UUDH

Unifying the Universal Disciplines Towards a General Systems Theory

Systems theory, causality, natural language, and logic have traditionally been pursued as separate disciplines. However, underlying each of these domains are fundamental structures that suggest a deeper, unified framework. The way we structure our understanding of these disciplines is not arbitrary. Rather, it is dictated by principles that govern perception and cognition. It may also be dictated by principles that govern reality.

The Unified Universal Disciplines Hypothesis (UUDH) proposed in this paper posits that Fundamental systems theory, causality, natural language, and logic are different manifestations of the same underlying structure in the way that human beings perceive reality and reason. Each of these domains encodes and processes causal interactions in ways that reflect the level of complexity and perspective employed by the observer.

This paper presents the argument and describes the methodology for unifying these disciplines into a cohesive model that enables more precise reasoning across them. Symbolic Reasoning, an enhancement of traditional set theory, provides a formal tool to facilitate this unification.

UUDH has considerable and diverse explanatory power. The unification of systems, causality, natural language, and logic represents a promising approach to developing a more comprehensive understanding of human cognition and external reality. By integrating these traditionally separate fields, we can enhance our ability to reason about complex systems in a coherent and structured manner. Symbolic Reasoning offers a powerful tool for this integration. However, the approach is hypothetical, and empirical testing is needed to verify it.

Systems Causality, Assembly Theory and the Discrete Accumulation of Negentropy

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that entropy, or disorder, increases in closed systems. However, the observable universe has, over time, produced increasingly complex structured entities, from atoms and molecules to living organisms and civilisations. This paper explores the mechanisms behind this phenomenon, known as the accumulation of negentropy. That is, the growth of order despite the natural tendency toward disorder.

It is proposed that the accumulation of negentropy is not a separate force but rather a consequence of causal interactions whose structured complexity has increased over time. These interactions follow the principles of Systems Causality, where cause-and-effect relationships are shaped by the transfer of matter, energy, and information. Assembly Theory provides an explanation for the step-by-step emergence of ever more complex structured entities, including causal relationships, within the constraints of prior structures.  It also explains the emergence of new laws and scientific disciplines as complexity increases. Using this framework, the paper analyses how causality has driven the emergence of increasingly complex structured entities throughout Big History, from quantum fluctuations and chemical selection to biological evolution and human civilisation. It also examines the implications for humanity today.

Framework For A General System Theory

This paper presents a comprehensive framework for understanding systems across all domains of complexity: physical, biological, cognitive, and social. The framework builds upon, unifies, and extends classical systems science by grounding systemic behaviour in open system thermodynamics, energy landscapes, systems causality, and recursive emergence. At its core lies the concept of information at source: a measure of internal recursively structured order, and its dynamic relationship with energy and entropy.

Systems are defined by the emergence of properties absent from their components, and their operation depends on the balance between energy available for maintaining internal structure and that required for exercising function. The framework explains how systems form, persist, collapse, or evolve by stabilising in attractor basins within energy landscapes, scaling recursively through fractal architecture.

Sets of formal definitions and propositions, whose provenance is given, underpin the theory, offering a structured, logically coherent, and cross-disciplinary model. The framework unifies foundational work by von Bertalanffy, Ashby, Beer, Bateson, Prigogine, Rosen, and others. It also incorporates more recent developments by Bhaskar, Cronin and Walker, Parisi, and the author.