18th-century Scottish social philosopher and political economist Adam Smith well stated that “the theory that can absorb the greatest number of facts is the one that must rule all observation.” That theory is energyism.
Existence is eternal and infinite, comprised fundamentally of symbolic constructs hierarchically arranged and interleaved from the quantum level up with a complexity well beyond our ken. A force of coherence emergently composes Nature (the exhibition of existence), which is perceived by participants in the cosmic play as convincingly real, courtesy of a deceiving mind which also serves as the device for all thought. As Buddha noted, “the mind is everything.”
The point of the exercise called existence is an entertainment platform for a unified field of Ĉonsciousness, which indulges the experience in localized form which we term consciousness. The modus operandi leading to Nature are localization and quantization – mechanics established in modern quantum physics: e.g., the Higgs mechanism.
Localization is regionalization of energy and energetic forces, including coherence and Ĉonsciousness. Energy is essentially a transitional impetus between concept and actualization. Quantization is the further transformation of localized energy into perceptible quanta: matter.
Coherence enlivens the play via evolution. Evolution is witnessed as creative adaptation.
The play of existence is formulated as drama, following tenets well known for engrossing storytelling. Among these principles are verisimilitude, jeopardy, and pignorance (perspective-ignorance). Pignorance presents the dramatic dynamic: offering (for certain actors with consciousness) the thrilling possibility of transformation from not knowing to realization.
The mind is the localized master of ceremony – fabricating Nature through symbols dished out by coherence. That manufacture includes all which is sensed as material and much that is not (the mental world of ideas).
The ignis fatuus of objectivity is achieved by coherence providing consistent localized schema to minds – a showtivity via (partially) shared subjectivities (sufficiently shared to elicit concurrence on most events, yet divergent enough to preserve individuality).
Materially, objects in space are the major misdirection by the mind. Instead, Nature is of relentless process. Mentally, mistaking concepts for actual events, embellished with convictions – beliefs – are a magnificent source of self-deception.
The other schools of epistemological thought are dualism and matterism. (This philosophical lumping suffices to subsume a myriad of fragmented schools of thought into their basic veins.)
Dualism is traditional, as it is the naïve impression that the mind makes. Dualism prima facie explains everything while being theoretically vacuous, thereby explaining nothing. Religions embrace dualism because God is easily slipped into its scenario (as is anything else you’d care to imagine).
The Scientific Revolution was partly a reaction against theology. A distinct reality paradigm helped the philosophical divorce.
Matterism posits that matter is the be-all and end-all of existence.
Scientists embraced matterism because it deceptively yields the appearance of hard evidence. Ironically, matterism is verifiably bunk which explains zilch. The meaning of matterist evidence evaporates upon closer inspection with respect to the 4 causes.
Among other significant subjects, matterism cannot explain how there is an order to Nature, energy, life, evolution, consciousness, or mentation. For instance, matterism must insist that the brain fabricates the mind. If so, how can life forms, such as cells, plants, et cetera – which are behaviorally aware of their environment and obviously make decisions – possibly operate when they have no physiological locus for mentation?
Note that my intended definitions of terms are specific – this being formal philosophical theorization, albeit brusquely presented. Please consult the glossary for terms which are not clear at first blush. If you desire a gentler exposition, read my books, beginning with Clarity: The Path Inside, which introduces energyism. On the mechanics of existence. A more hardcore exploration of energyism is found in Spokes 8: The Hub of Being, along with copious disproof of matterism. Unraveling Reality and Spokes 1–5 expound the natural world, providing a comprehensive picture of Nature from the energyist perspective.