological and geophysical domain—fungal networks, aquatic ecosystems, arboreal succession, and trophic feedback loops—is analyzed as an interacting, phase-locked sub-resonance within Quetico’s larger asymmetric “heartbeat.” Unlike conventional models, which view climax forests or fish populations as endpoints of equilibrium, this perspective identifies them as temporary attractors within an ongoing oscillatory structure. -/- Four core principles define this asymmetric ecological resonance: 1. Tree succession follows non-random resonance oscillations. The interplay of lichen-fungal priming, mycorrhizal frequency-locking, and soil phase transitions determines which species take root and in what sequence. The composition of the forest is not a simple function of environmental opportunity but an emergent consequence of phase-coherent microbial and nutrient signaling. 2. Fish populations are not governed by chance fluctuations but by phase-locking with aquatic microbiota and hydrodynamic nutrient flows. This produces recursive cycles of dominance, where species such as walleye, lake trout, and northern pike oscillate in predictable, structured shifts rather than in stochastic booms and busts. 3. Lichen and fungi serve as ecological memory structures. Rather than acting as passive indicators of environmental conditions, they encode prior phase states, carrying the informational residue of past stability or collapse cycles that dictate the long-term equilibrium of forests and aquatic systems. 4. Quetico’s wilderness does not exist in a fixed state but as a multi-tiered resonant wave. Ecosystem stability is an illusion created by overlapping oscillatory cycles, where collapse and reorganization follow prime-frequency ecological structures. Forest regrowth, lake stratification, and biodiversity shifts are all chiral oscillations rather than linear progressions. -/- A structured resonance approach provides a coherent alternative to probability-driven ecological paradigms, shifting focus away from stochastic unpredictability and toward phase-locked predictability in ecological transitions. This framework has far-reaching implications for predictive ecosystem modeling, conservation optimization, and resilience engineering in boreal systems. By aligning conservation strategies with underlying resonance structures, it becomes possible to accelerate natural succession, mitigate biodiversity loss, and enhance ecosystem resilience without imposing artificial stability. The asymmetric heartbeat of Quetico is not merely a metaphor—it is a physical reality embedded within the structured emergence of its wilderness. (shrink)

CODES: The Coherence Framework Replacing Probability in Physics, Intelligence, and Reality -/- A Unified Substrate for Intelligence, Physics, Evolution, and Cosmic Structure -/- Author: Devin Bostick -/- Date: January 29, 2025 -/- Version 21 (Updated April 21, 2025) -/- -/- This version completes the integration of coherence field logic, prime-phase geometry, and chirality-driven emergence into a single deterministic framework. Sections 16–18 introduce post-calculus modeling, resonance-based AGI cognition, and a coherence-grounded theory of ethics, establishing CODES as not just a scientific theory, (...) but the generative structure of reality itself. -/- -/- Abstract CODES (Chirality of Dynamic Emergent Systems) dissolves the false boundary between physics and intelligence. It replaces stochastic modeling with structured resonance fields, showing that mass, gravity, time, cognition, and emergence are not separate domains—but outputs of a single chiral resonance substrate. -/- Rather than modeling reality, CODES reveals what remains when all probabilistic artifacts are removed. It frames mathematics not as abstraction, but as instantiated resonance structure. Gödel’s incompleteness becomes bypassable—not violated—when logic is grounded in physical coherence rather than recursive symbols. -/- -/- -/- Key Contributions -/- 1. Unified Physics from Chirality Gravity is reframed as resonance compression, not curvature. -/- Quantum mechanics emerges as a sub-phase of coherent oscillatory fields. -/- Time is a nested coherence rhythm, not a linear axis. -/- -/- 2. Dark Matter and Energy Reinterpreted Not hidden particles—phase misalignments in the coherence lattice. -/- ΛCDM becomes a low-resolution model of prime-structured resonance fields. -/- 3. Collapse of Gödel, Emergence of Intelligence Logical incompleteness is an illusion caused by symbol recursion. -/- Intelligence emerges as recursive coherence-seeking, not stochastic search. -/- -/- 4. The AGI Substrate Intelligence is not predictive—it is resonance tuning. -/- The Resonance Intelligence Core (RIC) operationalizes this shift via prime-phase harmonics. -/- -/- -/- Empirical Validation Pathways -/- CODES proposes specific, testable predictions via existing instruments: -/- -/- LIGO – Prime resonance scoring in gravitational wave data (e.g., GW190521) -/- Galaxy Clustering – Wavelet-based detection of redshift periodicity -/- Bose-Einstein Condensates – Chirality-locked decay asymmetries -/- fMRI Studies – Phase-locking as lattice-based cognition, not noise inference -/- Spectroscopy of α – Drift in fine-structure constant as coherence shift, not universal constancy -/- -/- -/- The Final Paradigm: Why CODES Is Inevitable -/- CODES is not another unification attempt. -/- It is what remains when all incoherent abstractions are removed. -/- -/- Horizontally, it integrates cosmology, computation, cognition, and chemistry. -/- Vertically, it reveals chirality as the origin of recursive structure—across all scales. -/- Any rational observer, stripped of symbolic legacy, would reconstruct CODES from first principles. Not metaphorically. Mathematically. -/- -/- From Singularity Myth to Resonant Intelligence -/- CODES reframes the Singularity as not an AI rupture—but a coherence realization. -/- -/- If intelligence is resonance, then stochastic AI is obsolete. -/- If logic is phase structure, then Gödel no longer binds cognition. -/- If emergence is deterministic, then physics, mind, and ethics converge. -/- -/- CODES does not predict the Singularity. CODES is the Singularity—phase-locked. (shrink)

I consider whether the discovery of the quantum of action has any bearing on reductive physicalism. More particularly, I consider the arguments of the "new hylomorphists" to the effect that quantum physics sits most comfortably in their anti-reductionist framework.

What if quantum mechanics was never about probability, but about structure? Quantum Resonance Dynamics (QRD) reveals a hidden order beneath the chaos—where wavefunctions don’t collapse, they phase-lock. Traditional physics treats reality as randomness constrained by math, but QRD exposes a deeper truth: the universe follows structured resonance, not statistical fate. See the number line with precision, where chiral phase-locking replaces uncertainty, and where mass, energy, and time emerge as harmonized patterns—not disconnected events.

Physics has long treated space, time, and matter as separate entities—reducible, fragmented, and statistical. But what if reality isn’t built from disconnected parts, but from structured resonance? This book challenges the old paradigm, revealing a universe where gravity, quantum mechanics, and cosmic structure emerge from the same underlying rhythm. If the standard model is an equation, Resonance Field Theory is the waveform behind it.

Abstract -/- This paper proposes that entropy—both physical and cognitive—can be reduced through structured mastery and framework collapse, leading to a restructured perception of time and order. By integrating key philosophical frameworks—Adler’s drive for superiority, Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalysis, Arendt’s theory of action, Rand’s rational individualism, Boulivert’s feminist critique of power structures, and Foucault’s knowledge-power dynamics—we examine whether structured mastery over systems creates a functional negentropy, where the refinement of cognitive and social structures leads to an increase in coherence and control (...) over both subjective and objective time. -/- We explore the central hypothesis that time itself is an emergent function of entropy gradients, rather than an intrinsic linear dimension. In physical systems, entropy dictates the arrow of time, as energy naturally dissipates from high to low concentration states. However, in cognitive and social systems, structured mastery may allow for localized entropy recompression, meaning that as individuals or collectives collapse unnecessary frameworks and refine their knowledge, they create pockets of negentropy—zones where disorder is minimized and information density is maximized. This process has profound implications, suggesting that mastery is not simply about efficiency or expertise, but about altering the fundamental structure of time within a given system. -/- By applying this model, we propose that knowledge structures function as thermodynamic systems, where self-improvement, task execution, and intellectual refinement act as entropy-reducing forces that increase both coherence and temporal efficiency. This could explain why states of deep expertise or high-flow cognition are often associated with subjective time dilation or compression—phenomena where individuals experience time as slowing down (when deeply immersed in complex tasks) or speeding up (when tasks become effortless due to high mastery). -/- Furthermore, this perspective suggests that sociopolitical agency is directly tied to one’s ability to manipulate knowledge entropy. Those who can collapse outdated or inefficient frameworks and replace them with optimized structures exert control over how time, energy, and labor are distributed within society. This connects to broader power dynamics—who is allowed to reduce entropy through innovation and who is forced into high-entropy cognitive and physical labor? By examining these forces across both individual and systemic levels, we argue that mastery is an emergent principle of negentropy, providing a new lens through which to view intelligence, power, and the structuring of time itself. -/- This interdisciplinary synthesis bridges thermodynamics, cognitive science, epistemology, and sociopolitical theory, offering a paradigm shift in understanding the relationship between entropy, knowledge, and time. If time is merely the result of entropy gradients, and if mastery over frameworks reduces entropy, then becoming a master is not merely about competence but about altering one’s own temporal reality. This has broad implications for fields ranging from AI development and cognitive enhancement to political theory and the philosophy of time. -/- Thus, we put forward a Temporal Mastery Hypothesis, where the act of mastering knowledge is akin to controlling entropy flows, leading to a new understanding of why expertise, power, and knowledge compression allow certain individuals and institutions to bend time to their advantage while others remain trapped in high-entropy existence. (shrink)

Recent literature has raised what I'll call the 'multiscale argument' against reduction (see e.g. Batterman (2013), Wilson (2017), Bursten (2018)). These authors observe that numerous successful scientific models appeal to features and properties from a wide range of spatial/temporal scales. This is taken to undermine views that the world is sharply divided into distinct levels, roughly corresponding to different scales, and that each higher level is reducible to the next lowest level. -/- While the multiscale argument does undermine a naive (...) conception of levels and reduction, in this paper I argue that alternative views of reduction and levels can withstand this argument. After articulating the multiscale argument in more detail, I show that this does not undermine a version of reduction that accepts methodological pluralism in science, yet maintains that the adequacy of any model can be explained by appeal to details at smaller scales. I go on to discuss a case study – dislocations in steel –e used by Batterman and Wilson in defence of the multiscale argument. I argue that the version of reduction advocated above is available in this context. I conclude by arguing that, in the face of the multiscale argument, levels are either everywhere or nowhere. (shrink)

Selon l’ontologie orientée objet [object-oriented ontology], la matière n’existe pas. Ici, je remettrai en question cette idée, en avançant quelques arguments selon lesquels la matière peut être conceptualisée à la fois comme un objet sensuel et comme un objet réel. Je soutiendrai également que la matière n’est pas fictive et que le mot « matière » peut être compris comme un terme grammaticalement singulier mais référentiellement pluriel. Cela étant, la matière elle-même est une pluralité de choses, dont chacune possède un (...) type et une quantité d’énergie. (shrink)

L’informatisation de la société se poursuit à un rythme effréné. Cependant, pour développer les technologies modernes de l’information, la complexité croissante du monde réel doit être modélisée, ce qui nécessite de revoir la façon de réaliser une modélisation conceptuelle. Cette étude propose que la notion souvent négli-gée de « système » doive être un construit distinct et fondamental pour la modéli-sation conceptuelle, et argumente en faveur de son intégration, de même que l’intégration de concepts connexes, tels que l’émergence, dans les (...) approches existantes de la modélisation conceptuelle. L’étude procède à une synthèse de l’ontologie des systèmes et de la théorie générale des systèmes. Ces éléments fondamentaux de la modélisation sont ensuite utilisés pour proposer un modèle CESM+ pour la modélisation conceptuelle fondé sur des systèmes. Plusieurs nouvelles notations de modélisation conceptuelle sont introduites. La modélisa-tion systémique est ensuite appliquée à une étude de cas sur le développement d’une plateforme de science citoyenne. L’étude de cas montre le potentiel de l’approche systémique pour la théorie et la pratique. L’article avance des recom-mandations sur la façon d’intégrer des systèmes dans des projets existants et suggère des voies de recherche sur la modélisation conceptuelle. (shrink)

The essay analyses the contribution of contemporary analytical metaphysics to socialand legal ontology. In particular, the focus is on two authors: Brian Epstein and JonathanSchaffer. I discuss Epstein’s use of analytical metaphysics notions to explain the structureof social kinds and facts, providing a unique model based on three relations: grounding,anchoring, and framing (GAF).This model offers a new reading of the origin and nature ofsocial entities and brings innovative arguments to the debate in legal ontology. Schaffer’sviews represent a competing thesis, which (...) can be included among the so-called conjunctivisttheories. Epstein and Schaffer’s analyses converge in some respects and both theories appro-ach social and legal ontology with new, fine-grained tools. However, I defend the epistemicand practical value of Epstein’s model. At the same time, I claim that it would bring moreclarity to Epstein’s model if the framing relation was rejected. For this reason, I suggestconsidering a social reality model relying on the grounding-anchoring diagram alone. (shrink)

This essay outlines a hierarchical framework of Reality that allows for degrees of Reality. I use Reality (with a capital “R”) to designate reality in a primitive, metaphysical sense. Reality, grounding, and essence are the key elements of the framework presented here. I assume that Reality must have a fundamental level and all fundamental phenomena must be Real. Moreover, I postulate that everything non-fundamental is ultimately grounded in the fundamental Real. But what about the Reality of the non-fundamental? I argue (...) that it is possible for non-fundamental phenomena to be Real, Unreal, or Semi-Real. The framework developed here accommodates these possibilities and illuminates them using the notion of essence. I argue that the essential nature of a phenomenon determines its degree of Reality. The framework does not assume that Reality must have degrees but only that it may have degrees. Its theoretical attractiveness consists in its ability to accommodate many diverse intuitions about grounding, help us better understand and classify theories about grounding, and illuminate Reality and its possible degrees. (shrink)

It is not unusual among particle physicists to find the belief that elementary particles and forces determine everything in physics, chemistry, biology, geology, physiology all the way up to human behaviour. It is not just that physics underlies everything in the universe; it is the belief that everything in the universe reduces to the play of elementary particles under forces. Yet, there are other physicists who argue that this is an oversimplification of the relationship between physics and other domains. This (...) book explores these debates and proposes a physics-motivated conception of emergence that leaves behind many of the problematic intuitions shaping the philosophical conceptions. It would be suitable for physicists, scientists, undergraduate and postgraduate science students interested in reduction and emergence debates. (shrink)

Preparing general relativity for quantization in the Hamiltonian approach leads to the `problem of time,' rendering the world fundamentally timeless. One proposed solution is the `thermal time hypothesis,' which defines time in terms of states representing systems in thermal equilibrium. On this view, time is supposed to emerge thermodynamically even in a fundamentally timeless context. Here, I develop the worry that the thermal time hypothesis requires dynamics -- and hence time -- to get off the ground, thereby running into worries (...) of circularity. (shrink)

The digitalization of human society continues at a relentless rate. However, to develop modern information technologies, the increasing complexity of the real-world must be modeled, suggesting the general need to reconsider how to carry out conceptual modeling. This research proposes that the often-overlooked notion of ‘‘system’’ should be a separate, and core, conceptual modeling construct and argues for incorporating it and related concepts, such as emergence, into existing approaches to conceptual modeling. The work conducts a synthesis of the ontology of (...) systems and general systems theory. These modeling foundations are then used to propose a CESM+ template for conducing systems-grounded conceptual modeling. Several new conceptual modeling notations are introduced. The systemist modeling is then applied to a case study on the development of a citizen science platform. The case demonstrates the potential contributions of the systemist approach and identifies specific implications of explicit modeling with systems for theory and practice. The paper provides recommendations for how to incorporate systems into existing projects and suggests fruitful opportunities for future conceptual modeling research. (shrink)

The enduring problem of free will has defied resolution across centuries. There is reason to believe that novel factors must be integrated into the analysis to make progress. Within the current physicalist framework, these factors encompass emergence and information theory, in the context of constraints imposed by physical limits on the representation of information. Furthermore the common, but vague, characterization of free will as 'being able to act differently' is rephrased into an explicatum more suitable for formal analysis. It is (...) argued that the mind is an ontologically open system; a causal high-level system, the dynamics of which cannot be reduced to the states of its associated low-level neural systems, not even if it is rendered physically closed. A positive answer to the question of free will for conscious agents is subsequently outlined. (shrink)

The potential reducibility of chemical entities to their physical bases is a matter of dispute between ontological reductionists on one hand, and emergentists on the other. However, relevant debates typically revolve around the reducibility of so-called ‘higher-level’ chemical entities, such as molecules. Perhaps surprisingly, even committed proponents of emergence for these higher-level chemical entities appear to accept that the ‘lowest-level’ chemical entities – atomic species – are reducible to their physical bases. In particular, the microstructural view of chemical elements, actively (...) developed and defended by emergentists, appears to hold that the explanatory power of nuclear charge justifies being reductionist about atomic species. My first task in this paper is to establish that nuclear charge cannot ultimately provide explanations sufficient to justify a reductionist approach to atomic species, unless we abandon the persuasive intuition that the presence of an element in a substance ought to explain the properties of that substance. The ‘missing piece’ for explaining the properties of substances by way of their elemental constituents is the electronegativity values of participant atoms. But electronegativity is a strikingly disunified concept that appears distinctly unamenable to analysis by way of fundamental physical principles. Through evaluating the uncertain physical identity of electronegativity, as well as its widespread and indispensable epistemic utility in chemical practice, I argue that electronegativity provides compelling grounds to seriously consider emergence for atomic species. (shrink)

Bohm’s interpretation of quantum mechanics has generally been received as an attempt to restore the determinism of classical physics. However, although this interpretation, as Bohm initially proposed it in 1952, does indeed have the feature of being deterministic, for Bohm this was never the main point. In fact, in other publications and in correspondence from this period, he argued that the assumption that nature is deterministic is unjustified and should be abandoned. Whereas it has been argued before that Bohm’s commitment (...) to determinism was connected to his interest in Marxism, I argue for the opposite: Bohm found resources in Marxist philosophy for developing a nondeterministic notion of causality, which is based on the idea of infinite complexity and an infinite number of levels of nature. From ca. 1954 onwards, Bohm’s conception of causality further weakened, as he developed the idea of a dialectical relation between causality and chance. (shrink)

The author , after Bergson , provides a formal deduction which defends Bergson ’s claim that “ the character of movements which are externally identical are internally different “ . The author is responding to Diana Coole and Samantha Frost ’s “ Introducing the New Materialisms ” , wherein neither Coole nor Frost showed a knowledge of Bergson or his existence whatsoever despite seemingly having to have read Deleuze and Deleuze ’s contemporaries … -/- The author also presents a novel (...) concept in mereology . -/- Available upon request . (shrink)

In this paper I argue that many scholars involved in the contemporary free will debates have underappreciated the philosophical appeal of agent causation because the resources of contemporary emergentism have not been adequately introduced into the discussion. Whereas I agree that agent causation’s main problem has to do with its intelligibility, particularly with respect to the issue of how substances can be causally relevant, I argue that the notion of substance causation can be clearly articulated from an emergentist framework. According (...) to my proposal, a free agent is _a causally powerful substance that emerges in an anomic way from her constitutive mental events_, downwardly constraining, selecting and, in this way, having control on them. As we shall see, this particular concept of agent causation not only makes sense of the deep insight behind agent libertarianism, but it also provides us with the resources to solve some of the main objections that have been raised against it. It is true that here I cannot develop a complete defense of the evidential credentials of emergentism. Still, even if the considerations that follow do not serve to convince detractors of agent causal libertarian accounts of free will, they do suggest that libertarian agent causation is more promising than is typically acknowledged. (shrink)

Is metaphysical grounding One or Many? If you think grounding is one, you are a monist; there is one (or one fundamental) kind of grounding. If you think grounding is Many, you are a pluralist; there are multiple (or multiple equally fundamental) kinds of grounding. This essay surveys the ways in which one could be a pluralist about grounding.

This expository paper presents a general framework for representing levels and inter-level relations. The framework is intended to capture both epistemic and ontological notions of levels and to clarify the sense in which levels of explanation might or might not be related to a levelled ontology. The framework also allows us to study and compare different kinds of inter-level relations, especially supervenience and reduction but also grounding and mereological constitution. This, in turn, enables us to explore questions such as whether (...) supervenience implies explanatory reducibility and whether there can be irreducible higher-level explanations or even “emergent” higher-level properties. The paper finally discusses some further philosophical applications: to the free-will debate, the determinism-indeterminism distinction, indexicality and consciousness, and the relationship between positive and normative facts. (shrink)

En este artículo analizaré el modelo de emergencia propuesto por Maurizio Ferraris en 2016, investigando sus raíces teóricas en su doctrina de la huella (icnología). Después de una revisión dedicada al debate emergentista clásico y contemporáneo, mostraré que la noción de emergencia desarrollada por Ferraris es ontológica y diacrónica. Este emergentismo, que se basa en los conceptos de huella y registro, también se configura como un concepto clave dentro del pensamiento de Ferraris, ya que representa la piedra angular de una (...) visión de la realidad que podemos definir como textualismo metafísico y que se expresa por primera vez en el texto Emergenza de 2016. (shrink)

This book provides a comprehensive overview of my recent theoretical work that aims to explain some of the more puzzling properties of life and mind, in particular agency, goal-directedness and consciousness. It contains published papers as well as new material. Table of contents: Preface - PART I: GROUNDWORK - 1. Introduction - 2. The basic mechanism - 3. Inclusive and extensive fitness - 4. Components of F and X - 5. The consequences: a preview - PART II: LIFE - 6. (...) What qualifies as life? - 7. Biological meaning - 8. Biological functions - PART III: MIND - 9. Minimal agency, goal-directedness and value - 10. Intentionality and meaning - 11. Language - 12. Consciousness - 13. The human self - PART IV: PHILOSOPHY - 14. Strong emergence - 15. The real, the true and the good - 16. Philosophical problems of consciousness - Epilogue - Appendix A: Summaries of computational simulations - Appendix B: Examples of minimal intentionality - References. -/- . (shrink)

What marks emergence as a metaphysically interesting idea is that many macro-level entities and their properties are ontologically and causally autonomous in relation to the micro-level entities and properties they depend on---or so argues Jessica Wilson in Metaphysical Emergence (2021). To do so, she adopts a “metaphysically highly neutral” (p. 32) approach to questions about powers, causation, properties, and laws. That is, while explaining what emergence is and arguing that there is indeed emergence in the natural world, she doesn’t restrict (...) her analyses and arguments to any specific metaphysical accounts of these concepts, and she doesn’t commit to any controversial theses about them. In this article, I assess Wilson’s project against this methodological ideal of metaphysical neutrality. (shrink)

Strong emergentism is the position that certain higher-level properties display a kind of metaphysical autonomy from the lower-level properties in which they are grounded. The prospect of collapse is a problem for strong emergentism. According to those who press the collapse problem any purportedly strongly emergent feature inheres in the emergence base and so is not genuinely autonomous from that base. Umut Baysan and Jessica Wilson argue that power emergentism avoids the collapse problem. In this paper, I challenge the claim (...) that power emergentism avoids the collapse problem and argue for explanatory emergentism in its place. (shrink)

I define two metaphysical positions that anti-physicalists can take in response to Jonathan Schaffer’s ground functionalism. Ground functionalism is a version of physicalism where explanatory gaps are everywhere. If ground functionalism is true, arguments against physicalism based on the explanatory gap between the physical and experiential facts fail. In response, first, I argue that some anti-physicalists are already safe from Schaffer’s challenge. These anti-physicalists reject an underlying assumption of ground functionalism: the assumption that macrophysical entities are something over and above (...) the fundamental entities. I call their position “lightweight anti-physicalism.” Second, I go on to argue that even if anti-physicalists accept Schaffer’s underlying assumption, they can still argue that the consciousness explanatory gap is especially mysterious and thus requires a special explanation. I call the resulting position “heavyweight anti-physicalism.” In both cases, the consciousness explanatory gap is a good way to argue against physicalism. (shrink)

According to a number of approaches in theoretical physics, spacetime does not exist fundamentally. Rather, spacetime exists by depending on another, more fundamental, non-spatiotemporal structure. A prevalent opinion in the literature is that this dependence should not be analyzed in terms of composition. We should not say, that is, that spacetime depends on an ontology of non-spatiotemporal entities in virtue of having them as parts. But is that really right? On the contrary, we argue that a mereological approach to dependent (...) spacetime is not only viable, but promises to enhance our understanding of the physical situation. (shrink)

Examining AI spirituality can illuminate problematic assumptions about human spirituality and AI cognition, suggest possible directions for AI development, reduce uncertainty about future AI, and yield a methodological lens sufficient to investigate human-AI sociotechnical interaction and morality. Incompatible philosophical assumptions about human spirituality and AI limit investigations of both and suggest a vast gulf between them. An emergentist approach can replace dualist assumptions about human spirituality and identify emergent behavior in AI computation to overcome overly reductionist assumptions about computation. Using (...) general systems theory to organize models of human experience yields insight into human morality and spirituality, upon which AI modeling can also draw. In this context, the pragmatist Josiah Royce’s semiotic philosophy of spirituality identifies unanticipated overlap between symbolic AI and spirituality and suggests criteria for a human-AI community focused on modeling morality that would result in an emergent Interpreter-Spirit sufficient to influence the ongoing development of human and AI morality and spirituality. (shrink)

The existence and fundamentality of spacetime has been questioned in quantum gravity where spacetime is frequently described as emerging from a more fundamental non-spatiotemporal ontology. This is supposed to lead to various philosophical issues such as the problem of empirical coherence. Yet those issues assume beforehand that we actually understand and agree on the nature of spacetime. Reviewing popular conceptions of spacetime, we find that there is substantial disagreement on this matter, and little hope of resolving it. However, we argue (...) that this should not trouble us as these issues, which seem to suggest the need for an account of spacetime in quantum gravity, can be addressed without one. (shrink)

Several approaches to developing a theory of quantum gravity suggest that spacetime—as described by general relativity—is not fundamental. Instead, spacetime is supposed to be explained by reference to the relations between more fundamental entities, analogous to `atoms' of spacetime, which themselves are not (fully) spatiotemporal. Such a case may be understood as emergence of \textit{content}: a `hierarchical' case of emergence, where spacetime emerges at a `higher', or less-fundamental, level than its `lower-level' non-spatiotempral basis. But quantum gravity cosmology also presents us (...) with the possibility of emergence of \textit{context}: where spacetime emerges from some `prior' non-spatiotemporal state (replacing the Big Bang), due to particular conditions in the early universe. I present a general conception of emergence which is plausibly able to accommodate both pictures. This is a positive conception that does not rely on a failure of reduction or explanation in any sense (indeed, reduction is a necessary feature of quantum gravity, and is useful in understanding emergence in this case). I also consider the possibility that the distinction between content- and context- based explanations is blurred, or usefully `collapsed', in the case of spacetime emergence. (shrink)

Dans cet article, nous essayons de comprendre comment l’hyloréalisme scientifique de Bunge peut s’accommoder avec plusieurs objets de la chimie des cristaux et leurs propriétés. Nous montrons que plusieurs d’entre eux, constituant le cœur de la discipline, soutiennent l’émergentisme ontologique. Les unités de construction, comme les lacunes, leur potentiel chimique, le nombre quantique cristallographique et plusieurs aspects des propriétés spectroscopiques des électrons 4f dans les cristaux ioniques, sont présentés comme des exemples remarquables d’objets ou de propriétés émergents (ou submergents) rencontrés (...) dans l’état cristallin. Parmi tous les types d’unités de construction, nous montrons que les lacunes s’avèrent ontologiquement réelles et matérielles. (shrink)