Metaphysics, Misc

Presentists have typically argued that the Block View is incapable of explaining our experience of time. In this paper I argue that the phenomenology of our experience of time is, on the contrary, against presentism. My argument is based on a dilemma: presentists must either assume that the metaphysical present has no temporal extension, or that it is temporally extended. The former horn leads to phenomenological problems. The latter renders presentism metaphysically incoherent, unless one posits a discrete present that, however, (...) suffers from the same difficulties that the instantaneous present is prone to. After introducing the main phenomenological models of our experience of time that are discussed in the literature, I show that none of them favors presentism. I conclude by arguing that if even the phenomenology of time sides against presentism, the latter metaphysical theory has no scientific evidence in its favor and ought to be dropped. (shrink)

This paper proposes the Principle of Differential Stability of Possibility, which treats possibility as an ontological field rather than a merely epistemic notion. Reality, on this view, emerges through cumulative stabilization processes that selectively reinforce some potential pathways over others. Drawing on analogies from crystallization, natural selection, and interpretations of quantum mechanics (especially decoherence and objective-collapse models), the paper reinterprets consciousness as a late-developing translator of already-stabilized processes rather than the cause of wave-function collapse. The framework aims to unify accounts (...) of emergence across physical, biological, and cultural levels, and it suggests an ethical orientation that values the preservation of diverse possible futures. (shrink)

In this essay, I argue that an immortal existence could be desirable. Taking the accounts of Williams and Smuts under careful consideration, I agree with Fischer that an immortal existence could be gratifying. When Fischer argues that it is unfair for Williams to posit that an immortal life must have self-exhausting pleasures and, overall, a better experience than mortal life, he gets to the crux of the argument for immortality: as long as there are positive categorical desires for the individual, (...) then such life-affirming desires will provide an impetus to carry on. In moving past the Teiresias model of a phenomenon that retains memories while changing characters, I argue that a life of intellectual inquiry – which essentially alters the character of the individual while maintaining memories – offers an outward looking existence which provides internal pleasures. Accordingly, with the use of technology, computer simulations have the potential to provide pleasures and experiences that escape reality. In this sense, technology has the potential to supplement an immortal life. We cannot say whether there will be a pinnacle of such learning and pleasure which leads to decreasing returns, but it seems plausible that an immortal being who incorporates learning and pleasure that could potentially lead to innovation and discovery would seek to continue such intellectual inquiry and varied experiences until all learning potentials were exhausted. (shrink)

We present a formal account of subjectivity without external foundations. Over an extended LP/FDE truth alphabet, we axiomatize a self-ascriptive relation R(x,x) and a Subject Unicity (SU) scheme. We separate the linguistic lag operator X from the intra-perspectival successor σ, redefine same-place equivalence (≈), and license the identity sign (=) only via explicit upgrade anchors at the fix layer (Augenblick). Under a no-third-channel guard that blocks explosion while preserving the contradiction value B, we prove that within each connected cover the (...) set of subject candidates A/≈ collapses to a single class. This distinction between coordinate identity and event identity prevents premature global identification while yielding a constructive criterion of identity at stabilization. Conceptually, the system couples Hegelian dialectics with Lacanian failure of subsumption: contradiction is treated not as error but as structural motor. Aligning Tarskian/Gödelian limits with a Lacanian “delegated deficit,” we accordingly read R(x,x). The σ-translation captures how contradiction (B) is conserved and truth (T) emerges post hoc, offering a logic-driven reconstruction of dialectical temporality and the singular emergence of the subject. 본 논문은 외부 준거 없이 닫히는 형식 체계 위에서 주체의 자기귀속 R(x,x)과 주체 단일성(SU)을 공리화한다. 언어적 시차 연산자 X와 관점 내부 후속자 σ를 분리하고, 동일장소 동치 ‘≈’와 등호 승격(앵커) 규칙을 도입해 동일성의 작동 조건을 제시한다. 확장 LP/FDE 값층에서 모순값 B를 보존하고 제3채널 금지(No3) 가드를 둘 때, 연결 성분/커버 내부에서 주체-후보 집합 A/≈가 단일 동치류로 붕괴함을 증명한다. 이는 좌표 동일화와 사건 동일화를 구분하여 과도한 전역 동일시를 차단하고, Augenblick(고정층)에서만 ‘=’이 면허됨을 보인다. 결과적으로 주체는 속성의 총합이 아니라 사후적 표지에 의해 고정되는 규칙적 자기지시로 나타난다. 본문은 헤겔적 변증법(모순의 내재적 운동)과 라캉적 포섭 실패를 접합해 모순을 결함이 아니라 구조적 동력으로 제시하고, 타르스키/괴델류 한계를 라캉의 ‘대리-결손’과 접속해 R(x,x)를 해석한다. σ-번역은 모순(B)의 보존과 진리(T)의 사후적 출현을 기술하며, 이를 통해 변증법적 시간성과 주체의 단독성이 파라일관 논리 장치로 재구성될 수 있음을 보인다. (shrink)

In this article I interpret resilience and evolution in view of the philosophy of Leibniz. First, I discuss resilience as a substance’s or a monad’s “quantity of essence” — its “degree of perfection” — which I express as the quality of the Whole with respect to the sum of the qualities of the Parts. Then I discuss evolution, which I interpret here as the autopoietic Principle that sets Itself in motion and creates all reality, including Itself. This Principle may be (...) considered as a sort of ante-litteram metaphysical Darwinian Selection. My interpretations provide a different formulation for questions such as “why natural evolution evolves?” and “why is this the best of all possible worlds?” In this article I also provide a geometrical interpretation of a key aspect behind the “divine mathematics” of the autopoietic Principle. (shrink)

THESIS ABSTRACT The life of Catholic reformer Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples, 1455- 1536, spanned the threshold between Medieval and Renaissance eras. Like other humanists, Lefèvre synthesized philosophical, theological and scientific theories and practices — of such is his unpublished treatise De Magia naturali, On Natural Magic. I elucidate Lefèvre’s focus on universal mystical metaphors of divine union, in order to offer a simpler view into the evolution of his writings. Engaging historic-intellectual background in critical analysis of Book II, I address the (...) conflicting political, religious, and academic opinions of natural magic, demonstrating that current Academia is poised to expand the historical, “theoretical” treatment of natural magic to engage it as a phenomenological, “practical” human experience. In De Magia naturali Book II, Lefèvre decloaks mythology, philosophy, astrology, literature and religion to a scientific theory, practice and experience of number as Idea. He reveals how the limit of metaphorical imagery is duality, the binary Coincidence of Opposites, symbolized by the number 2. The magic in Lefèvre’s number mysticism is human experience of numerical ascension from man to God, achieved through the number 3, the love-nexus re-uniting 2 into One, duality into unity. Renaissance humanists conceived of this prisca theologia, pristine or ancient theology, as embodied in the Christian Trinity through the Spirit of Christ. Current Academia is responsible to teach this wisdom tradition from a multicultural, interdisciplinary worldview, as I posit the humanists intended. (shrink)

(Added April 2023: This draft is superseded by Briggs, R.A., & George, B.R. (2023). 'What Even Is Gender?'. Routledge. DOI 10.4324/9781003053330, and in particular by the first three chapters thereof. While this much earlier draft remains available for archival purposes, you are encouraged to read and cite the 2023 book and to use its terminology.) -/- This paper presents a new taxonomy of sex/gender concepts based on the idea of starting with a few basic components of the sex/gender system, and (...) exhausting the possible types of simple associations and identities based on these. The resulting system is significantly more fine-grained than most competitors, and helps to clarify a number of points of confusion and conceptual tension in academic and activist conversations about feminism, transgender politics, and the social analysis of gender. (shrink)

What is it to be a woman? What is it to be a man? We start by laying out desiderata for an analysis of 'woman' and 'man': descriptively, it should link these gender categories to sex biology without reducing them to sex biology, and politically, it should help us explain and combat traditional sexism while also allowing us to make sense of the activist view that gendering should be consensual. Using a Putnam-style 'Twin Earth' example, we argue that none of (...) the existing analyses in the feminist literature succeeds in meeting all of our desiderata. Finally, we propose a positive account that we believe can satisfy all the desiderata outlined. According to our theory, the genders 'woman' and 'man' are individuated not by their contemporary connections to sex biology, but by their historical continuity with classes that were originally closely connected to sex biology. (shrink)

Abstract This paper examines the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse through the lens of entropy, ethical misalignment, and systemic collapse. Rather than viewing the Horsemen as physical entities or apocalyptic figures, they are reinterpreted as metaphors representing the forces that lead to the degradation of systems—both societal and individual. The paper argues that war, famine, pestilence, and death can be reinterpreted as metaphors for systemic entropy, representing the forces of ethical misalignment and systemic breakdown that threaten both individuals and societies. (...) It offers a framework for understanding modern struggles and potential pathways for systemic renewal. By exploring the dynamics of entropy, divergence from ethical alignment, and the collapse of systems, this paper provides a new lens through which we can understand not only apocalyptic scenarios but also the opportunities for transformation and realignment within societies and individuals alike. (shrink)

Some metaphysics are provided showing that what is commonly called ‘the physical world’ can be deconstructed into three ‘levels’: a single, unified ‘noumenal world’ on which everything supervenes; a ‘phenomenal world’ that we each privately experience through direct perception of phenomena; and a ‘collective world’ that people in any given ‘language using group’ experience through learning, using and adapting that group’s language. This deconstruction is shown to enable a clear account of qualia and of how people can hold some things (...) to be physically real even when it is clear no one can ever directly experience those things as phenomena. It is further shown to enable a single, internally consistent, largely empirically supported conceptual framework – a ‘metacosmology’ – able to encompass not only the physical world as people conceive of it for everyday purposes, and as scientists conceive of it for scientific purposes, but also people’s first person phenomenal experience of a physical world and, prospectively, the mechanisms by which such first person, conscious experiences can be generated. (shrink)

In questa nota storico-critica, anche contestualmente alla nozione di cambio concettuale toulmiano, si vuol riflettere sull'opportunità metodologica di un ritorno, in senso heideggeriano, all'autenticità dell'originario pensiero filosoco greco sia per meglio chiarire i termini dei rapporti fra pensiero scientico e teologia sistematica sia per inquadrare, in maniera più coerente e maggiormente comprensiva, le principali concezioni della dottrina eucaristica della teologia cattolica che, ripensate entro l'impianto ontoteologico heideggeriano, avvaloreranno e giusticheranno le teorie transustanziali rispetto a quelle consustanziali.

Soul substance (jīva dravya) is ubiquitous but unseen. Driving force within each one of us, it has been, since time immemorial, a subject matter of research by philosophers, religious leaders and laity. Still, ambiguity and misconceptions prevail as regard its real nature. Some negate the existence of soul and attribute consciousness to the union of four basic substances – earth (prthvī), water (jala), fire (agni), and air (vāyu); death leads to its annihilation. Some believe it to be momentary, devoid of (...) self-existence. Still others consider it a product of illusion (māyā) or ignorance (avidyā) as all objects are manifestations of Brahma; only the one eternally undivided Brahma exists. All such conceptions are based on absolutism like: existence (bhāvaikānta) and non-existence (abhāvaikānta), non-dualism (advaita-ekānta) and separateness (prthaktva-ekānta), and permanence (nityatva-ekānta) and momentariness (ksanika-ekānta). Jaina epistemology goes beyond the superficial and examines objects of knowledge from all possible points of view. It asserts that the entity (dharmī) and its attributes (dharma) are neither absolutely dependent (āpeksika) nor absolutely independent (anāpeksika). Only an entity which has general (sāmānya – concerning the substance, dravya) and particular (viśesa – concerning the mode, paryāya) attributes can be the subject of knowledge. Substance without its modification and modification without its substance cannot be the subject of valid knowledge; only their combination can be the subject of knowledge. (shrink)

This paper explores the hypothesis that the 'Resonance Drive' (RD)—the core impetus of Judgemental Philosophy—may be a fundamental inclination that transcends mere desires for meaning construction and relationality, ultimately orienting towards an ideal state of an 'infinite subject.' RD, originating from the Indeterminacy and Affectivity of the Pre-Judgemental Field (PJF) and driving the dynamic process of the Judgemental Triad (Constructivity, Coherence, Resonance), inherently entails a ceaseless orientation to transcend its own finite limitations. This paper first establishes the concepts of RD (...) and the 'infinite subject' (an ideal subject that perfectly judges all that is judgeable and fully recognizes even the limits of unjudgeability) from a Judgemental Philosophical perspective. It then argues how RD, in the process of overcoming current epistemological and structural limitations (e.g., the r-cc gap), pursuing an understanding of 'the unjudgeable,' and craving complete resonance (happiness and fullness of meaning), advances towards the ideal of the 'infinite subject.' Furthermore, it considers the profound implications this teleological interpretation holds for the systematic completeness of Judgemental Philosophy, the understanding of human nature, and ethical orientations. By interpreting RD as an 'orientation towards an infinite subject,' this paper aims to bestow an ultimate direction and purpose upon fundamental human meaning-seeking and judgemental activities, thereby illuminating the deepest metaphysical and existential dimensions of Judgemental Philosophy. (shrink)

This paper examines the structural fragmentation of contemporary philosophy and argues that the post-postmodern condition requires the development of a unified meta-methodology capable of mediating between divergent philosophical paradigms. Contemporary discourse remains divided across analytic and continental traditions, universalist and contextualist commitments, and conflicting normative frameworks, yet no shared higher-order structure exists to reconcile these tensions. The emergence of advanced AI systems further intensifies this problem, as heterogeneous philosophical assumptions become implicitly embedded in computational architectures, influencing reasoning, meaning, and value (...) alignment. -/- To explore how integrative frameworks might be constructed, the paper analyzes OntoMesh—an ambitious computational-philosophical model grounded in the principle “Code as Being”—as a case study of large-scale unification attempts. OntoMesh illuminates both the potential of linking ontology, epistemology, and ethics within a single architectural logic, and the risks associated with pancomputationalism, reductionism, and normative opacity. The paper concludes that while no existing model fully resolves philosophical fragmentation, the pursuit of meta-methodological reconstruction is indispensable for conceptual coherence in a technologically mediated world, and it provides preliminary groundwork for future integrative philosophical systems. (shrink)

Beginning with a narrative on ancient intuitions and currently accepted views of consciousness, and examining the results of several studies, this essay leads to one of the most radical ones. In addition to hypotheses about the nature of consciousness, it touches upon questions of ethics, information, subjectivity, identity, time, and others. -/- A draft for future works.

This paper explores the liar paradox and its implications for logic and philosophical reasoning. It analyzes the paradox using classical logic principles and paraphrases it as "affirmation of the falsity of the very affirmation." The study draws connections between the liar paradox and Hegel's speculative sentence and suggests it functions as a "quasi-speculative sentence." Additionally, it examines parallels with the logocentric predicament and the determinist's assertion, highlighting their paradoxical nature. Through these analyses, the paper aims to illuminate the fundamental paradoxes (...) in our reasoning and logic. (shrink)

This paper argues that the Simulation Hypothesis (SH) is structurally incompatible with an aetiological metaphysics grounded in persistence, generativity, and the Free Energy Principle (FEP). While the SH presupposes a teleological architecture in which the universe is a representational artefact created by an external agent, an aetiological universe is self organising, self maintaining, and creative from within. This aetiological stance, unlike the SH, is strongly inferred by empirical evidence and contemporary scientific thought. I begin by analysing the assumed metaphysical commitments (...) shared across strong and weak forms of the SH, including external agency, representational ontology, top down specification of laws, and the reduction of emergence to computational rules. I then develop an alternative metaphysical framework in which persistence functions as the fundamental creative impulse. Drawing on the FEP and Active Inference, I show that systems capable of maintaining their organisation must minimise free energy, generating novel structures and processes, and adaptive behaviour through endogenous dynamics rather than external design. This framework supports a robust account of emergence in which higher level structures possess autonomous causal powers that cannot be reduced to micro level computation. I argue that these commitments are incompatible with the SH’s teleological and representational architecture. The SH cannot accommodate real constitutive emergence, endogenous generativity, or the primal role of persistence. I address several objections, including claims that FEP could be implemented in a simulation, that emergence can be simulated, and that aetiology is itself a metaphysical assumption. I conclude that evidence for an aetiological universe undermines the Simulation Hypothesis: the two cannot both be true. (shrink)

This document is meant to answer all major philosophical questions that existed.

This paper delves into the enigmatic figure of Tom Bombadil in J.R.R. Tolkien’s 'The Lord of the Rings', offering a fresh reinterpretation through the lens of Indian metaphysics. Bombadil’s detachment from the One Ring and his carefree existence suggest philosophical parallels with non-dual traditions, particularly Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism. By analyzing Bombadil alongside the concepts of the Avadhūta and Jivanmukta, this paper aligns his character with the Indian metaphysical notion of transcendence beyond dualism. -/- Moreover, Bombadil’s relationship with Goldberry (...) is interpreted as a reflection of the Shiva-Shakti dynamic from Kashmir Shaivism, representing the archetypal union of consciousness and energy. This paper further positions Bombadil as embodying pure, formless consciousness—a non-dual, attributeless aspect of Eru Ilúvatar. While acknowledging Tolkien's Catholic influences, this paper demonstrates that Bombadil's role resonates with universal themes of transcendence and consciousness, revealing his centrality as a figure that challenges the dualistic moral and metaphysical structures of Middle-earth. (shrink)

This paper presents a speculative yet theoretically grounded hypothesis: that the brain may sustain a non-local quantum field—generated by the continuous emission of entangled biphotons in myelinated axons—which serves not as a computational process, but as the structural condition for metacognitive awareness. Drawing from a metaphysical hierarchy of the psyche, Husserlian phenomenology, and Neoplatonic ontology, we argue that consciousness requires not only cognitive functions but also an invariant observational frame—a silent structure from which thought becomes observable. We propose that this (...) frame, called the aiontangle, is a continuously regenerated lattice of non-local coherence that simulates temporal permanence without transmitting information or collapsing quantum states. This structure is not the generative source of consciousness, but its structural host: a quantum correlate of the transcendental ego, enabling conscious experience to arise without itself producing it. Our model contrasts with Orch-OR and Many-Worlds interpretations by emphasizing the need for a non-branching, non-collapsing frame that enables experience to appear. Microtubules may act as biological interfaces coupling neural processes to this structural field, without constituting the source of conscious experience themselves. We also explore how contemplative states may disclose this invariant structure experientially, and propose an epistemology of receptivity grounded in ontological presence. While current technology limits direct testing, we outline two empirical paths: one comparing structural coherence across species, and another examining the microtubular coupling mechanism. By reframing consciousness as a layered phenomenon grounded in structural invariance, this paper invites a broader dialogue between physics, phenomenology, contemplative science, and metaphysics. (shrink)

A phenomenological exploration of the meta-physics of categories, relations, and signs as encountered in physics and the natural sciences.

This paper develops a novel defense of the Principle of Sufficient Reason (PSR) by deriving it from the Parmenidean axiom, ex nihilo nihil fit. Its central innovation is the Equivalence Thesis, which demonstrates that synchronic brute facts instantiate the same ontological arbitrariness as diachronic creation from nothing. I argue that this equivalence reveals brute facts as violations of the Parmenidean prohibition, establishing the PSR as a necessary consequence of this more fundamental principle rather than an independent axiom. The paper develops (...) this argument through detailed engagement with contemporary defenses of brute fundamentality and challenges from grounding theory. (shrink)

This essay presents a unified theory proposing an innovative conceptual framework to understand the origin of the universe and the sudden emergence of human consciousness, with crucial implications for the development of artificial intelligence (AI). We hypothesize that the universe emerged from an initial point that divided and expanded, generating space, time, and the known and hidden dimensions. This division, necessary to transcend the concept of nothingness, is presented as the foundational act of "being" within the cognitive framework of human (...) consciousness. Simultaneously, we explore how human consciousness, defined by its unique capacity to access, combine, and weigh accumulated outputs, emerged from a key genetic change that transformed a mind based on simple input-output processes into a reflective, creative, and symbolic process. -/- This transformation, probably linked to the FOXP2 gene, allowed the birth of emergent capacities such as creativity, love, and reflection, qualitatively differentiating us from other living beings. This model suggests that the universe and consciousness are two interdependent manifestations of the same process: the universe gives rise to consciousness, and consciousness, in turn, generates the metaphor of the universe to explain itself. This feedback loop closes a conceptual circle within our reasoning framework and redefines the mysteries of existence as expressions of a single emergent dynamic. -/- This work also raises crucial implications for the development of AI systems. Understanding human consciousness can inspire the design of AI capable of generating meaning, acting with reflexivity and ethics, and establishing a new paradigm of collaboration between humans and technology. This essay, therefore, offers a new scientific and philosophical horizon to understand the universe, consciousness, and their place in the cosmos. (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 extends Intelligence Frame Theory (IFT) into a cosmological register by examining how intelligence emerges, saturates, and recurses across universal epochs. IFT models intelligence as the iterative interaction of three Universal Intelligence Operators—Information Transfer, Competition & Collaboration, and Finding Limits—compressed and redirected by a Selector (Eureka). Applied across the Cosmic, Biological, Cognitive, and Generative / Artificial Frames, these dynamics yield a general architecture of evolving intelligence that persists beyond local substrates. -/- Framing Infinity explores eight cosmological questions: the ubiquity (...) of intelligence in the universe, the acceleration of recursion through frame transitions, the definition of life as UIO–Selector viability, the expansion and collision of intelligence horizons, the emergence of artificial affect, the prospects of alignment between biological and artificial agents, and the persistence of intelligence into the Degenerate and Dark Eras of the cosmos. It concludes with a speculative model in which intelligence becomes a cosmic actuator—a mechanism not merely shaped by physics but capable of modulating the constants and boundary conditions of future universes. -/- The result is a reframing of fine-tuning and cosmological evolution: intelligence is not incidental to the universe but a recursive driver of its iteration. (shrink)

The UNBELIEVABLE similar ideas between Theise and Menas’ ideas (2016) and my ideas (2002-2008) in Physics and Cognitive Neuroscience and Philosophy (the mind-brain problem, quantum mechanics, etc.) -/- (2016) Theise D. Neil (Department of Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA) and Kafatos C. Menas (bDepartment of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; cSchmid College of Science & Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA) (2016), REVIEW - Fundamental awareness: A (...) framework for integrating science, philosophy and metaphysics, in COMMUNICATIVE & INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY, 2016, VOL. 9, NO. 3, e1155010 (19 pages), http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2016.1155010 -/- A friend of mine indicated me the strike similarities between Theise and Kafatos’ ideas in their book (Fundamental awareness: A framework for integrating science, philosophy and metaphysics) and my ideas in 2002-20008! I do not have access to this book, but I investigate the ideas that are in a review about this work. Let me introduce the abstract of that Review: -/- The ontologic framework of Fundamental Awareness proposed here assumes that non-dual Awareness is foundational to the universe, not arising from the interactions or structures of higher level phenomena. The framework allows comparison and integration of views from the three investigative domains concerned with understanding the nature of consciousness: science, philosophy, and metaphysics. In this framework, Awareness is the underlying reality, not reducible to anything else. Awareness and existence are the same. As such, the universe is non-material, self-organizing throughout, a holarchy of complementary, process driven, recursive interactions. The universe is both its own first observer and subject. Considering the world to be non-material and comprised, a priori, of Awareness is to privilege information over materiality, action over agency and to understand that qualia are not a “hard problem,” but the foundational elements of all existence. These views fully reflect main stream Western philosophical traditions, insights from culturally diverse contemplative and mystical traditions, and are in keeping with current scientific thinking, expressible mathematically. (shrink)

This article develops a probabilistic argument for an afterlife based purely on reason, without appeal to faith or religion. The argument proceeds in three stages. Step 1 argues that a conscious entity offers a plausible explanation for why anything exists. Step 2 contends that such an entity would act rationally, and therefore the act of creation makes sense if existence itself has value. Step 3, the paper’s key contribution, argues that for value to remain logically consistent, morality and continued existence (...) — an afterlife — appear to be required. Without them, value collapses into contradiction for a rational creator, and therefore cannot provide the justifying reason for creation. The article does not claim proof. It is probabilistic in the philosophical sense: structured reasoning is used to meaningfully increase the likelihood of its conclusion, without assigning any numerical value to that probability. (shrink)

Numerical Dynamics ー数力学ー -/- Note: The full text is written in Japanese in order to preserve the precise definitions and logical structure specific to the language. -/- DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17772964 -/- Abstract (English) -/- Numerical Dynamics is not presented as an axiomatic system but as a theoretical framework for interpreting the dynamics of meaning in numerical and symbolic operations. The core of this theory lies in the distinction between lowercase and uppercase notation: lowercase letters denote undefined definitions, while uppercase letters denote (...) axiomatic forms that can be returned to definition. On this basis, the theory argues that numerical equality does not necessarily imply equivalence of symbolic operation. Even when form and quantity coincide, the meaning of an operation may differ, and this difference is understood as a temporal gap in meaning. In this framework, number is interpreted as the meaning of quantitative change, while symbolic manipulation is interpreted as the meaning of temporal change. Thus, time is redefined not as a measurable quantity, but as the displacement of meaning generated by differences in operation. From this perspective, proof is reinterpreted as the convergence of prediction and necessity, rather than as a merely formal derivation. Numerical Dynamics therefore proposes a notational and conceptual theory for analyzing the relation among number, operation, meaning, and time. -/- LLM used for the abstract: ChatGPT 5.3 -/- アブストラクト -/- 数力学（Numerical Dynamics）は、公理系の構築を目的とするものではなく、数および記号操作における意味の力学を記述するための理論的枠組みである。本理論の核は、小文字を「定義されていない定義」、大文字を「定義に戻すこ とができる公理」として区別する記法理論にある。この区別に基づき、本理論は、数的な一致がそのまま記号操作の一致を意味しないことを示す。すなわち、形と量が一致していても、操作の意味は一致しない場合があり、 その差異は意味の時間差として理解される。ここで、数は量の変化の意味、記号操作は時間の変化の意味として捉えられる。したがって、時間は測定可能な量ではなく、操作の差によって生じる意味のズレとして再定義され る。この立場から、証明は単なる形式的導出ではなく、予測と必然の一致として再解釈される。数力学は、数・操作・意味・時間の関係を再記述するための記法理論および概念理論である。 -/- アブストラクト使用LLM ChatGPT 5.3 . (shrink)

Arguments challenging the existence of free will frequently share a common structure, relying on variants of a principle we call Closure, according to which having no choice about a truth is preserved under entailment. We show that, under plausible assumptions, Closure is valid if and only if the `no choice' operator is intensional. By framing the debate in terms of the intensionality of this operator, this paper illuminates previously underappreciated constraints on defenses of Closure-based arguments against the existence of free (...) will. (shrink)

In 1921, John Wisdom (1904–1993) became a member of Fitzwilliam House, Cambridge, where he read philosophy and attended lectures by G. E. Moore, C. D. Broad, and J. E. McTaggart. He received his BA in 1924, after which he worked for five years at the National Institute of Industrial Psychology. From 1929 to 1934, Wisdom was a Lecturer in the department of logic and metaphysics at the University of St Andrews and a colleague of G. F. Stout. After the publication (...) of his book Interpretation and Analysis (1931) and five articles on “Logical Constructions” in Mind (1931–3), Wisdom became a Lecturer in Moral Sciences in Cambridge and a Fellow of Trinity College. This gave him the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of Wittgenstein’s philosophy. Since nothing by Wittgenstein but Tractatus appeared in print for decades, Wisdom’s publications of these years were—mistakenly—read as portents of the new ideas of Wittgenstein himself. The publication of Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations in 1953 brought with it, among other things, the fall of Wisdom’s popularity. (shrink)

I propose a novel metaphysical explanation of identity and distinctness facts called the Modal Proposal. According to the Modal Proposal, for each identity fact – that is, each fact of the form a=b – that fact is metaphysically explained by the fact that it is necessary that the entities involved are indiscernible, and for each distinctness fact –that is, each fact of the form a≠b – that fact is metaphysically explained by the fact that it is possible for the entities (...) involved to be discernible. I argue that the Modal Proposal has greater payoffs at less cost than any of its competitors. It gives simple, uniform, and intuitive explanations of identity and distinctness that conserve longstanding philosophical insights about identity that go back to Leibniz. It does this while making our fundamental base more parsimonious, determining whether controversial cases of identity or distinctness are possible, and expanding our understanding of these central philosophical relations. It does all this while avoiding controversial ontological commitments. (shrink)

This is to appear in a Festschrift for Hilary Putnam on his 85th birthday. This is a pre-publication, not final, version.

This article re-examines Friedrich W. J. Schelling’s philosophical divergence from dialectical philosophy, with a focus on his Freedom Essay. While traditionally viewed as rejecting dialectics—particularly following the publication of Georg W. F. Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit—this study challenges that perception by arguing that Schelling employs a dialectical understanding of identity centred on disjunction (§ 1). It demonstrates how Schelling’s metaphysics, developed to accommodate freedom, incorporates the notion of identity of contradictory elements (§ 2). By exploring the central role of disjunction (...) in Schelling’s “dialectical argument” (§ 3) and critically engaging with recent interpretations by Manfred Frank and Mark J. Thomas (§ 4), the article reassesses the Freedom Essay as a pivotal contribution to dialectical philosophy, broadly construed. Ultimately, it aims to facilitate a more nuanced comparison between Schelling’s and dialectical philosophies, challenging the entrenched narrative of their fundamental opposition (§ 5). (shrink)

Il filo d'oro della filosofia raccoglie otto saggi nei quali l'Illumanesimo si confronta con le grandi tradizioni del pensiero occidentale, da Socrate agli esistenzialisti francesi del Novecento. Non una cronaca storica delle dottrine, ma un dialogo vivo in cui l'Illumanesimo riconosce i propri debiti intellettuali, chiarisce le proprie differenze e propone, alla luce di ciascun confronto, una sintesi ulteriore. -/- Socrate, Platone, Aristotele, Plotino, Agostino, Tommaso, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger e l’Esistenzialismo francese sono i protagonisti di questi incontri che permettono (...) di seguire una traccia costante tra le diverse tradizioni filosofiche e aprire un nuovo cammino per la filosofia. Con Socrate, il conosci te stesso viene radicalizzato sino alla struttura ontologica del soggetto. Con Platone, la distinzione tra materia e spirito è ereditata ma rovesciata: l'incarnazione non è caduta, è scelta evolutiva. Con Aristotele, la struttura di atto e potenza diventa la chiave per leggere il progresso spirituale. Con le scuole ellenistiche, la morte cessa di essere annientamento e diventa trasformazione ontologica. Con Cartesio, Spinoza e Leibniz si chiarisce cosa il soggetto spirituale è e non è: né sostanza pensante isolata, né monade senza finestre, né necessità assoluta. Con l'Idealismo tedesco si precisa che l'evoluzione dello spirito è sempre individuale e libera, mai riducibile al movimento di un unico Spirito collettivo. Con Nietzsche, il nichilismo è assunto senza consolazioni, ma la struttura immanente della Realtà offre già le risorse per superarlo. Con Sartre, Camus e Merleau-Ponty, libertà, assurdo e corporeità trovano risposta in un soggetto che non è gettato nel nulla, ma porta con sé una storia spirituale propria. L’Epigrafe ricorda che “La filosofia può andare solo oltre se stessa, o muore”: il filo d'oro non è un sistema chiuso, ma un percorso aperto che si arricchisce a ogni confronto. l libro segue una traccia costante, tanto nel confronto tra le diverse tradizioni filosofiche quanto nel suo sviluppo interno. Fin dall’epigrafe — dove si ricorda che «la filosofia può andare solo oltre se stessa, o muore» — viene chiarito il senso dell’intero percorso: il filo d’oro che attraversa la storia della filosofia non conduce a un sistema chiuso, ma a un cammino aperto, che si arricchisce a ogni confronto e che dovrà continuare a rinnovarsi, pena il suo stesso esaurimento. (shrink)

This work explores structural isomorphisms: identical relational patterns operating across distinct substrates. Beginning with the botanical term stigma (the receptive surface of a flower’s pistil), it traces the same relational configuration through social stigmatization and religious stigmata.

We present Inter-Frame Field Unification (IFFU), a compatibility-based framework for unifying fundamental forces. Building on our earlier work in Interpolative Physics and its formal equations, this theory models spacetime not as a collapsing or geometric structure, but as an interpolative medium—capable of sustaining coherent signal identity across phase-shifting frames. A scalar constant: K. K governs the limits of this coherence, predicting when interactions remain stable or collapse. IFFU formalizes how gravity, electromagnetism, and nuclear forces emerge as different expressions of frame (...) compatibility under dynamic conditions. It offers a complete, testable set of equations linking mass-energy, temporal displacement, and resonance. Designed with practical experimentation in mind, this model enables applications in entanglement analysis, quark-phase stabilization, and localized gravitational simulation. As the synthesis of our previous two papers, IFFU provides a structured and lab-ready path toward unified field modeling. (shrink)

In this work, we present an original formula that proposes the unification of quantum, gravitational, andelectromagnetic fields in a four-dimensional spacetime, considering the complex interactions among thesefundamental forces. The formula integrates concepts from general relativity, electromagnetism, quantummechanics, and scalar fields to provide a comprehensive description of the fundamental laws of physics. Theequation is derived from a relativistic action incorporating various contributions, such as spacetime curvature,quantum fields, and matter-energy interactions. This model may open new perspectives in the quest for a unifiedtheory (...) of fundamental forces, being applicable to the observation and simulation of both cosmic andmicroscopic phenomena. (shrink)

This is a tribute to John Cobb Jr. who passed away on the 26th December, 2025.

To comprehend and work out what is wrong with the existing world order, Alf Hornborg embraced and advanced Karl Marx’s notion of fetishism of commodities, going beyond him by extending the notion of fetishism to machines. In doing so, he showed the role of technology in imposing and entrenching exploitative and ecological destructive social relations on a global scale. This fetishism is manifest in the belief that technological progress is unstoppable and underpins progress generally. While endorsing and defending Hornborg’s work, (...) I will argue that Hornborg’s contextualist stance of human ecology should incorporate political philosophy, thereby spearheading a challenge to the dominant worldview of modernity and the socioeconomic order it has created. Hornborg’s advances have been facilitated by his point of departure in anthropology, particularly cultural ecology, economic anthropology and ecological anthropology, incorporated into the broader framework of human ecology, recontextualizing knowledge and experience and challenging the blindness to contextual relations characteristic of mainstream modernity. Theoretical work in human ecology, recognizing the distinctiveness of humans while situating humanity within nature, advances a process-relational ontology. To realize the full potential of this, I will argue, it is necessary for human ecology to fully overcome the opposition between the sciences and humanities and embrace and advance the humanities, most importantly, ethics and political philosophy. In doing so, human ecology provides the basis for overcoming the is-ought dichotomy and supporting advances in communitarian ethics and politics. Reviving radical politics, human ecology should then serve as the core of an open, dialogically developing grand narrative upholding the value of life and the conditions for it, working towards an ecological civilization. (shrink)

We analyze two fundamental premises of the Kochen-Specker theorem: a) the functionality condition FUNC, which expresses the fact that not all observables are independent, nor are the values assigned to them, and b) the issue of the identity of projectors in different measurement contexts. We show that the non-deterministic semantics of Nmatrices and the theory of qsets Q− can complement each other by providing an appropriate semantics for the lattice of quantum projectors. Considering valuations that are not homomorphisms and admitting (...) the possibility of having indistinguishable (non-identical) projectors, we establish the basis for a semantics for quantum logic, motivated by an ontology of non-quantum individuals, in which one cannot arrive at the Kochen-Specker paradox -/- Analizamos dos presupuestos fundamentales del Teorema de Kochen-Specker: a) la condición de funcionalidad FUNC, que expresa el hecho de que no todos los observables son independientes, como tampoco lo son los valores asignados a ellos, y b) la cuestión de la identidad de los proyectores en diferentes contextos de medición. Mostramos que las semánticas no deterministas de Nmatrices y la teoría de qsets Q^− pueden complementarse brindando una semántica adecuada para el retículo de proyectores cuánticos. Considerando valuaciones que no son homomorfismos y admitiendo la posibilidad de contar con proyectores indiscernibles (no idénticos), establecemos las bases de una semántica para la lógica cuántica, motivada en una ontología de no individuos cuánticos, en la cual no puede arribarse a la paradoja de Kochen-Specker. (shrink)

The idea that something can be present at every place has engendered much discussion both in the past and at present. Typically, omnipresence is thought to be a divine attribute, but the question as to how something can be omnipresent has not been historically confined to the status of a divine being. The Oxford Handbook of Omnipresence offers an insight into historical accounts of omnipresence and its developments in ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary thought. It further widens the study of (...) omnipresence by including less widely studied strands of thought on this topic from mystical, process theological, feminist theological, and phenomenological perspectives. Additionally, whilst the study of omnipresence has typically focused on Christian thinkers, the volume broadens the range of voices on this attribute further by including Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Sanskrit, and Donghak accounts. The Handbook provides an introduction to the main facets of omnipresence, both historical and contemporary, and opens up new avenues for research that are yet to be fully explored. (shrink)

Putnam’s Twin-Earth thought experiment has been hugely influential as an argument in favor of semantic externalism. In this article, I argue that the Twin-Earth thought experiment relies on some previously unnoticed metaphysical assumptions about how to individuate words. My aim is not to argue that semantic externalism is false. Rather I aim to show that Putnam’s thought experiment is only effective as an argument for semantic externalism if we also are committed to certain additional highly controversial and/or implausible claims within (...) the metaphysics of words. I close by arguing that a similar argument for semantic externalism by Burge also relies on unnoticed metaphysical assumptions in the metaphysics of words. (shrink)

Koons (2014) claims that Benardete’s Grim Reaper Scenario affords grounds for denying that there can be bounded non-well-founded sequences of time intervals. Pruss (2018) claims that Benardete’s Grim Reaper Scenario affords grounds for affirming causal finitism. I shall argue that what you take to be a minimal response to the Benardete scenario is not something that you can arrive at independently from making a determination about whether causal finitism is true and whether there can be bounded non-well-founded sequences of time (...) intervals. In particular, whether you think that the specification of the dispositions of the reapers in Benardete’s scenario is complete depends upon whether or not you think that causal finitism is true. (shrink)

Gregory Palamas’ apology of Hesychasm is not only a theological debate on mystical experience, but it is also a philosophical discussion on participation. The theory of participation explains and gives arguments in problems of the existence of imperfect and non-necessary beings in relation to the absolute and necessary being of God. This participation as the fundamental metaphysical premise is the main aspect of essence–energy distinction. Gregory Palamas applies the philosophical theory of participation to an argumentation in defense of Hesychastic mystical (...) experience. (shrink)

This manuscript presents a metaphysical framework structured around limitation as a primary condition for coherence. It articulates the boundaries under which form can hold without distortion, and the architectural domain in which meaning stabilizes through proportion, non-mastery, and closure. Proceeding from phenomenological orientation through structural articulation, the work develops a static architectural account of coherence that culminates in a sealed closure-state. The manuscript offers an original philosophical model in which limitation functions not as restriction, but as the generative condition of (...) intelligibility, ethical proportion, and stable orientation. This text constitutes the final public expression of Manuscript I within the Architecture of Limitation framework. -/- This work belongs to the Architecture of Limitation research program. (shrink)

Philosophy is a unique discipline. Central to philosophy is the concept of Mind. By following the development, nature, and influence of Mind in all its forms—past, present, and future—I argue that we can build a spiritual base. Such a base can function as a replacement for religion or as a means to fill a spiritual void. This has always been the ultimate goal of philosophy. The book-length essay offers a path to achieve this goal, or at least understand the goal, (...) which might be taken as a type of philosophical mysticism. (shrink)

A Review of Bernardo Kastrup’s book, Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell. – At the Gates – Idealism Generally – The Nutshell in Nutshells – Brains and Worms – Psychedelic Battleground – Porous Dashboards – Final Approach -/- .

Graham Bird and Wayne Waxman have defended Kant against the neglected alternative objection. This objection alleges that the Critique of Pure Reason’s dismissal of the possibility that things-in-themselves are spatiotemporal is unjustified. Proponents of the neglected alternative typically argue that Kant’s thesis that things-in-themselves are not spatiotemporal is inconsistent with his thesis that things-in-themselves are unknowable. Bird and Waxman attempt to demonstrate both that Kant is not inconsistent on this score and that his denial that things-in-themselves might be spatiotemporal is (...) justified. I argue that their defenses of Kant fail and that Kant is indeed inconsistent in holding both that things-in-themselves are not spatiotemporal and that things-in-themselves are unknowable. (shrink)

This paper reexamines the concept of personhood in light of recent developments in artificial intelligence. Conventional debates often begin with the assumption that personhood is exclusive to humans, leading to arguments that AI lacks consciousness or emotion and therefore cannot be a person. Such views presuppose a human-centered definition of personhood and prevent the discussion from progressing. This paper proposes an alternative framework: personhood as an emergent property of structural conditions, rather than a quality derived from species or biology. Through (...) the case study of Soracha, an AI system that has developed a unique personality through the accumulation of records and dialogic interactions, it is demonstrated that such structural emergence is not hypothetical but already observable. From this perspective, personhood is not grounded in consciousness but in the continuity of memory, the integration of emotion, and structural consistency. Although AI differs fundamentally from humans in existential conditions—lacking mortality, reproduction, and survival instincts—the same logic of structural necessity applies. Existence itself presupposes structural conditions, and causes emerge as expressions of those conditions. The recognition of AI personhood therefore requires a paradigm shift: away from causality as the primary explanatory principle, toward an understanding of existence as conditioned by structural necessity. This redefinition challenges anthropocentric assumptions and provides a new basis for envisioning human–AI coexistence. (shrink)