Towards a Unified Theory of Universe
Idea Submitted in Response to
the Global Call for Ideas — With the Potential to Change the World...
Templeton World Charity Foundation
November 24, 2025 – February 13, 2026
The Mode of Action of the Driving Principle of the Universe
Foundation of a More Unified Conception of Space-Time
There is not a multitude of possible hypotheses concerning the mode of action of the driving principle of the universe. A rigorous causal analysis, attentive to the effective coherence of phenomena, leads to the only truly conceivable possibility: an immanent action through interrelation, according to the determination of elements. This principle constitutes the ultimate foundation for thinking space-time without reducing causality to a purely abstract formalism.
The identification of this mode of action can be approached jointly by philosophy and physics. While the nature of the driving principle itself does not fall within the proper domain of physics, physics can nevertheless integrate its mode of action as a foundational postulate, allowing for a coherent approach to phenomena based on a causal conception that goes beyond purely mathematical formulations. Such an approach opens a practical point of convergence between philosophy and physics and leads to a renewed way of conceiving space-time, closely linked to the effective relations between bodies and the conditions of their becoming, while also suggesting that certain traditional interpretations may be clarified or completed.
This approach shows a significant affinity with the bootstrap theory proposed by Chew, as presented by Basarab Nicolescu:
“Here is a definition (…) of the bootstrap given by Chew: the only mechanism that satisfies the general principles of physics is the mechanism of nature (…); the observed particles represent the only quantum and relativistic system that can be conceived without internal contradiction. Each nuclear particle plays three different roles:
1. a role as a constituent of composite systems;
2. a role as a mediator of the force responsible for the cohesion of the composite system;
3. a role as a composite system.
In this definition, the part appears simultaneously with the whole. Nature is conceived as a global entity, non-separable at the fundamental level.”
(Basarab Nicolescu, We, the Particle and the World, Le Mail, 1985, pp. 41–42)
It then remains to apply this perspective to space and motion. Within this framework, the “Shuttle and Missile Objection” constitutes a necessary point of passage, insofar as it confronts the current principles of physics concerning space-time with a concrete physical situation in which causal coherence cannot be set aside. It compels us to make explicit the conditions under which these principles retain genuine physical meaning and thus helps to keep the dynamics of research open, by facilitating a possible evolution of the conceptual framework of physics.
The recognition of different levels of abstraction within a physical theory—worldview, mathematical formalization, and operational formulation—naturally leads to acknowledging a relative autonomy between these registers. It thus invites us to move beyond the ideal of a “theory of everything” conceived as a closed and self-sufficient formalism, and to open the way toward a more fruitful foundational reflection. The aim is no longer to enclose reality within a definitive system, but to explicate the causal principles from which the initial concepts of physics—mass, space, inertia, momentum, time—can be rethought and unified within a coherent relational framework.
Such an approach neither abolishes the depth of reality nor its share of mystery; on the contrary, it assumes them as constitutive dimensions, reintegrating meaning and the place of humanity at the heart of a genuine general theory of the universe.
This perspective thus opens up an intermediate field of inquiry between several disciplines, in particular between philosophy and physics, while also presenting a genuine interest for theology, insofar as it sheds light on the relationship between the intelligibility of the world and the place of life. It makes possible a broad epistemological endeavor, oriented toward a deeper, more coherent, and more unified understanding of our relationship to the world.
PDF attached to this idea submission
© Philippe de Bellescize, December 21, 2025 — transmitted to Curt Jaimungal, January 14, 2026
Resources :
To Curt Jaimungal: A logical blind spot relativistic reasonning ?
The Pyramid of the Theory of Everything (Fr)
Logic of the Exclued Middle and the Inclued Middle : Discernement and Wisdom
Science and Religion - Basarab Nicolescu (Fr): The title of the video only imperfectly reflects the true scope of this reflection, which fits, without any confusion of domains, into a more broadly transdisciplinary approach, particularly in physics and philosophy.
For the record, I had met Basarab Nicolescu at the time of the publication of my first book, In Search of the Theory of the Universe, in 1990. He was particularly interested in the system of thought I was developing on the basis of a conceptual postulate formulated at the time as follows:
Affirmation of the existence of two initial elements
- an actuating principle;
- the set of constituents of the initial matter, each possessing a quantity (non-compressible dimensions) and a determination (the capacity to orient the action of the actuating principle).
Role of these two initial elements
- the principle exerts an immanent and non-local action, through which it brings about unity;
- all constituents receive this action by virtue of their quantity and, insofar as they receive it, orient it by virtue of their determination.
Definition of the term “unity” in this postulate
- reciprocal relations between a constituent or a part and the other constituents or parts;
- relations of type (a), additionally involving a form of quantitative contact.
(It may be noted that, in this definition of unity, non-locality is implicitly present.) Basarab Nicolescu then encouraged me to continue in this direction, without my fully realizing at the time all the implications of this approach.
Likewise, I had probably consulted only very little the essential book by Basarab Nicolescu, Nous, la particule et le monde. Now that I have been able to obtain it again in a more recent edition, I fully realize the fundamental contribution of this work—now out of print—to the understanding of the issues of quantum physics, both at the philosophical and scientific levels. It seems to me that one of the first things to do would be to make its content accessible once again to the widest possible audience.