Axiom · Chain Position 9 of 346

[[009_A2.2_SELF-GROUNDING|SELF-GROUNDING]]

**Statement:** The fundamental substrate must be self-instantiating (no infinite regress).

Connections

Assumes

Enables

Physics Layer

Why Physics Cannot Self-Ground

Standard Model inadequacy:

  • SM parameters (19+) are free parameters—not derived
  • Why these masses? Why these coupling constants? Why 3 generations?
  • The SM describes; it does not explain its own existence

Cosmological incompleteness:

  • Big Bang singularity: physics breaks down at t = 0
  • What "before" the Big Bang? (if "before" is meaningful)
  • Inflation requires initial conditions—who set them?

Quantum gravity problem:

  • GR and QM incompatible at Planck scale
  • Neither theory grounds the other
  • Spacetime itself may emerge from something deeper
Mathematical Layer

Formal Self-Grounding

Definition: A substrate S is self-grounding iff:

\text{Ground}(S) = S

S is its own ground—it contains its own reason for existence.

Equivalently: S is a fixed point of the grounding relation.

Defeat Conditions

To Falsify This

  1. **Show infinite regress is coherent** - Demonstrate a viable ontology with no ultimate ground
  2. **Provide an alternative to self-grounding** - External grounding? Circular grounding? Random grounding?
  3. **Show the universe can exist as brute fact** - No substrate, no grounding, just "is"