Introduction to the Organising Principles of Experience

CONSCIOUSNESS 

Concept for The Architectural Structure as I See It

- a sketch -

Cohesion — the force

Differentiation — the vector

Integration — the process

Coherence — the state

Experience — the expression

Conceptual overlaps with existing models of consciousness simply arised from the structure of the experience itself, not prior philosophical study. 

The more I have examined my own experience, the more I noticed a relation and dynamic at its core: there is always something that holds, and something that differentiates within that holding. I use the terms Cohesion and Differentiation to describe this relation. Together they provide the minimal frame through which I understand how anything becomes experience.

The functions of Cohesion and Differentiation are observable phenomena that operate across virtually all fields of science and existence. They represent the fundamental duality of "making a thing whole" and "making that thing distinct".

Any structure is something only if some relations remain invariant across change maintaining continuity, and any structure is knowable only if there is contrast/partition that makes it distinguishable (difference against a background). Persistence without contrast is undifferentiated (unregisterable); contrast without persistence is evanescent noise (untrackable). Thus, I believe the pair Cohesion-Differentiation is co-primitive: they jointly define the minimal conditions under which "something" can appear and be known.

But there is a deeper structural requirement embedded within this dynamic. For contrast to be registered - for anything to be known as a distinct state - it must be knowable against its opposite. A continuous line that simply exists, without awareness of any alternative, cannot register "continuity" as a quality; it would merely be what it is. Continuity becomes experiential only when the alternative - finite, broken, bounded - exists as possibility. This principle holds at every scale: the universe's first expansion registered persistence against the potential of stasis; its early heat became knowable only as cooling introduced the contrasting pole.

This gives rise to what I call polar harmonics: paired oppositions through which consciousness registers its own states. They are not merely recurring contrasts but the fundamental structure through which anything becomes knowable. Differentiation creates opposition; Cohesion holds both poles in relation; and experience arises through the oscillation between them.

Across all fields, structure takes shape as a unified whole becomes articulated from within: differentiation introduces the first distinctness inside that continuity, and cohesion integrates that distinctness into a stable, knowable form that remains both itself and in relation to the whole.

This dynamic is observable to me even at the scale of cosmic structure. The early universe consisted of a hot, dense plasma in which broad distinctions—variations in density, motion, and electromagnetic activity—were already present in diffuse form. As matter condensed under gravitational cohesion, these same distinctions became more articulated inside forming stars: rotation, pressure gradients, and plasma flow are the concentrated expressions of patterns already active in the wider field. Their organisation is relatively uniform because the distinctions available under those early cosmic conditions were broad rather than fine. As additional physical conditions became possible — electromagnetic, chemical, and eventually biological — the same underlying dynamic expressed through forms capable of sustaining more locally articulated distinctions. The universe therefore shows a range of expressions of the same relation, each shaped by the conditions through which it takes form.

In biology, this dynamic appears as a continuous sequence of organisation rather than isolated examples. At the molecular level, non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding hold macromolecules in stable relation, while differences in atomic arrangement articulate the differentiated patterns these structures can take. Within cells, membranes, ion gradients, and biochemical pathways maintain internal coherence as differentiated molecular functions integrate into a unified metabolic field. In multicellular organisms, cellular adhesion and extracellular matrices sustain the coherence of tissues, while variations in cellular activity and signalling articulate the specialised roles each tissue expresses. At the ecological scale, cooperative and competitive relations maintain the coherence of ecosystems, while species distinctions express the differentiated ecological roles that remain in relation to the larger field that sustains them. From molecule to biosphere, biological organisation expresses the same relation — cohesion sustaining continuity, differentiation articulating form, and integration maintaining the living pattern across levels.

In linguistics, cohesion and differentiation can be observed across all levels of language structure. At the micro level, phonological systems are held together by shared sound inventories and articulatory constraints, while phonemic contrasts—minimal pairs like pin and bin—create distinct, meaningful units within that common system. At the morphological level, cohesive rules of word formation bind meaning and syntax, while derivation and inflection differentiate words into varied grammatical and semantic roles. At the syntactic level, a shared grammatical framework ensures intelligibility, while the combinatorial freedom of syntax produces endless variation in sentence structure. At the discourse and cultural scale, shared conventions and semantic fields maintain coherence across a community, while dialectal shifts, borrowing, and innovation introduce continual differentiation. From phoneme to discourse, language remains stable and expressive through the same dynamic equilibrium—common structure sustaining mutual understanding, variation sustaining the system's adaptability and growth.

In mathematics, the relation between cohesion and differentiation appears across its entire structure. Axiomatic systems establish the internal coherence that allows mathematical reasoning to hold together, while the distinctions introduced by definitions and operations articulate the space of possible forms. Within this framework, calculus shows the dynamic explicitly: integration gathers infinitesimal variation into stable continuity, while differentiation isolates precise distinctions within that continuity. At broader scales, algebraic and geometric symmetries maintain consistency across transformations, while symmetry-breaking introduces new configurations that expand the field of solutions. In large mathematical models, unifying principles hold diverse variables in coherent relation, while parameter differences and boundary conditions specify how each system expresses itself. Across these expressions, mathematics mirrors the same dynamic found in nature — cohesive structures sustaining continuity, differentiating operations articulating form, and integration holding both in relation.

I assert that the principle of Cohesion must be the fundamental answer to the question: Why does anything persist? I define Cohesion as the Ontological Force because it is the necessary, non-contingent structural imperative required for any degree of persistence (being) to occur. For the universe to exist as stable structures (atoms, galaxies), this force must be primary, and its existence is solely to establish and maintain coherence across distinction. Alongside this I also assert that the principle of Differentiation must be the fundamental answer to the question: How does anything become knowable? I define Differentiation as the Structural Vector because its function is to provide the accurate registration that Cohesion requires to confirm its unity. Without it the Whole would experience loss of coherent relation within the system — internal parts misaligning because distinctions are blurred. The undifferentiated whole must be translated into discrete, discernible forms (structure, clarity), as no perception can occur without distinction.

In my view, the Ontological Force of Cohesion and the Structural Vector of Differentiation describe the deep structural imperatives expressed through physical forces. Gravity embodies cohesion by drawing matter into stable relation, while entropy distributes systems toward more diffuse configurations, increasing the degrees of possible variation at the level of microstates. At the microscopic level, quantum exclusion ensures distinctness among particles, providing the fine-grained differentiation that makes structure possible. These physical forces and principles do not create the underlying dynamic; they are its expressions in physical form — coherence sustained by relational pull, and distinction maintained through regulated variation.

The dynamic interplay between Cohesion and Differentiation must be treated not merely as a set of observed laws, but as the structural pre-condition for reality itself. This pre-condition is the minimal degree of relational stability necessary for anything to be registered as something. Without differentiation, everything becomes identical: no contrasts, no internal relations. With no relational difference, nothing can interact or change, so the system is static and featureless. It exists only as undivided potential, not as an observable structure. At the same time, without anything to sustain relation, difference itself would cease—there would be no field in which variation could occur, no structure capable of appearing as something. Where continuity collapses, not even disorder remains, for fluctuation presupposes relation. If the fundamental forces that maintain stability (Cohesion) were not structurally dependent on a mechanism to create knowable distinctions (Differentiation), the whole system would either collapse into absolute, static unity (unknowable potential) or vanish into total incoherence, where no relation can persist long enough to appear as form.

The assertion that this dynamic is a structural pre-condition is an inference based on the universal, non-contradictory evidence of persistence (Cohesion) and knowability (Differentiation). If reality were not governed by this necessity, transient fluctuations might still occur, but without sufficient cohesion to stabilize as recognizable form or relation — they would remain imperceptible, unregistered potential. The fact that we can observe, measure, and formulate consistent scientific laws across physics, biology, and mathematics demonstrates the ongoing activity of this pre-condition. Therefore, the dynamic tension between Cohesion and Differentiation is asserted as the minimal, non-negotiable structural requirement necessary to support any degree of stable existence. This makes the law an ontological necessity, not merely an accident of observation.

Disclaimer: This website reflects my personal memories, perceptions, and interpretations of past events. All ideas, observations and theories are my own, and names and identifying details have been changed.