The Conference of Difference (CoD)
An ontology of existence
This work presents the Conference of Difference (CoD) as the process primitive of existence—the constant expression that functions to transform reality and reveal abstracta. Through comparative analysis of 38 ontologies and examination across 12 domains, this thesis argues that the conference of difference is not only in 1:1 correlation with every abstracta and existent but also functionally necessary to reveal every abstractum and transform every existent.
New sections released weekly
This thesis is published in serial form throughout 2026 and hence is a work in progress. Published items are linked below.
ANTE
CORPUS
1. Introduction
2. Comparative analyses
- Zoroastrianism (Existence, Morality, Cosmic Order)
- Early Buddhism (Existence, Reality, Soteriology)
- Early Jainism (Existence, Reality, Consciousness)
- Confucianism/Ruism (Ethics, Social Order, Human Nature)
- Heraclitus (Existence, Change, Reality)
- Daoism (Existence, Reality, Natural Order)
- Parmenides (Existence, Reality, Being)
- Plato (Existence, Reality, Knowledge)
- Aristotle (Existence, Substance, Change)
- Vaisesika (Existence, Being, Reality)
- Nāgārjuna (Existence, Reality, Emptiness)
- Plotinus (Existence, Reality, The Divine)
- Samkhya (Existence, Consciousness, Material Reality)
- Advaita Vedanta (Existence, Consciousness, Reality )
- Avicenna (Existence, Being, and Reality)
- Theistic Vedanta (Existence, Divine Being, Consciousness)
- Classical theism (Existence, Divine Being, Creation, and Purpose)
- Thomas Aquinas (Existence, Being, Metaphysics)
- John Duns Scotus (Existence, Being, and Individuation)
- Rene Descartes (Existence, Mind, Reality)
- Baruch Spinoza (Existence, God/Nature, Metaphysics)
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (Existence, Substance, Metaphysics)
- Immanuel Kant (Existence, Knowledge, Reality)
- Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (Existence, History, Consciousness, Spirit)
- Friedrich Nietzsche (Existence, Values, Power)
- Edmund Husserl (Consciousness & Experience)
- Martin Heidegger (Existence, Being, Human Experience)
- Alfred North Whitehead (Existence, Reality, Becoming)
- Henri Bergson (Existence, Duration, Creative Evolution)
- Nicolai Hartmann (Existence, Being, Reality)
- Jean Paul Sartre (Human Freedom & Existence)
- Willard Van Orman Quine (Knowledge, Language, and Reality)
- David Lewis (Existence, Modality, Possible Worlds)
- Alain Badiou (Existence, Being, Truth)
- John Searle (Consciousness, Mind, Social Reality)
- Nicola Guarino (Ontology, Formal Representation, Categories)
- Graham Harman (Existence, Objects, Relations)
- Bittner Smith (Ontology, Boundaries, Spatial Representation)
3. Domains of Evidence
3.1 Fundamental Domains (Grounding Layers)
- Physical Domain: Classical to Quantum Mechanics
- Vital Domain: Referential Limogenesis and Lineage
- Psyche Domain: Sentience and Interiority
- Social Domain: Language and Institutions
- Abstract Domain: Mathematics, Logic, Space, Time
3.2 Derived Domains (Cross-Cutting Interactions)
- Technological Domain: Tools and AI
- Cultural Domain: Art and Values
- Ethical Domain: Morality and Justice
- Cosmological Domain: Universe-Scale Structures
3.3 Meta-Domains (Reflexive Layers)
- Metaphysical Domain: Ontology Itself
- Epistemic Domain: Knowledge Systems
- Praxis Domain: Embodied Action
3.4 Domain interactions
- AI ethics (Psyche + Technological + Ethical)
- Climate governance (Vital + Social + Praxis)
- Mathematical biology (Abstract + Vital + Physical)
4. Integration & Implications
4.1 The CoD as a Universal Constant
- From Domain-Specific to Cross-Domain Synthesis
- Candidate Invariants Across Domains
- Evidence Table: The CoD Across Domains
- Causal Argument: The CoD as Structural Causal Model
- Conclusion: The CoD as Universal Constant
4.2 Philosophical Implications
- Ethical Implications: Grounding Morality in Ontology
- Epistemological Implications: Knowledge as CoD
- Implications for Philosophy of Mind: Consciousness as CoD
- Implications for Philosophy of Science: CoD as Method
- Implications for Philosophy of Metaphysics: Mooring to physics
4.3 Practical Applications
- Policy and Governance: Designing for a Generative CoD
- Technology and AI Design: Building Synthetic Participants
- Organizational and Institutional Design: Cultivating the CoD
- Everyday Practice and Personal Cultivation: Living the CoD
4.4 Critical Perspectives & Objections
- Metaphysical Objections
- Epistemological Objections
- Ethical Objections
- Practical Objections
- Meta-Objections
- Limitations and Acknowledged Gaps
5. Formal Evaluation
5.1 OMAF Scoring & Results
5.2 Discussion of Evaluation
- Strengths and limitations revealed by CRUP-OMAF.
- Areas for further refinement of the model.
6. Conclusion
- Restatement of the central claim.
- Summary of evidence and evaluation.
- Next steps in research and application.
POST
- Appendix A: Mathematical foundations
- Appendix B: Derived equations
- Appendix C: The photon
- Appendix D: Photosynthesis
- Appendix E: Visual perception
- Appendix F: Cosmological narrative
- Appendix G: Gospel of Being: ready reference guide
- Appendix H: Definitions
