1
Law of Scale-Specific Principles — No final theory can encompass all scales. Unification is possible only for genuinely scale-invariant structural constraints.
2
Formalization Laws — No single formalization captures all operationally relevant properties. Multiple representations are structural necessity.
3
Definition-Dependent Provability — Provability is a function of definitions adopted. Changing definitions changes the space of provable statements.
4
Law of Imperative Uncertainty — Any world containing autonomous agents necessarily contains irreducible uncertainty.
5
Law of Limit to Negation — Negation cannot negate itself without paradox. Destructive criticism taken to completion undermines its own foundation.
The Dynamical Core: Persistence and Viability
The Transformational Basis of Persistence proves that any system persisting in a changing environment must satisfy three conditions — the Persistence Triad:
Persistence = Closure ∩ Boundary Maintenance ∩ Resilience
The viability set V must be invariant, bounded, and recoverable
Universal Laws (Proven Independent and Complete)
Cooperation: Synergy is required — subsystems must produce joint states unavailable to each alone.
Viability: Non-empty viability set must be maintained at all times.
Interference: In multi-component systems, conflict is structurally inevitable.
Observability: Self-maintenance requires at least partial mutual observability.
Viability: Non-empty viability set must be maintained at all times.
Interference: In multi-component systems, conflict is structurally inevitable.
Observability: Self-maintenance requires at least partial mutual observability.
Constraint–Autonomy & Viability Mismatch
Constraints and autonomy are co-constitutive — maximizing either at the expense of the other causes collapse. Stress in any system is formalized as viability mismatch: demands exceeding the current viability set. Response is determined by resilience structure.
Architecture of the Unified Theory
Cognition as Structural Necessity
Structural Distortion Principle: Bounded systems must distort representations — cognitive biases are optimal solutions, not failures.
Predictive Processing is derived (not hypothesized) from energy, memory, and latency constraints as the only viable architecture.
Representational Isolation: Direct perception is proven formally impossible for complex systems.
Atemporal Memory: Time is reconstructed at retrieval, not encoded at storage — following from cyclical closure requirements.
Mental Disintegration: DSM-5-TR categories mapped onto dynamical pathologies: attractor loss (psychosis), bifurcation cascades (mood cycling), attractor trapping (compulsion).
Predictive Processing is derived (not hypothesized) from energy, memory, and latency constraints as the only viable architecture.
Representational Isolation: Direct perception is proven formally impossible for complex systems.
Atemporal Memory: Time is reconstructed at retrieval, not encoded at storage — following from cyclical closure requirements.
Mental Disintegration: DSM-5-TR categories mapped onto dynamical pathologies: attractor loss (psychosis), bifurcation cascades (mood cycling), attractor trapping (compulsion).
Cross-Domain Applications
Astrophysics: Binary star systems as persistence-selected outcomes; dormant neutron star population constraints; "Can a star be proven single?" as epistemic constraint case study.
Information & Entropy: Biospheric contribution to cosmic complexity; local entropy inversion in AI systems; Ledger Time Model connecting atemporality to physics.
AI & Civilization: The Inward Turn (Fermi Paradox); AI-extended communication norm shifts; Stimulus Problem in post-scarcity environments; inevitability of substrate-independent civilizations.
Information & Entropy: Biospheric contribution to cosmic complexity; local entropy inversion in AI systems; Ledger Time Model connecting atemporality to physics.
AI & Civilization: The Inward Turn (Fermi Paradox); AI-extended communication norm shifts; Stimulus Problem in post-scarcity environments; inevitability of substrate-independent civilizations.
Cross-Domain Structural Correspondences
| Principle | Bio | Cognitive | Social |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closure | Homeostasis | Attractors | Norms |
| Boundary | Membrane | Rep. isolation | Gatekeeping |
| Resilience | Immune sys. | Error corr. | Crisis mgmt |
| Cycl. Closure | Metabolism | Pred. loop | Recycling |
| Viab. Mismatch | Disease | Disintegr. | Collapse |
| Extr. Oscill. | Parasitism | Addiction | Exploitation |
| Pre-Int. Reject. | Antigen scr. | Belief filter | Vetting |
| Distortion | Sens. adapt. | Cog. bias | Propaganda |
Four Cognitive Strategies of Structural Inquiry
1. Substrate Abstraction — Prove (not assert) that cross-domain commonalities are mathematical, not metaphorical.
2. Constraint Derivation — Derive system features from constraints any system of the class must satisfy.
3. Recursive Self-Application — The theory applies to itself: its own partiality, distortions, and boundaries are predicted by its own laws.
4. Boundary Recognition — Every result is accompanied by explicit scope limitations, as the formalization laws require.
2. Constraint Derivation — Derive system features from constraints any system of the class must satisfy.
3. Recursive Self-Application — The theory applies to itself: its own partiality, distortions, and boundaries are predicted by its own laws.
4. Boundary Recognition — Every result is accompanied by explicit scope limitations, as the formalization laws require.
Differentiation → Coherence → Actualization
Differentiation is the ontological condition of actualization: no distinctions → no structure → no existence. Optimal Coherence is the complementary principle: maximal actualization when all differentiations support each other. This is the ur-concept from which all others derive.