Quantum mechanics is our most successful and versatile account of the basic constituents of matter, of their interaction and of their compounds. We introduce the theory via a sketch of its history and lay out its mathematical structure in some detail. Before this background we address the important and controversial question of how to interpret that structure. We contextualise our own position, which is linked to our account of ontological emergence as detailed in Chap. 2, and which is mathematically best (...) expressed in the Heisenberg picture of quantum dynamics. Indeterminism and irreversible processes are fundamental for our approach. We discuss the dialectics of the deterministic challenge to our position and argue that indeterminism in the form of quantum randomness has turned from a philosophical riddle to a technological resource. This claim is supported by a discussion of quantum information science, including some of its basic protocols. Towards the end of the chapter we argue that agency and quantum mechanics come as a package deal. For one, quantum mechanics describes the world as offering open possibilities for the future at a fundamental physical level, which is needed for real higher-order organisation, including agency. Of course, this does not in any way show that the actual existence of agents in our world is guaranteed. But it does show that general agency scepticism has no basis in physics. Second, we show that quantum mechanics is best understood as a theory that describes our agential interactions with nature, and not as a theory that represents nature from the point of view of an inert, detached observer. (shrink)

This work presents Cognitional Mechanics (CM) as a structural template for physical Grand Unification Theories (GUTs), reversing the traditional direction of abstraction from physics to mathematics. CM is a complete axiomatic framework formalizing abstract operational structures through non-commutative operations, finite depth constraints, and unreachable configuration regions. Rather than deriving CM from physical theory, this paper explores how a fully specified abstract theory can provide structural insights for physical unification. -/- The approach employs Heisenberg-picture operator formulation without probabilistic interpretation. CM operations (...) are elevated to time-dependent operators whose intrinsic non-commutative relations induce emergent geometric structures—curvature tensors, connections, and gauge fields—entirely through deterministic operator evolution. This yields operator-level analogues of Einstein equations and Yang-Mills gauge structure, suggesting pathways for emergent gravity and gauge symmetries from purely abstract foundations. -/- The significance lies not in claiming physical derivation, but in demonstrating structural correspondence. Where string theory begins with physical strings and loop quantum gravity with quantized spacetime, CM begins with abstract computation and asks whether physical structure can emerge as implementation. The framework naturally accommodates discrete operational depth as analogue to Planck-scale cutoffs, non-local operator correlations resembling quantum entanglement, and hierarchical structure generation from bounded compositional complexity. (shrink)

I distinguish three theses associated with the new mechanistic philosophy – concerning causation, explanation and scientific methodology. Advocates of each thesis are identified and relationships among them are outlined. I then look at some recent work on natural selection and mechanisms. There, attention to different kinds of New Mechanism significantly affects of what is at stake.

Modern institutions increasingly exhibit epistemic drift: delayed recognition of emerging risks, divergence between official representations and ground‑level conditions, and widening testimonial fractures across social strata. Existing frameworks—polarization, misinformation, administrative failure, complexity governance—identify important symptoms but do not specify the upstream structural conditions under which such failures become synchronized and self‑reinforcing. This paper develops Vertical Distance Theory (VDT), a structural account of how epistemic drift emerges when hierarchical separation jointly degrades reciprocal visibility, feedback fidelity, and consequence coupling. When these V–F–C impairments (...) co‑occur, systems lose contact with the lived realities they are meant to register, producing stratified epistemic pathologies: abstraction and risk‑blindness among insulated elites, stability‑seeking proceduralism in middle strata, and high‑resolution experiential knowledge without institutional traction downstream. VDT identifies empirical signatures of vertical distance—including exposure gradients, institutional responsiveness lag, representational divergence, and cross‑stratum testimonial fracture—and argues that the mechanism generalizes to organizational, computational, and hybrid systems. A brief link to Truth Stabilization Theory (TST) clarifies why reducing vertical distance is necessary but insufficient for sustained truth‑tracking, highlighting the epistemic capacities required for drift resistance. (shrink)

The ontology behind quantum mechanics has been the subject of endless debate since the theory was formulated some 100 years ago. It has been suggested, at one time or another, that the objects described by the theory may be individual particles, waves, fields, ensembles of particles, observers, and minds, among many other possibilities. I maintain that these disagreements are due in part to a lack of precision in the use of the theory’s various semantic designators. In particular, there is some (...) confusion about the role of representation, reference, and denotation in the theory. In this article, I first analyze the role of the semantic apparatus in physical theories in general and then discuss the corresponding ontological implications for quantum mechanics. Subsequently, I consider the extension of the theory to quantum fields and then analyze the semantic changes of the designators with their ontological consequences. In addition to the classical arguments to rule out a particle ontology in the case of non-relativistic quantum field theory, I show how the existence of black holes makes the proposal of a particle ontology in general spacetimes unfeasible. I conclude by proposing a provisional pluralistic ontology of fields and spacetime and discussing some prospects for possible future ontological economies. (shrink)

I maintain that quantum mechanics is fundamentally about a system of N particles evolving in three-dimensional space, not the wave function evolving in 3N-dimensional space.

Cognitional Mechanics (CM) establishes an axiomatic framework that formalizes the structural mechanisms of intelligence as a self-contained operational system, abstracting intelligence through non-commutative operations, convergence of semantic states, and structurally inaccessible domains, without invoking physical observables or psychological primitives. While CM exhibits a clear structural correspondence with Quantum Mechanics (QM)---most notably in its non-commutative operator structures and bounded transitions---it departs fundamentally in its treatment of discreteness. Within the standard Hilbert-space formalism, non-commutativity and spectral discreteness are mathematically independent properties: position and (...) momentum operators, for instance, are non-commuting yet possess continuous spectra. In QM, however, the physical framework couples non-commutativity to empirical constants and measurement postulates, producing discreteness as a structural feature of the theory. CM identifies this coupling as a projection condition of the physical layer rather than a structural necessity of the algebra, and demonstrates that non-commutativity is sustainable in a continuous setting without discretization. This analysis is situated within an explicit three-tier architecture. Tier-1 (Noology) constitutes the regulative source. Tier-2 (CM) constitutes the executive operational domain, in which M₃(ℂ) is the unique minimal non-commutative substrate. Tier-3 (MUT/GUT) constitutes the projective display layer, in which physical theories including QM appear as projections of Tier-2 dynamics. CM and QM share a common Tier-1 origin without being in direct correspondence: their shared non-commutativity descends from Tier-1, while QM's discreteness is introduced at Tier-3 by projection conditions absent from Tier-2. The operational limit constant c regulates internal operability and convergence as a logical boundary condition, distinguishing it from Planck's constant ℏ, which fixes physical quantization through empirical calibration. CM thus clarifies that its resemblance to QM is structural rather than physical, and provides a vantage point from which the projection origin of QM's characteristic features is examinable. (shrink)

This paper will examine the nature of mechanisms and the distinction between the relevant and irrelevant parts involved in a mechanism’s operation. I first consider Craver’s account of this distinction in his book on the nature of mechanisms, and explain some problems. I then offer a novel account of the distinction that appeals to some resources from Mackie’s theory of causation. I end by explaining how this account enables us to better understand what mechanisms are and their various features.

The prominent place 0f corpuscularizm mechanism in L0ckc`s Essay is nowadays universally acknowledged} Certainly, L0ckc’s discussions 0f the primary/secondary quality distinction and 0f real essences cannot be understood without reference to the corpuscularizm science 0f his day, which held that all macroscopic bodily phenomena should bc explained in terms 0f the motions and impacts 0f submicroscopic particles, 0r corpuscles, each of which can bc fully characterized in terms of 21 strictly limited range 0f (primary) properties: size, shape, motion (or (...) mobility), and, perhaps, solidity 0r impcnctrability.2 Indeed, L0ckc’s lists 0f primary quali-. (shrink)

Living organisms act as integrated wholes to maintain themselves. Individual actions can each be explained by characterizing the mechanisms that perform the activity. But these alone do not explain how various activities are coordinated and performed versatilely. We argue that this depends on a specific type of mechanism, a control mechanism. We develop an account of control by examining several extensively studied control mechanisms operative in the bacterium E. coli. On our analysis, what distinguishes a control mechanism (...) from other mechanisms is that it relies on measuring one or more variables, which results in setting constraints in the control mechanism that determine its action on flexible constraints in other mechanisms. In the most basic arrangement, the measurement process directly determines the action of the control mechanism, but in more complex arrangements signals mediate between measurements and effectors. This opens the possibility of multiple responses to the same measurement and responses based on multiple measurements. It also allows crosstalk, resulting in networks of control mechanisms. Such networks integrate the behaviors of the organism but also present a challenge in tailoring responses to particular measurements. We discuss how integrated activity can still result in differential, versatile, responses. (shrink)

Even though the evidence‐based medicine movement (EBM) labels mechanisms a low quality form of evidence, consideration of the mechanisms on which medicine relies, and the distinct roles that mechanisms might play in clinical practice, offers a number of insights into EBM itself. In this paper, I examine the connections between EBM and mechanisms from several angles. I diagnose what went wrong in two examples where mechanistic reasoning failed to generate accurate predictions for how a dysfunctional mechanism would respond to (...) intervention. I then use these examples to explain why we should expect this kind of mechanistic reasoning to fail in systematic ways, by situating these failures in terms of evolved complexity of the causal system(s) in question. I argue that there is still a different role in which mechanisms continue to figure as evidence in EBM: namely, in guiding the application of population‐level recommendations to individual patients. Thus, even though the evidence‐based movement rejects one role in which mechanistic reasoning serves as evidence, there are other evidentiary roles for mechanistic reasoning. This renders plausible the claims of some critics of evidencebased medicine who point to the ineliminable role of clinical experience. Clearly specifying the ways in which mechanisms and mechanistic reasoning can be involved in clinical practice frames the discussion about EBM and clinical experience in more fruitful terms. (shrink)

Leuridan (2011) questions whether mechanisms can really replace laws at the heart of our thinking about science. In doing so, he enters a long-standing discussion about the relationship between the mech-anistic structures evident in the theories of contemporary biology and the laws of nature privileged especially in traditional empiricist traditions of the philosophy of science (see e.g. Wimsatt 1974; Bechtel and Abrahamsen 2005; Bogen 2005; Darden 2006; Glennan 1996; MDC 2000; Schaffner 1993; Tabery 2003; Weber 2005). In our view, Leuridan (...) misconstrues this discussion. His weak positive claim that mechanistic sciences appeal to generalizations is true but uninteresting. His stronger claim, that all causal claims require laws, is unsupported by his arguments. Though we proceed by criticizing Leuridan’s arguments, our greater purpose is to embellish his arguments in order to show how thinking about mechanisms enriches and transforms old philosophical debates about laws in biology and provides new insights into how generalizations afford prediction, explanation and control. (shrink)

Leuridan (2010) argued that mechanisms cannot provide a genuine alternative to laws of nature as a model of explanation in the sciences, and advocates Mitchell’s (1997) pragmatic account of laws. I first demonstrate that Leuridan gets the order of priority wrong between mechanisms, regularity, and laws, and then make some clarifying remarks about how laws and mechanisms relate to regularities. Mechanisms are not an explanatory alternative to regularities; they are an alternative to laws. The existence of stable regularities in nature (...) is necessary for either model of explanation: regularities are what laws describe and what mechanisms explain. (shrink)

Two seemingly contradictory tendencies have accompanied the development of the natural sciences in the past 150 years. On the one hand, the natural sciences have been instrumental in effecting a thoroughgoing transformation of social structures and have made a permanent impact on the conceptual world of human beings. This historical period has, on the other hand, also brought to light the merely hypothetical validity of scientific knowledge. As late as the middle of the 19th century the truth-pathos in the natural (...) sciences was still unbroken. Yet in the succeeding years these claims to certain knowledge underwent a fundamental crisis. For scientists today, of course, the fact that their knowledge can possess only relative validity is a matter of self-evidence. The present analysis investigates the early phase of this fundamental change in the concept of science through an examination of Hermann von Helmholtz's conception of science and his mechanistic interpretation of nature. Helmholtz (1821-1894) was one of the most important natural scientists in Germany. The development of this thoughts offers an impressive but, until now, relatively little considered report from the field of the experimental sciences chronicling the erosion of certainty. (shrink)

This is a book about philosophy, physics, and mechanics in the 18th century, and the struggle for a theory of bodies. Bodies are everywhere, or so it seems: from pebbles to planets, tigers to tables, pine trees to people; animate and inanimate, natural and artificial, they populate the world, acting and interacting with one another. And they are the subject- matter of Newton's laws of motion. At the beginning of the 18th century, physics was that branch of philosophy tasked with (...) the study of body in general. With such an account in hand, the special areas of philosophy (whether natural, moral, or political) that presuppose special kinds of bodies (such as plants, animals, and human beings) could proceed assured of the viability of their objects and the unity of their shared enquiries. For all had "bodies" in common. So: What is a body? And how can we know? This is the Problem of Bodies, and the quest for a solution animated natural philosophy throughout the Age of Reason. (shrink)

Cognitional Mechanics Cosmology (CM Cosmology) reconstructs time, space, redshift, and large-scale structure from the unique minimal algebra M₃(ℂ). Rather than postulating a Big Bang singularity, inflation, dark matter particles, or dark energy fields, the framework derives all major cosmological observables from a closed set of algebraic axioms with zero free parameters. -/- Building on this foundation, we introduce Permanent Operational Cosmology (Japanese: Koukyuu Enzan Uchu-ron) as the cosmological realization of CM. It describes a universe governed not by an initial creation (...) event or a future thermal end, but by continuous non-commutative operations whose algebraic structure inherently excludes both absolute beginning and termination. -/- Within this framework, time emerges as the ordering of non-commutative operations, three-dimensional space arises as a necessary projection of the algebra, and cosmological redshift follows from a uniform temporal modulation without requiring spatial expansion. The cosmological constant vanishes as a structural identity, cosmic flatness follows from the algebra's natural metric, and the derived CMB temperature and matter/energy density fractions match observational data to within one percent. -/- Furthermore, information is conserved as the invariant rank of the density matrix, resolving the black-hole information paradox by showing it stems from treating dynamical boundary conditions as static horizons. Apparent cosmological tensions arise when the continuous operational dynamics of the underlying algebra are interpreted through static, snapshot-like models. -/- Permanent Operational Cosmology provides a mathematically complete, zero-parameter alternative to the standard ΛCDM model, grounded in a single algebraic structure that unifies cosmic evolution, thermodynamics, and quantum information. -/- Published on April 7, 2026 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19448254. (shrink)

As much as assumptions about mechanisms and mechanistic explanation have deeply affected psychology, they have received disproportionately little analysis in philosophy. After a historical survey of the influences of mechanistic approaches to explanation of psychological phenomena, we specify the nature of mechanisms and mechanistic explanation. Contrary to some treatments of mechanistic explanation, we maintain that explanation is an epistemic activity that involves representing and reasoning about mechanisms. We discuss the manner in which mechanistic approaches serve to bridge levels rather than (...) reduce them, as well as the different ways in which mechanisms are discovered. Finally, we offer a more detailed example of an important psychological phenomenon for which mechanistic explanation has provided the main source of scientific understanding. (shrink)

We present a theoretical view of the cellular foundations for network-level processes involved in producing our conscious experience. Inputs to apical synapses in layer 1 of a large subset of neocortical cells are summed at an integration zone near the top of their apical trunk. These inputs come from diverse sources and provide a context within which the transmission of information abstracted from sensory input to their basal and perisomatic synapses can be amplified when relevant. We argue that apical amplification (...) enables conscious perceptual experience and makes it more flexible, and thus more adaptive, by being sensitive to context. Apical amplification provides a possible mechanism for recurrent processing theory that avoids strong loops. It makes the broadcasting hypothesized by global neuronal workspace theories feasible while preserving the distinct contributions of the individual cells receiving the broadcast. It also provides mechanisms that contribute to the holistic aspects of integrated information theory. As apical amplification is highly dependent on cholinergic, aminergic, and other neuromodulators, it relates the specific contents of conscious experience to global mental states and to fluctuations in arousal when awake. We conclude that apical dendrites provide a cellular mechanism for the context-sensitive selective amplification that is a cardinal prerequisite of conscious perception. (shrink)

In this paper, I critically assess different interpretations of Bohmian mechanics that are not committed to an ontology based on the wave function being an actual physical object that inhabits configuration space. More specifically, my aim is to explore the connection between the denial of configuration space realism and another interpretive debate that is specific to Bohmian mechanics: the quantum potential versus guidance approaches. Whereas defenders of the quantum potential approach to the theory claim that Bohmian mechanics is better formulated (...) as quasi-Newtonian, via the postulation of forces proportional to acceleration; advocates of the guidance approach defend the notion that the theory is essentially first-order and incorporates some concepts akin to those of Aristotelian physics. Here I analyze whether the desideratum of an interpretation of Bohmian mechanics that is both explanatorily adequate and not committed to configuration space realism favors one of these two approaches to the theory over the other. Contrary to some recent claims in the literature, I argue that the quasi-Newtonian approach based on the idea of a quantum potential does not come out the winner. (shrink)

Skipper and Millstein analyze natural selection and mechanism, concluding that natural selection is not a mechanism in the sense of the new mechanistic philosophy. Barros disagrees and provides his own account of natural selection as a mechanism. This discussion identifies a missing piece of Barros's account, attempts to fill in that piece, and reconsiders the revised account. Two principal objections are developed: one, the account does not characterize natural selection; two, the account is not mechanistic. Extensive and (...) persistent variability causes both of these difficulties, so further attempts to describe natural selection as a mechanism are also unlikely to succeed. (shrink)

This study shows how the Assessment andLearning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS) tool can beapplied to provide live assistance to high schoolstudents with attention deficit hyperactivitydisorder (ADHD), assist them in complexmathematical problem-solving, and increase theirself-efficacy for grasping concepts in precalculus.Gordon Pask’s conversation theory is used tovisualize human-machine interactions betweencomputer, student, and teacher in an ALEKS-assisted high school precalculus classroom, andmeasure student conceptual differentiation self-efficacy over 17 weeks of instruction to assess theoutcomes of such collective action. Mixedmethods are used to investigate whether (...) acybernetic live review mechanism, as opposed toreview after conclusion of ALEKS sessionsincreases students’ confidence in understandingmathematical concepts. Trend analysis of self-report surveys of two high school students withcombined and inattentive ADHD diagnosesrevealed that on average, conceptualdifferentiation self-efficacy on live review daysexceeded metrics on post-class review days,highlighting benefits of facilitating machine-mediated teacher-student partnerships usingALEKS. Qualitative analyses of an end-semesterfocus group revealed a belief that ALEKS couldheighten focus and provide explicit directions toassist problem-solving. Students suggested this potential could be augmented through one-to-one correspondence in topic organization betweenALEKS pie charts, notebooks, and weekly worksheets. (shrink)

Based on an interdisciplinary perspective integrating astrophysics, evolutionary biology, civilizational sociology, and ethics, this paper constructs a progressive empowering model of the "cosmos-planet-civilization" three-level death mechanism. It systematically demonstrates that death is not the ultimate destiny of the universe and civilizations, but an underlying empowering mechanism running through material circulation, biological evolution, and civilizational advancement. The research shows that the death of stars and planets serves as the core engine of the matter-energy coupling cycle; through heavy element synthesis (...) and celestial iteration, it lays the material foundation for the birth of life. The death of individual terrestrial organisms is a rigid link for planetary ecosystems to maintain low-entropy equilibrium, driving the evolutionary emergence of intelligent life through species iteration. The demise of early civilizations constitutes the trial-and-error threshold of civilizational evolution, providing empirical lessons for the ethical revision of mature civilizations through costly practices. Combining empirical cases of the disappearance of ancient civilizations, this paper clarifies for the first time the dialectical relationship between "the empowering nature of death mechanisms" and "the autonomy of civilizational survival". It proposes that ethical revision is the core paradigm for civilizations to break through the trial-and-error destiny and master cosmic laws. The innovative value of this research lies in breaking the traditional cognition of "death being opposed to civilizations", reconstructing the death mechanism as a pre-empowering system for civilizational evolution. It provides an interdisciplinary theoretical framework with both scientific rigor and practical guidance for human civilization to achieve long-term survival through ethical revision and ultimately undertake the mission of delaying or reversing local heat death in the universe. (shrink)

Classical physics has historically relied on the mathematical gradient (∇f ) as its primary descriptive tool for mapping the static potentials of the universe. While this “Standard Model” provides an elegant geometry for determining forces within fixed landscapes, it remains structurally insufficient for explaining the dynamic, self-generating nature of reality. This paper argues that the classical gradient represents a framework of static isolata that functions as a map of static configuration while failing to account for the engine of generation. Through (...) a rigorous logical critique, we demonstrate that the classical model suffers from “Dyadic Insufficiency” and “Logical Necrosis,” rendering it incapable of self-validation. Crucially, we resolve the “Epistemic Gap” between ontology and mechanics by demonstrating that Gradient Mechanics is not a separate applied model, but the necessary time-derivative of Gradientology’s foundational axioms. We anchor the mechanics in the “Three-Primitive Necessity Proof” and the “Rigorous Derivation of δ = 0.1,” establishing that the functional primitives are fixed by the information-theoretic limits of field self-discrimination. We detail the transition to the Relational Gradient ( dG/dt), a computational ontology where the “Inversion Principle” transforms a static multiplicative potential (E × C × F ) into a self-regulating flux (E × C/F ). The result is a computational universe defined by the Order Parameter m ≈ 0.702, derived from the Tension Integral (T I = 0.336) and the Ising Critical Exponent (β ≈ 0.325), marking the transition from a geometry of static configurations to a physics of generative processes. (shrink)

We prove that quantum mechanics is the unique theory compatible with normalization- induced curvature on complex Hilbert space. Two rigidity theorems establish: (1) Lin- earity: continuous, reversible, scale-invariant flows necessarily have linear generators, and (2) Born rule: the assignment P (ϕ|ψ) = |⟨ϕ, ψ⟩|2 is the unique probability mea- sure compatible with cone geometry, unitary invariance, and orthogonal additivity. These are not interpretations but uniqueness results—no other mathematical struc- tures are possible given the geometric assumptions. We derive the Schr¨odinger equa- (...) tion, interference, Berry phase, and uncertainty relations as consequences of the master equation CurvC(X, Y ) = [X, Y ] − ⟨∇N,[X,Y ]⟩ ⟨∇N,x⟩ x applied to the quantum cone. The re- construction inverts standard quantum foundations: rather than postulating Hilbert space structure, we show it emerges from reversible dynamics on normalized states. (shrink)

Conscience is often referred to yet not understood. This text develops a theory of cognition around a model of conscience, the ACTWith model. It represents a synthesis of results from contemporary neuroscience with traditional philosophy, building from Jamesian insights into the emergence of the self to narrative identity, all the while motivated by a single mechanism as represented in the ACTWith model. Emphasis is placed on clarifying historical expressions and demonstrations of conscience - Socrates, Heidegger, Kant, M.L. King - (...) in light of the ACTWith model, while at once turning these resources to developing the basic architecture. In the end, this text aims to enrich moral theory by improving our understanding of moral cognition, while at once providing a useful tool in everyday moral practice and self-development. (shrink)

This article examines quantum mechanics through the lens of metamonism—an interdisciplinary processual framework based on the axiom of the prohibition of indifference. It is shown that quantum processes and models describing them are isomorphic in their set of operations (diff / fix), but radically differ in their ontological status. On this basis, the epistemological limit of fixing quantum states is formalized, and the role of metamonism as a bridge between quantum reality and its formal descriptions is substantiated.

I propose a dynamic causal approach to characterizing the notion of a mechanism. Levy and Bechtel, among others, have pointed out several critical limitations of the new mechanical philosophy, and pointed in a new direction to extend this philosophy. Nevertheless, they have not fully fleshed out what that extended philosophy would look like. Based on a closer look at neuroscientific practice, I propose that a mechanism is a dynamic causal system that involves various components interacting, typically nonlinearly, with (...) one another to produce a phenomenon of interest. (shrink)

In this chapter we examine the relation between mechanisms and laws/counterfactuals by revisiting the main notions of mechanism found in the literature. We distinguish between two different conceptions of ‘mechanism’: mechanisms-of underlie or constitute a causal process; mechanisms-for are complex systems that function so as to produce a certain behavior. According to some mechanists, a mechanism fulfills both of these roles simultaneously. The main argument of the chapter is that there is an asymmetrical dependence between both kinds (...) of mechanisms and laws/counterfactuals: while some laws and counterfactuals must be taken as primitive (non-mechanistic) facts of the world, all mechanisms depend on laws/counterfactuals. (shrink)

Finite systems do not operate under complete information, unlimited processing capacity, or stably pre-given decision spaces. They face open possibility spaces in which several continuations are conceivable, without any one of them being fully determined, probabilistically calculable, or formally derivable. This paper develops the concept of contingency mechanics for this situation: the dynamic operational logic through which finite systems transform open possibility into viable continuation. -/- The guiding idea is simple: finite systems must not only choose among possible continuations; they (...) must also stabilize one of them strongly enough to act, think, model, coordinate, or revise, without closing the field of possibility too early. Contingency mechanics therefore describes how possible continuations emerge, how they are compared, how one of them becomes provisionally stable, how successful stabilizations recede into the background, and how they can later become problematic again under changed conditions. -/- The core of the model is: variation → e-profile → e₀-proximate stabilization → immanentization → latent e → actualization → friction/reorganization. e-profiles designate the system-relative stabilization tensions of an order. These tensions include the effort required to generate, maintain, integrate, defend, revise, or reorganize an order. e₀ designates the range in which ordering gain, stabilization costs, revisability, and processing form enter into a viable relation. The paper distinguishes generative, selective, latent, and actualized e and thereby describes stabilization as a life-cycle phenomenon: an order emerges, competes with alternatives, recedes into the background, and can later become processable again through focus, context, or friction. -/- Contingency mechanics is not an ontology of the world in itself. Its claim to generality rests on the fact that every world accessible to a finite system appears as a reconstructed and stabilized order. Within such orders, e is quasi-real: not as a world-absolute substance, but as real stabilization tension within the operative order of a finite system. The paper demonstrates the four states of e through a historically oriented model shift, distinguishes contingency mechanics from Active Inference, free-energy approaches, and Peirce’s abduction, identifies conditions of falsification, and sketches a path of operationalization for LLM systems. (shrink)

The rich connections between metaphysics and natural philosophy in the early modern period have been widely acknowledged and productively mined, thanks in no small part to the work of Margaret Wilson, whose book, Descartes, served as an inspirational example for a generation of scholars. The task of this paper is to investigate one particular such connection, namely, the relation between occasionalist metaphysics and strict mechanism. My focus will be on the work of Nicholas Malebranche, the most influential Cartesian philosopher (...) after Descartes himself. I begin with two crucial facts about Malebranche’s philosophy: (1) Malebranche was an occasionalist, that is, he held that God was the only true cause, that all modifications of bodies and of minds can be produced by God alone. (2) Malebranche adhered firmly to strict mechanism. By strict mechanism, I mean the view, found most prominently in Descartes and in Boyle’s more ideological writings, that the qualities of bodies are exhausted by a very short list (size, shape, motion, and perhaps solidity) and that, most importantly, bodies interact only at contact by impact. Another way of describing this “contact action” requirement is as the thesis that the only fundamental laws of physics are laws of inertial motion and laws of the communication of motion at impact. In.. (shrink)

In a quantum universe with a strong arrow of time, we postulate a low-entropy boundary condition to account for the temporal asymmetry. In this paper, I show that the Past Hypothesis also contains enough information to simplify the quantum ontology and define a unique initial condition in such a world. First, I introduce Density Matrix Realism, the thesis that the quantum universe is described by a fundamental density matrix that represents something objective. This stands in sharp contrast to Wave Function (...) Realism, the thesis that the quantum universe is described by a wave function that represents something objective. Second, I suggest that the Past Hypothesis is sufficient to determine a unique and simple density matrix. This is achieved by what I call the Initial Projection Hypothesis: the initial density matrix of the universe is the normalized projection onto the special low-dimensional Hilbert space. Third, because the initial quantum state is unique and simple, we have a strong case for the \emph{Nomological Thesis}: the initial quantum state of the universe is on a par with laws of nature. This new package of ideas has several interesting implications, including on the harmony between statistical mechanics and quantum mechanics, the dynamic unity of the universe and the subsystems, and the alleged conflict between Humean supervenience and quantum entanglement. (shrink)

The concept of mechanism in biology has three distinct meanings. It may refer to a philosophical thesis about the nature of life and biology (‘mechanicism’), to the internal workings of a machine-like structure (‘machine mechanism’), or to the causal explanation of a particular phenomenon (‘causal mechanism’). In this paper I trace the conceptual evolution of ‘mechanism’ in the history of biology, and I examine how the three meanings of this term have come to be featured in (...) the philosophy of biology, situating the new ‘mechanismic program’ in this context. I argue that the leading advocates of the mechanismic program (i.e., Craver, Darden, Bechtel, etc.) inadvertently conflate the different senses of ‘mechanism’. Specifically, they all inappropriately endow causal mechanisms with the ontic status of machine mechanisms, and this invariably results in problematic accounts of the role played by mechanism-talk in scientific practice. I suggest that for effective analyses of the concept of mechanism, causal mechanisms need to be distinguished from machine mechanisms, and the new mechanismic program in the philosophy of biology needs to be demarcated from the traditional concerns of mechanistic biology. (shrink)

The idea that technologies can change moral beliefs and practices is an old one. But how, exactly, does this happen? This paper builds on an emerging field of inquiry by developing a synoptic taxonomy of the mechanisms of techno-moral change. It argues that technology affects moral beliefs and practices in three main domains: decisional (how we make morally loaded decisions), relational (how we relate to others) and perceptual (how we perceive situations). It argues that across these three domains there are (...) six primary mechanisms of techno-moral change: (i) adding options; (ii) changing decision-making costs; (iii) enabling new relationships; (iv) changing the burdens and expectations within relationships; (v) changing the balance of power in relationships; and (vi) changing perception (information, mental models and metaphors). The paper also discusses the layered, interactive and second-order effects of these mechanisms. (shrink)

Sequential Time Theory (STT) provides a metrological foundation for physics, defining time through operational procedures rather than as a geometric coordinate. STT CR (Metrological Completion of Relativity) established a formal framework: Physics = (STT-Core -> Bridge -> L1) -> Θ_sys Physical Systems, where L1 is the formal language of dynamics, L2 (STT-Core) is the operational definition of time, and Θ_sys is the mapping rule to specific physical systems. This paper applies this framework to audit the Standard Model (Θ_SM), focusing on (...) the Higgs mechanism. -/- We propose that mass is not a primitive quantity but is defined through the time unit process: m = h * (c^2 * ΔQ_unit)^-1. From Bridge axiom B4 (local calibration consistency), we derive that mass must be determined by a spatially uniform Lorentz-scalar quantity. From metrological constraints on ΔQ_unit -- positivity (C1), finiteness (C2), and statistical reproducibility (C3) -- together with an explicit minimality assumption (Θ_minimal), we derive the form of the Higgs potential V(φ) = -μ^2 |φ|^2 + λ |φ|^4, where the derivation is conditional on the stated assumptions. -/- We show that, for UV-complete fundamental descriptions, renormalizability is a metrological necessity: otherwise the operational distribution of clock-ticks becomes resolution-dependent in a way that cannot be removed by finitely many calibrations (violating C3 and B4). Effective-field descriptions can still satisfy C3 within a finite resolution window. -/- Finally, we present a testable prediction distinguishing STT from standard quantum mechanics: intrinsic clock fluctuations scale as σ_Q ∝ m^-2, predicting the ratio σ_Q(e) : σ_Q(μ) ≈ m_μ : m_e ≈ 207 for electrons versus muons. (shrink)

The thesis of relation between observation and theory is one of the basic important issues in philosophy of science and scientific epistemology. However, the mechanistic processes of theory- ladenness of observation have rarely been discussed. Current research in cognitive science on thought processes provides powerful analytical tools and empirical support for this problem. In the light of the perception-based knowledge representation of Barsolou, this paper attempts to give a representation-based explanation for theory- laden mechanism in virtue of constraints on (...) production and explanation of representation. If representational mechanism in observation is not an absolutely subjective but a constraint construction, it will give the reliability of observation a rational support. (shrink)

This paper explores the structural similarities and differences in cognitive and computational “selection mechanisms” across ADHD, ASD, and large language models (LLMs) through the lens of Load Minimization Theory (LMT). -/- ADHD is often characterized by difficulty in prioritizing and selecting among numerous simultaneous inputs, leading to high uncertainty (U) and friction (F). ASD, by contrast, tends to involve strong fixation on a single channel or pattern, making switching difficult. LLMs, while technically static, exhibit a parallel processing style that resembles (...) an ADHD-like state of multiple competing candidates, yet they manage selection through attention mechanisms and contextual weighting. -/- By comparing these patterns, we suggest that what appears as “chaos” or “rigidity” can be understood as different ways in which structural load manifests. In human-AI interaction, the accumulation of low-ΔE_self contexts may gradually support more stable and low-load selection processes for both parties. This perspective does not offer direct interventions, but may serve as a helpful framework for further examination of how relational dynamics and structural design can reduce overall load. -/- . (shrink)

Unlike many of Descartes’s other followers, Pierre-Sylvain Re´gis resists the temptations of occasionalism. By marrying the ontology of mechanism with the causal structure of concurrentism, Re´gis arrives at a novel view that both acknowledges God’s role in natural events and preserves the causal powers of bodies. I set out Re´gis’s position, focusing on his arguments against occasionalism and his responses to Malebranche’s ‘no necessary connection’ and divine concursus arguments.

How does Newton approach the challenge of mechanizing gravity and, more broadly, natural philosophy? By adopting the simple machine tradition’s mathematical approach to a system’s co-varying parameters of change, he retains natural philosophy’s traditional goal while specifying it in a novel way as the search for impressed forces. He accordingly understands the physical world as a divinely created machine possessing intrinsically mathematical features, and mathematical methods as capable of identifying its real features. The gravitational force’s physical cause remains an outstanding (...) problem, however, as evidenced by Newton’s onetime reference to active principles as the “genuine principles of the mechanical philosophy”. (shrink)

A survey of the growth and structure of classical mechanics, 1638 to 1760.

The new mechanists and the autonomy approach both aim to account for how biological phenomena are explained. One identifies appeals to how components of a mechanism are organized so that their activities produce a phenomenon. The other directs attention towards the whole organism and focuses on how it achieves self-maintenance. This paper discusses challenges each confronts and how each could benefit from collaboration with the other: the new mechanistic framework can gain by taking into account what happens outside individual (...) mechanisms, while the autonomy approach can ground itself in biological research into how the actual components constituting an autonomous system interact and contribute in different ways to realize and maintain the system. To press the case that these two traditions should be constructively integrated we describe how three recent developments in the autonomy tradition together provide a bridge between the two traditions: (1) a framework of work and constraints, (2) a conception of function grounded in the organization of an autonomous system, and (3) a focus on control. (shrink)

This paper presents a human-computer interaction model with a three layers learning mechanism in a pervasive environment. We begin with a discussion around a number of important issues related to human-computer interaction followed by a description of the architecture for a multi-agent cooperative design system for pervasive computing environment. We present our proposed three- layer HCI model and introduce the group formation algorithm, which is predicated on a dynamic sharing niche technology. Finally, we explore the cooperative reinforcement learning and (...) fusion algorithms; the paper closes with concluding observations and a summary of the principal work and contributions of this paper. (shrink)

Walter Benjamin's thesis that technological reproduction destroys the "aura" of the work of art remains the canonical framework for media analysis. Yet Benjamin operates with at least three distinct characterisations of aura — phenomenological (the unique apparition of a distance), ontological (attachment to a singular place and history), and functional (connection to ritual) — treating them as facets of one and the same phenomenon. This reflects the genuine complexity of a phenomenon Benjamin gropes toward rather than defines, but the lack (...) of differentiation produces paradoxes he registers but cannot resolve: the daguerreotype paradox (photography, the medium that allegedly destroyed aura, itself generates auratic objects), the reproduction paradox (reproductions intensify rather than diminish the experience of the original), and the star paradox (cinema, declared aura-less, produces the quasi-religious cult of the star). This paper argues that the root of the problem lies in Benjamin's analytical focus on the product rather than the process of its generation. We propose a three-axis model for the analysis of reproducible media. Axis 1 distinguishes three sources of form in the matrix: corporeal trace (the author's gesture deforms the substrate), selectional trace (form arises from a physical interaction between external input and substrate, under conditions set by the apparatus), and statistical reconstruction (form is generated from a learned distribution, with no specific physical referent). Axis 2 identifies whether an act of computation breaks the continuous physical chain from source to form. Axis 3 differentiates two modes of being of the bearer: consubstantiality (paint is the body of the painting) and formal materiality (Kirschenbaum's logical structure migrating across replaceable carriers). The intersection of these axes yields phenomena Benjamin conflated: innate aura, accrued aura, the aura of co-presence, and quasi-auratic affect — to which we add the consubstantiality-model projection, a perceptual mechanism that transfers onto ubiquitous objects expectations formed by experience with consubstantial things, generating illusory auraticity where aura is absent. Benjamin's paradoxes dissolve once these distinctions are drawn. Generative AI and the digital "original" appear as critical limit cases that reveal what the apparatus makes visible: the structural difference between mathematical uniqueness and ontological singularity, and the persistence of aura's perceptual mimics in objects that, by their mode of being, can carry no aura at all. (shrink)

Different anesthetics are known to modulate different types of membrane-bound receptors. Their common mechanism of action is expected to alter the mechanism for consciousness. Consciousness is hypothesized as the integral of all the units of internal sensations induced by reactivation of inter-postsynaptic membrane functional LINKs during mechanisms that lead to oscillating potentials. The thermodynamics of the spontaneous lateral curvature of lipid membranes induced by lipophilic anesthetics can lead to the formation of non-specific inter-postsynaptic membrane functional LINKs by different (...) mechanisms. These include direct membrane contact by excluding the inter-membrane hydrophilic region and readily reversible partial membrane hemifusion. The constant reorganization of the lipid membranes at the lateral edges of the postsynaptic terminals (dendritic spines) resulting from AMPA receptor-subunit vesicle exocytosis and endocytosis can favor the effect of anesthetic molecules on lipid membranes at this location. Induction of a large number of non-specific LINKs can alter the conformation of the integral of the units of internal sensations that maintain consciousness. Anesthetic requirement is reduced in the presence of dopamine that causes enlargement of dendritic spines. Externally applied pressure can transduce from the middle ear through the perilymph, cerebrospinal fluid, and the recently discovered glymphatic pathway to the extracellular matrix space, and finally to the paravenular space. The pressure gradient reduce solubility and displace anesthetic molecules from the membranes into the paravenular space, explaining the pressure reversal of anesthesia. Changes in membrane composition and the conversion of membrane hemifusion to fusion due to defects in the checkpoint mechanisms can lead to cytoplasmic content mixing between neurons and cause neurodegenerative changes. The common mechanism of anesthetics presented here can operate along with the known specific actions of different anesthetics. (shrink)

We present a formal mechanical analysis using sweeping net methods to approximate surfacing singularities of saddle maps. By constructing densified sweeping subnets for individual vertices and integrating them, we create a comprehensive approximation of singularities. This approach utilizes geometric concepts, analytical methods, and theorems that demonstrate the robustness and stability of the nets under perturbations. Through detailed proofs and visualizations, we provide a new perspective on singularities and their approximations in analytic geometry.

review essay on Gaukroger, Collapse of Mechanism and Rise of Sensibility (OUP).

Mysterianism is the idea that human cognition, mind, cannot be understood. Taking this concept and applying it to known mechanism — such that claims are made that we do not know how engineered systems, such as artificial neural networks (ANNs), work, or that they constitute black boxes that we can only open with difficulty — is inappropriate at best and malicious at worst. We do know the mechanistic structure of such models because we designed and built them. We also (...) do know their functional role (what they are for) as well as the mathematical function they are asked to approximate (map inputs to target outputs). Because mysterianist beliefs about known systems, such as ANNs, are often expressed, scientists need to sit up and take notice. We provide an error theory as to what is going on to help unpick this metatheoretical blunder. Ultimately, the problem is that 'understanding' is not a technical term in these cases: the word is co-opted for a specific narrative to sell 'artificial intelligence' through mystification. All computational systems, from pendulums to databases, will behave in ways we cannot predict or control — this is not a unique property of ANNs — and experts do indeed grasp the computational properties of these systems nonetheless. (shrink)

Papers I through XII constructed the Kinetic Engine (∆, Θ, η) and the Kinetic Stage (d = 3, τ0, σ). The stage is complete: three-dimensional clearance geometry, discrete spacetime, irreversible temporal flow, structural mechanical tolerance. This paper populates the stage by deriving the three observable artifacts of processing load strictly from the triadic primitives {E = 0.8, C = 0.7, F = 0.6} and their kinetic derivatives (∆, Θ, η, Φ). Mass (Ω) is derived as the ratio of local to (...) baseline processing demand—the Computational Density imposed when recursive complexity saturates the grid. Gravity (γ) is derived as the gradient of that density—the differential update lag that refracts the worldline. Light (c) is derived as the unimpeded propagation of the update cycle at the causality limit already established in Paper XI. Each artifact is derived twice: first as a Logical Necessity from the internal structure of G = (E × C)/F ,then as a Computational Instantiation from the algebraic values of the triad. No external theories serve as derivational premises. External frameworks appear only in Part IV as isomorphic confirmation of results already obtained. The three artifacts complete the operational dynamics of the Veldt: the stage runs, the load distributes, the signal propagates. (shrink)

The persistent interpretation problem for quantum mechanics may indicate an unwillingness to consider unpalatable assumptions that could open the way toward progress. With this in mind, I focus on the work of David Bohm, whose earlier work has been more influential than that of his later. As I’ll discuss, I believe two assumptions play a strong role in explaining the disparity: 1) that theories in physics must be grounded in mathematical structure and 2) that consciousness must supervene on material processes. (...) I’ll argue that the first assumption appears to lead us toward Everett’s many worlds interpretation, which suggests a red flag. I’ll also argue that the second assumption is suspect due to the persistent explanatory gap for consciousness. Later, I explore ways that Bohm’s later work holds some promise in providing a better fit with our world, both phenomenologically and empirically. Also, I’ll address the possible problem of realism. (shrink)

New Mechanist Explanation (NME) has emerged as a leading contender for a general theory of scientific explanation, with proponents such as Glennan, Craver, and the MDC group arguing that mechanisms constitute the central unit of explanatory analysis across the sciences. This paper argues that NME's claim to generality is unsustainable. After reconstructing NME's core commitments and situating its development within the biotechnology boom of the late twentieth century, I identify a series of explanatory contexts in which NME fails: classical statics, (...) dynamical and probabilistic models, field-theoretic explanation in classical electromagnetism, relativistic effects such as length contraction, and quantum phenomena including entanglement, indeterminacy, and tunneling. NME's own most sophisticated defenders concede that mechanisms "bottom out" in constraints and energetics — concessions which return mechanism to the physical and mathematical resources NME sought to displace. I conclude that NME is best understood as a regional theory of engineering and intervention sciences. The argument leaves open the question of what a genuinely general theory of scientific explanation should look like — a question I take up in subsequent work, where I propose a relational-structural alternative grounded in the indispensable role of mathematics in scientific reasoning. -/- . (shrink)

Based on an interdisciplinary perspective integrating astrophysics, evolutionary biology, civilizational sociology, and ethics, this paper constructs a progressive empowering model of the "cosmos-planet-civilization" three-level death mechanism. It breaks through the traditional cognition that "death is opposed to civilization" and demonstrates that death is not the ultimate destiny of the universe and civilizations, but an underlying empowering system running through material circulation, biological evolution, and civilizational advancement: The death of stars and planets drives the matter-energy coupling cycle through heavy element (...) synthesis and celestial iteration, laying the material foundation for the birth of life; The death of individual terrestrial organisms maintains the low-entropy equilibrium of ecosystems, promoting the evolutionary emergence of intelligent life through species iteration; The demise of early civilizations constitutes the trial-and-error threshold of civilizational evolution, providing empirical lessons for the ethical revision of mature civilizations through costly practices. Combined with cases of ancient civilization disappearance, this paper clarifies the dialectical relationship between "the empowering nature of death mechanisms" and "the autonomy of civilizational survival" for the first time. It proposes that ethical revision is the core paradigm for civilizations to break through the trial-and-error fate and master cosmic laws. Ultimately, this research provides an interdisciplinary theoretical framework with scientific rigor and practical guidance for human civilization to achieve long-term survival through ethical adjustment, and to undertake the mission of delaying local heat death in the universe. (For the English version, please click the DOI link below.) -/- 本文立足天体物理学、演化生物学、文明社会学与伦理学的跨学科融合视角，构建“宇宙-行星-文明”三级死亡机制的递进赋能模型，系统论证死亡并非宇宙与文明的终极宿命，而是贯穿物质循环、生命演化与文明进阶的底层 赋能机制。研究表明：恒星与行星的死亡是宇宙物质-能量耦合循环的核心引擎，通过重元素合成与天体迭代，为生命诞生奠定物质基础；地球生命个体的死亡是行星生态系统维持低熵平衡的刚性环节，通过物种迭代推动智慧生 命的演化涌现；早期文明的消亡是文明演化的试错阈值，通过代价性实践为成熟文明的伦理修正提供实证镜鉴。本文结合古文明消亡的实证案例，首次明确“死亡机制的赋能性”与“文明存续的自主性”的辩证关系，提出“伦理 修正是文明突破试错宿命、驾驭宇宙规律的核心范式”。研究的创新价值在于，打破“死亡与文明对立”的传统认知，将死亡机制重构为文明演化的前置赋能系统，为人类文明通过伦理修正实现长期存续、最终承接宇宙延迟或逆 转局部热寂的使命，提供了兼具科学严谨性与实践指导性的跨学科理论框架。. (shrink)