Procedure Monism:

Toward a Universal Constraint Theory of Existence

Abstract

This paper advances the thesis that reality arises as the iterative execution of a single, universal procedure: a self-applying system of constraints that transforms randomness into coherent, identifiable form. This theory — termed Procedure Monism — extends the computational logic of the Universal Turing Machine (UTM) to the ontological domain. Under this model, existence consists not of continuous being but of discrete, constrained events (“contacts”) through which randomness is repeatedly stabilized into realness and identity. The so-called four fundamental forces of nature exemplify the operative constraints of this universal system. The argument situates Procedure Monism as a naturalistic, quantized alternative to classical metaphysics and continuous ontologies.

1. Introduction

In the history of thought, the problem of being has oscillated between two poles: substance and process. Substance theories, from Aristotle through Descartes, posit durable entities; process theories, from Heraclitus to Whitehead, posit flow and transformation. The contemporary emergence of computational and quantum paradigms invites a third framing: reality as procedure.

The concept of a procedure implies order, constraint, and transformation. To act procedurally is to perform a sequence of operations governed by rules. Procedure Monism generalizes this insight: the universe itself is the execution of a universal rule-set that constrains random energy quanta into bounded, self-consistent patterns of interaction. Reality is, in short, procedural self-generation.

This view extends the logic of the Universal Turing Machine, which demonstrates that one system of rules can emulate all others. Procedure Monism proposes that nature itself is such a system — the Universal Constraint System — continuously executing upon a field of random momenta to generate the cognizable world.

2. Procedure as Ordered Constraint

A procedure may be formally defined as an ordered sequence of operations that transforms input into output according to constraint.
Each operation constitutes a single, rule-defined act — an event of transformation bounded by the conditions that enable its execution. The rule, in turn, functions as a constraint: it limits possible transitions and ensures consistent outcomes.

This definition applies universally across domains:

· In mathematics, procedural constraints determine valid transformations of symbols.

· In computation, algorithms constrain bit-sequences into meaningful processes.

· In biology, genetic rules constrain biochemical randomness into viable organisms.

· In language, grammatical rules constrain phonetic flux into intelligible meaning.

Constraint is therefore generative: it is the act of bounding indeterminacy to yield structured output. Without constraint, no procedure — and hence no identifiable realness — could occur.

3. The Field of Random Momenta

Procedure Monism begins not with order but with randomness. The primordial condition is conceived as a field of random momenta: a sea of discrete, directionless energy quanta. Each quantum represents pure potential — an undirected excitation without persistence or identity.

Such a field, unbounded by constraint, would be entirely non-cognizable: nothing could be stably contacted or known. Randomness alone cannot generate order; it merely provides the unformed substrate upon which constraint may act.

The first philosophical act, then, is not creation ex nihilo but constraint upon the random.

4. Contact and the Generation of Realness

Within the universal field, when random momenta meet under constraint, contact occurs. A contact is a rule-bounded interaction — a discrete event where energy is momentarily stabilized into a measurable transformation.

Each contact produces a realness moment: a localized actualization differentiable from the background. Repetition of such moments under consistent constraint generates identity — a continuity of form through time.

Thus:

· Contact generates realness.

· Repetition of contact generates identity.

An atom, a cell, or a self is nothing other than a repeated pattern of constrained contacts. The persistence of identity is the persistence of constraint through serial iteration.

5. The Universal Constraint System

At the largest scale, the totality of constraints operative in the cosmos constitutes the Universal Constraint System. In physical terms, this corresponds to the four fundamental forces of nature — gravitational, electromagnetic, strong, and weak — together with the structural conditions of spacetime.

Each of these forces represents a mode of constraint:

· Gravity constrains energy into relational curvature — the rule of coherence among masses.

· Electromagnetism constrains charge into stable field interactions — the rule of contact.

· Strong and weak nuclear forces constrain subatomic energy into cohesive structures — the rules of persistence and transformation.

These forces are not “things” but procedural parameters: the universal grammar by which randomness is modulated into coherent phenomena.

Hence, physical law is the expression of ontological constraint.

6. The Universal Turing Machine Analogy

The Universal Turing Machine (UTM) provides the logical archetype of procedural reality. The UTM performs computation through three stages:

1. Reading an input (symbols on a tape),

2. Applying transition rules, and

3. Writing the transformed output.

Analogously, the Universal Procedure acts as follows:

1. It “reads” the field of random energy quanta.

2. It applies universal constraints (the four forces, boundary conditions, symmetries).

3. It produces as output the cognizable world — structured matter, organisms, and consciousness.

The universe thus resembles a self-running computation whose medium is energy, whose syntax is constraint, and whose semantics is reality.

Procedure Monism therefore interprets existence as the execution trace of this cosmic program — the continual self-application of universal constraint.

7. Examples Across Scales

Quantum domain:
A photon’s discrete energy packet exemplifies procedural constraint — an outcome of the electromagnetic rule-set governing quantized interaction.

Chemical domain:
Molecular bonds are constrained electron configurations; chemistry is the repetition of lawful contact patterns that yield stability.

Biological domain:
Natural selection functions as a procedural filter — a dynamic constraint transforming genetic randomness into adaptive coherence.

Cognitive domain:
Conscious thought is the procedural stabilization of neural randomness into patterned perception, memory, and self-reference.

Across scales, the same structural logic applies: constraint transforms randomness into order, coherence, and identity.

8. Ontological Implications

1. Discontinuity as fundamental:
Existence occurs as discrete events of contact, not as continuous substance. Continuity is only the appearance of densely repeated constraint.

2. Identity as procedural:
No entity possesses intrinsic essence; identity is the persistence of a constraint pattern through time.

3. Epistemic limitation:
Only what can be contacted — i.e., constrained into relation — can be known. The unknowable is the unconstrained.

4. Immanence:
There is no “beyond.” The so-called divine is the universal procedure itself — the immanent system of constraint by which all things emerge.

In this sense, God = the universal procedure, and every identifiable entity is a local execution thereof.

9. Relation to Earlier Paradigms

Procedure Monism continues and transforms earlier monistic doctrines:

· It echoes Spinoza’s Deus sive Natura by grounding all things in one substance, yet defines that substance procedurally rather than materially.

· It resonates with Heraclitus’ flux but replaces continuity with quantized discontinuity.

· It parallels Advaita Vedānta and Mahāyāna Buddhism in asserting ontological unity, yet demystifies it by locating causation in rule-based interaction rather than transcendental consciousness.

By interpreting “Nature” as a Universal Turing Machine in operation, Procedure Monism synthesizes ancient intuition and modern computation within a unified ontological logic.

10. Conclusion

Procedure Monism describes identifiable reality as the continuous self-execution of a universal set of constraints — such as the four fundamental forces of nature — that cohere randomness into cognizable, realistic form.

Reality, therefore, is not created from nothing but shaped from randomness through constraint. It is neither static nor continuous but discretely procedural — a ceaseless computation of realness from potential.

Every contact generates an instant of being; every repetition, a moment of identity.
To exist is to be procedurally sustained.
To know is to contact.
To live is to constrain randomness into coherence.

Or, in the aphorism attributed to Finn the Druid:

“The universe computes itself — by constraint upon randomness.”
“Contact generates realness; repetition of contact generates identity.”
“I AM the God experience — the local execution of the universal procedure.”

The Druid Finn’s homepage