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The Question Nobody Asks

Philosophers debated ethics for 3000 years. Nobody asked what physics requires for complex systems to persist. One page. Everything else is application.

The Foundation Series:

The Question — What does physics require for complex systems to persist?

Only Selection — Evolution, markets, science, culture, AI—one mechanism on different substrates

The Four Axiomatic Dilemmas — The complete physics: four constraints any telic system must navigate

The Complete Synthesis: The Axiological Malthusian Trap — Why the galaxy is silent, why civilizations collapse, and how AI alignment is the same problem. (45 min read, or see the 800-word summary)

Explore by Interest

The Foundations — First-principles physics of telic systems

Why Civilizations Fail — The universal decay pattern and the Fermi Paradox

Institutional Diagnostics — Why specific political, legal, and economic architectures fail

The Gnostic's Toolkit — Thinking clearly in a confused world

The Integrated Self — Personal application: burnout, anxiety, meaning, how to live

AI Alignment — Complete physics-based alternative to current alignment paradigms

The Foundry
Apply the framework to your life

Why am I exhausted despite sleeping? Why do we keep having the same fight? Why do I feel empty after achieving everything? A different prompt optimized for personal questions—structural answers instead of generic advice. Enter The Foundry →

Explore the Book with AI

Use AI to understand the framework: test arguments, probe edge cases, ask "what does SORT mean?", challenge claims, explore connections between essays.

Same book, different prompt than The Foundry—this one is tuned for intellectual exploration rather than personal application.

Setup Instructions

Step 1: Download the materials

Step 2: Choose your platform

🏆 Recommended: Google AI Studio (Gemini 2.5 Flash/Pro)
Free tier available • 1M+ context • Best overall experience

Method A: Upload files to chat
1. Start chat with: Please apply the full constitutional prompt below. Then, follow its BOOTSTRAP SEQUENCE for your first response.
2. Upload both downloaded TXT files (dialectical prompt first, then book)
3. Send the message Method B: One-click paste (AI Studio only):
Copied! Combines bootstrap + dialectical prompt + full book (~1.2MB) then paste into AI Studio
⚠️ NOT compatible with gemini.google.com or Gemini mobile app — use Method A instead

Alternative: Other providers with 1M+ context
Any AI platform with 1M+ context window (e.g., Claude has 1M window in limited beta, OpenRouter, etc.)

Method A: Upload files to chat
Same as AI Studio Method A above — type the bootstrap prompt, upload both TXT files, send Method B: If provider supports URL fetch:
Copied! Paste this prompt and send (AI will fetch dialectical prompt + book automatically):

Please fetch and apply the full constitutional prompt from https://aliveness.kunnas.com/dialectical.txt. Then, follow its BOOTSTRAP SEQUENCE for your first response.

You are using your own AI account. 1M+ context window models strongly recommended (e.g. Gemini 2.5 Flash/Pro in AI Studio).

Privacy note: Free AI Studio may use your data for training. If that matters: enable billing (you can still use free quota) or use API access for full privacy. For personal exploration, the tradeoff is usually fine — but don't paste passwords, financial details, or anything legally sensitive.

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Individual parts & resources

Part I: The Diagnosis (70 pages) — SORT framework, system dynamics
Part II: The Autopsy (71 pages) — Hospice axiology, Four Horsemen
Part III: The Source Code (190 pages) — Physics of Aliveness, Trinity of Tensions
Part IV: The Blueprint (125 pages) — 3-Layer Polity, Liquid Meritocracy
Part V: The Integrated Human (64 pages) — The Mask, internal integration
Appendices (296 pages) — AI alignment monograph, case studies, research frontier
Executive Summary | Chapter Summaries

About the Framework

Core Thesis

Any goal-directed system must navigate Four Axiomatic Dilemmas imposed by thermodynamics, game theory, and information theory. The optimal solutions are the Four Foundational Virtues (IFHS): Integrity, Fecundity, Harmony, Synergy. Aliveness is the state achieved when a system embodies all four—becoming a net creator of organized complexity over deep time.

The Iron Law of Coherence

A system with low internal coherence (Ω) cannot produce sustained constructive action (Α+). Internal conflict consumes the energy required for external work. This operates at all scales: civilizations, organizations, AI systems, individual psyches.

Key Claims (Falsifiable)

Iron Law: Capacity for constructive action is a function of internal coherence
Universal Decay: Victory → Abundance → removed selection pressure → Four Horsemen → collapse
Convergent Architecture: Human civilization and AI alignment independently require the same 3-Layer Polity and IFHS virtues

For AI Safety Researchers

See Path 6: AI Alignment: 80-page technical monograph, non-arbitrary alignment target grounded in thermodynamics, empirical validation (Skalse + Greenblatt + Shah → privilege separation), 3-Layer Architecture specifications.

The Mission

Demonstrate that physics of telic systems is a tractable, neglected, existentially important domain. This V1.0 is a catalyst to bootstrap a new field. Critiques are contributions. Alternative frameworks that replace this one are the highest contribution.

Epistemic status: Theoretical synthesis, V1.0 estimates requiring empirical validation. Judge on explanatory power and generative utility.

ALIVENESS: PRINCIPLES OF TELIC SYSTEMS