Humans and Existence—Solving Contradictions in Physics for the Eighth Time with the Principle of the Origin of the Universe ()
1. Literature Review
Philosophy has changed from being a general to a slave in front of science, facing the arguments of “philosophy is dead” and “science does not need philosophers” in the scientific community. Physics has discovered the Soul of the universe, discovered mechanics, but many unresolved contradictions have emerged. This cannot be blamed on the philosophical and scientific communities, as both have fallen into Aristotle’s “trap of material philosophy.” This is an inexorable experience and the current state of humanity. It is a natural phenomenon…
The “theoretical contradictions” between quantum mechanics and relativity both commit an obvious fundamental philosophical logical error, violating the concepts and origin of space and time, yet no voices of philosophical inquiry have been found in the field.
Under the guidance of materialistic philosophy, science has reached the pinnacle of human achievement (Liu, 2025a). Science, with the discovery of the natural theory of creation in the universe through quantum mechanics, special relativity, and classical physics (Liu, 2024b), has neglected an important question: the development of science has been guided by the material philosophy of Aristotle, which neglects the most basic concept of space and the existence within it. When science discovered the natural theology of the universe, it did not realize that this was the natural theology of the universe. People still believed in the theology of “personification”, and each designed their own philosophical framework for “time and space.”
Unfortunately, the philosophical world has forgotten the most original philosophy left by our ancestors in the face of powerful science. Western philosophy is a materialistic rational thinking, and Aristotle, lacking information about the origin of the universe, handed over “true philosophy” to theology. This was Aristotle’s helplessness over 2000 years ago (Aristotle, 2019).
Western philosophy claims to be the philosophy of the origin of the universe, but, in fact, it has become a Material philosophy and material science that has abandoned the most fundamental origin of the universe and existence in space. It is called the first philosophy and the second philosophy, ignoring the most fundamental principle of the origin of the universe itself, as “philosophy”.
Essentially, current science and philosophy ignore the origin of human beings, which is the origin of the mind. The origin of the human mind is determined by its own information software. This software, in the absence of sufficient information, easily leads humans to stupidity rather than wisdom. Therefore, “To love philosophy is to love wisdom” itself is wisdom based on sufficient information, not folly in the absence of information (Liu, 2025c) (Intelligence and stupidity have no positive or negative connotations).
In the history of humanity, an interesting event occurred, or we may call it a significant thought event.
During the axial age 2500 years ago, both in the East and the West, the fundamental object of philosophical thought was the origin of the universe (Jaspers, 2019). At that time, due to the lack of scientific information, humans could not explain terms like “nothing (无)”, “void (空)”, “existence (存在)”, etc. To resolve the contradiction in human philosophical thinking, the great Socrates suggested that humans should abandon the study of space and existence within space and instead focus on studying the philosophical problems of human society and the material world. This marks the story of human philosophy returning from the heavens to the Earth. During the time of Aristotle, this story evolved into material philosophy (first philosophy) and material science (second philosophy) (Russell, 2017).
Thus, a rupture in thought emerged in Western philosophy, which can also be referred to as a philosophical thinking trap. However, the great creations of material philosophy and material science propelled Western philosophy and science forward, leading to the causal relationship of human scientific development over the past 500 years. Human science has rapidly developed from material to energy and information, reaching its pinnacle. The pinnacle of science reflects the traps and constraints brought about by Aristotle’s material science and material philosophy, leading to theoretical contradictions in modern physics.
Eastern philosophy has not experienced a rupture in ideas, nor has it made great strides in science. The gunfire from the West awakened the East, and the reform and opening up allowed the East to learn from Western philosophical and scientific ideas, greatly influenced by Western science and philosophy. Many Easterners understand the contradictions that have arisen in modern physics, but no one dares to openly express them.
An elderly retiree, who has experienced scientific practice and the many contradictions brought about by the reform and opening up (Liu, 2024a), without any ideological burden, dares to speak the truth that “the emperor has no clothes” as the son of space, using the mirror of systematic thinking of Taoist and Buddhist philosophies to reflect the reality and essence of Western philosophy and science. He hopes that Western philosophy and science will use this mirror to reflect the philosophical traps of Aristotle and the many contradictions in modern physics, with the most important contradiction being the “theoretical contradiction” between quantum mechanics and relativity, which is a focal point of the many contradictions faced by modern humanity.
The cloak of “space and time” in science was already removed, as early as Aristotle’s time. The development of material science and material philosophy took place without the cloak of “time and space”. It was not until modern physics, quantum mechanics, and relativity became the emperors of science, each describing the appearance or condition of “time and space” within their own conceptual frameworks, all claiming that their cloak is beautiful, yet unaware that this “cloak” does not exist. However, the results of modern physics provide new scientific information for the re-weaving of the cloak of “time and space”, possessing the causal conditions and raw materials needed to re-weave this cloak (Liu, 2025a).
Einstein was a great scientist, and his theories of special relativity and mass-energy equivalence are magnificent theories. His high prestige led to the inappropriate philosophical model of general relativity, casually describing “spacetime curvature.” Space and time, under the unclear definition in human philosophy, each designed a scientific philosophical framework for physics, yet no philosopher raised any questions. This reflects a very serious question: whether humans are foolish or intelligent.
A bigger joke is that our scientific community has actually proven the correctness of “curvature of spacetime”. Undoubtedly, when science proves the “curvature of spacetime”, there must have been many experiments, practical conditions, and results to support it. But what exactly is the “curvature of spacetime” that scientists have proven?
Time and space belong to the unknowable category of cosmic truths, “curvature” falls within the morphological category of three-dimensional material positional concepts, and “spacetime curvature” itself constitutes a philosophical paradox. The theory of “gravitational lensing effect” can describe the form of photon existence, but cannot describe spacetime.
From the perspective of the original principles of the universe, the “origin” of “space” and “time” is not actually known. Matter can be described using “time” and “space forms”, but there is not enough information to describe the non-material “time” and “space forms” (Liu, 2020; Liu, 2021a; Liu, 2021b; Liu, 2021c). It is precisely science that has empirically demonstrated that 95.1% of the universe’s existence is non-material (Ohguri, 2015).
Therefore, the “curvature of spacetime” proved by scientists through logical reasoning is only a material description of the three-dimensional universe of the material world, which is considered as a “certain form” and “a certain process” of materiality. It definitely is not the true essence of the universe, because the universe as a whole is not purely material, and the existence of materiality only accounts for 4.9% of the relative space. (Ohguri, 2015)
In fact, the “theoretical contradiction” between relativity and quantum mechanics occurs here, but there is no contradiction in practice.
Analyzing the cosmic origin ideas of the “I Ching”, “Huangdi Neijing”, “Tao Te Ching”, “Diamond Sutra”, and “Heart Sutra”, Einstein’s four-dimensional spacetime model does not have a question of right or wrong.
For the material universe, this is a great mathematical creation. Einstein’s four-dimensional spacetime philosophical model designed a three-dimensional coordinate system plus a time dimension, which is the universe model described in “Wenzi (文子)” (Liu, 2025b). Specifically, it is Wenzi’s description of the three-dimensional material universe model, expressing the changes of material in time, representing the “inanimate” three-dimensional material as “animate” material alive in time, describing the state of perception of the universe in “Lianshan (连山)” in the “I Ching (易经)”. The research of the four-dimensional spacetime mathematical philosophical model is only a contribution to the study of the material universe.
However, this is not the complete universe, not reaching the level of the universe’s original model expressed by Zhuangzi (庄子). The philosophical model framework of the universe’s origin in “Zhuangzi” is the complete expression of the whole universe in “ I Ching (易经),” including “Lianshan (连山),” “Guicang (归藏),” and “Zhouyi (周易),” which describes both the material universe and the universe’s origin. “Four-dimensional spacetime” inspires humanity philosophically (Liu, 2025b):
Existence must be combined with the human invention and creation of “time” in order to describe its true existence, and we must realize that all existence is alive, all have “time life” (Liu, 2024c).
Many scientists proudly claim that they have understood Einstein’s theory of relativity.
As an engineering technician and admirer of Einstein, the author has studied many of Einstein’s works, reading them repeatedly and finding them difficult to understand. On one hand, the author’s theoretical level is limited. On the other hand, it was discovered that although Einstein was a great scientist, his philosophical level was still far from that of Newton and Leibniz.
Einstein’s works did not seriously consider the fundamental issues of space and time. In terms of space, he only considered relative space and location in “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”, without involving absolute space. In his consideration of time, he only thought about the appearance of time rather than the essence of time. That is to say, in the logical study of the phenomena and essence of space and time, Einstein did not have philosophical research in this area, but constructed a mathematical philosophical model of “four-dimensional spacetime”.
The theory of relativity perfectly complements the principles of universal gravitation, electromagnetic force, and optics in classical physics, and along with quantum mechanics, supplements the natural philosophical theories of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics.
The law of conservation of energy indicates that in the material universe where humans exist, it is not matter that fills space, but energy fills space.
E1 = E2 = E3 = 4.9%; E1 + E4 = 100% (Liu, 2024c; Liu, 2024d).
This energy (qi) is a combination of the information and energy of the two natures of yin and yang, a collection of basic energy and Intelligence energy. It is a collection of the transformation, existence, change, and movement of material and immaterial. This is the creation theory of natural philosophy, which perfectly reflects the great achievement of material philosophy after Aristotle.
Over 2000 years ago, due to the lack of scientific information, Aristotle in “Physics” and “Metaphysics” (Aristotle, 2019; Aristotle, 2016) handed over the study of the mystique of the universe—the “true philosophy”—to theology, embarking on a great journey of material science. Great philosophers and physicists, through relentless efforts, took over the study of mystique from theology and solved the great cosmological principle of the universe “coming from nothing and returning to nothing (来自于空, 去之于空)” (Liu, 2024b). Scientists—the great Bodhisattvas of humanity—completed the theory of cosmogony of natural theology, but the scientists did not know about this matter. Because almost everyone is immersed in the belief in “anthropomorphic gods”.
Because Western philosophical thought experienced a break in thought and philosophy during the time of Aristotle, the issue of “space and time” and the existence of space in space was set aside, and handed over to God. Modern science developed under the guidance of materialistic philosophy, which also emerged after materialistic philosophy set aside the concept and origin of “space and time”, from Aristotle, Galileo, Copernicus, Descartes, Newton, Leibniz, to Einstein, without solving the Origin issue of space and time.
Therefore, when the great scientists of quantum mechanics used the ideas of material philosophy to build the philosophical framework of physics, Einstein raised doubts. At this time, the philosophers were asleep, each immersed in their own philosophical specialties, helpless in the face of such a great event in the scientific community, inevitably causing dissatisfaction from the scientific community towards the philosophical community.
Please note, the philosophy of the East has never experienced a break in thought, leaving behind a wealth of practical and literary works of cosmic origins. Einstein raised questions about the philosophical framework of quantum mechanics; likewise, the “spacetime concept” of Einstein’s theory of relativity has also been questioned.
Modern physics inspires us to solemnly pose serious questions to the scientific and philosophical communities:
What are the concepts and origins of space and time?
Physics has solemnly declared to humanity in the name of science that both humans and materials come from information and energy, and the real problem is that humans and materials are real substances.
These natural realities are not created by “The God of Personification”, but created by the natural God of the universe.
Using this kind of logic makes it easy to understand that the “theoretical contradiction” of quantum mechanics and relativity comes from the most basic and yet most profound philosophical fundamental issues, rather than mathematical problems or others.
The “four-dimensional spacetime” describes the “material” existence, the movement and change of material in the time process defined by humans, without any relationship to the origin of “space and time”, the origin of the universe, because it regards material as a “lifeless” existence without a soul.
Science is the pioneer of human thought, but it has made a fundamental mistake. Due to the greatness of Einstein, using Einstein’s coordinate system to verify the “curvature of spacetime” through scientific methods has led to the modern myth that time can be reversed.
The scientific basis for determining the error of “spacetime curvature” lies in the principles of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics of physics, which violate the cosmic natural law of irreversible time (Liu, 2024d) and contradict the basic principles of philosophy. This article analyzes the existence of these contradictions from the origin of human beings and existence, as well as their relationships.
2. Objective Existence and Artificial Existence
In the vast expanse of the universe, the solar system and the Earth are merely a minuscule speck in the grand scheme of things.
In the long river of history in the universe, the existence of humans is just a fragment in the universe. We do not know how long humans have existed or how long they can continue to exist.
The universe, matter, and human beings, what are they? Where do they come from? And where do they go? From the current known information, only humans are pondering and exploring this almost unsolvable, foolish question using language, words, and numbers.
This is a serious and natural problem. The universe created humans, giving humans a natural command. Humans were born, but humans may not be able to exist for a long time; humans must explore this answer. Despite the lack of a resolution to this question, it is contradictory, but you, humans, must explore.
Great humans, have you realized it?
Without the expressions and descriptions of humans, including human language, writing, and numbers, the universe, space, and the beings within space are what they are.
Humans name philosophically this as “objective existence”, “absolute existence”, or “truth”. Thus, we easily understand that all knowledge, things, and information created by humans using language, words, numbers, science, math, coordinate systems, etc., are a kind of “man-made existence” (Liu & Liu, 2020; Liu & Liu, 2021a), which are information tools created by humans for survival and existence.
3. Humans and Existence
The relationship between humans and space, as well as the relationships existing within space, is one of understanding and exploration, with the purpose of ensuring human survival and existence.
The basic information tools for understanding and exploring are language, written words, and numbers, and they have evolved to include science, mathematics, and coordinate systems.
The basic actions are labor, practice, and behavior.
The basic thinking method is using logical reasoning to determine cause and effect relationships. The information that exists determines consciousness.
The basic organ of thinking is called the brain; however, the essence of thinking and thought is called the mind or soul, because people must be alive in order to think (Liu, 2025c). When the universe created humans, it endowed humans with a special function, allowing humans to become engineers and programmers of their own minds by using information, self-programming, self-accepting information, forming a self-thinking programming tool and software, and creating new information.
Objects of knowledge and exploration: After Aristotle, the objects of human knowledge, exploration, and reflection became material, forming the basic ideas of material philosophy and material science.
However, the ultimate exploration, understanding, and contemplation of humanity from the beginning to the end is the origin of the universe. Where do matter and humanity come from, and where do they go? This was something that the ancestors of both the East and West of humanity explored and contemplated together before Aristotle.
Humans have gone through more than 2500 years of arduous struggle on the path of material philosophy and material science. Science and modern physics have opened the door to the origin of the universe, finding the scientific theory of cosmogony, validating the ancestral cosmological origin thoughts (Liu, 2024b; Liu, 2024c; Liu, 2024d).
The “theoretical contradictions” between quantum mechanics and relativity force us to rethink space and time, as well as the existence in space. Let us recall the journey of human philosophical thought.
3.1. The Journey of Human Material Philosophy
Aristotle created material philosophy, opening the journey of material science. This is a great scientific ideological progress in human history, a great intellectual contribution of human beings to solve contradictions by abandoning contradictions in the absence of information in science.
Today, human scientific achievements, material and spiritual enjoyments, science, democracy and freedom, the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment all stem from this great intellectual contribution. Despite causing a rupture in human philosophical thought, it has left traps for human reflection and left a way out.
The rise of power politics, the confrontation of human thoughts, and the factor of humans destroying themselves have also emerged, leading to the appearance of the scientific “double-edged sword”.
Humans cannot make judgments as to whether these are right or wrong; they can only say that this is a natural condition that has truly existed in human history.
Aristotle used the method of giving up contradictions to solve contradictions, focusing on the study of human society and material science, temporarily abandoning space and existence in space, and achieving the rapid development of material science. The development of physics has found the origin of the universe, discovered energy and information, in turn verifying the ancestral ideas of the origin of the universe, solving the contradiction of the origin of the universe in the history of human thought, and providing humans with sufficient scientific information to contemplate the problem of the origin of the universe. In order to further explore space and existence in space for the survival and existence of humanity, the conditions for defining “space and time” have been met.
The Dao De Jing by Laozi states: “福兮祸所伏, 祸兮福所倚”. Human existence is embedded within contradictions, which is a natural state. Within this natural contradiction, the concepts of “fortune” and “misfortune” as defined by humans are interdependent (Laozi, 2019).
Humanity, using the thinking of material philosophy and the methods of material science, has discovered science and coordinate systems, as well as mathematics, further enriching the information function of human language, writing, and numbers. They have invented physics and mathematics, discovered mechanics, and creatively explored the mind of the universe and the Material mind.
Gravity, electromagnetic force, optics, strong force, weak force, quantum mechanics, and thermodynamics have enabled humans to discover the essence of the formation, movement, and change of the universe; relativity has led humans to discover the equivalence of matter and energy as well as the mutual transformation under the condition of the speed of light. Humans have used physics to discover the great mind of the universe, create the world, and reveal the essence of universe’s existence and change.
Using physics to think about the origin of the universe, and then reflecting on physics with the idea of the origin of the universe (Liu & Liu, 2020; Liu & Liu, 2021a; Liu & Liu, 2021b), the conclusion is astonishingly harmonious and consistent (Liu, 2024d). Quantum mechanics, special relativity, thermodynamics, systems science, mineral processing, and modern scientific technology conclusively confirm this conclusion.
The question is: How did our ancestors discover the philosophical framework and principles of modern science 2500 years ago?
Answer: The logical thinking and deep contemplation in a quiet state, practiced by cultivators known as Zen practice, is today referred to by scientists as concentration, incorporating mathematical methods (Liu & Liu, 2021c; Liu & Liu, 2021d; Liu & Liu, 2024).
3.2. The Journey of Human Cosmogonic Philosophical Thought
Human philosophical thinking is the exploration and acquisition of information and knowledge, employing direct sensory logic analysis (rational understanding) and perceptual insight logic analysis (perceptual understanding).
3.2.1. Perceptual Insight, the Fundamental Philosophical Method for
Humans to Acquire Knowledge
People usually acquire knowledge through perception and sensation, and express knowledge information using language, writing, and numbers, employing direct logical methods to articulate cause and effect relationships.
However, people’s philosophical thinking methods often use perception and insight to express them. This is the fundamental difference between human thinking and computer thinking (Liu, 2025c).
As is known, the Buddha Shakyamuni became awakened through perception and insight, and is called the Buddha (佛). The realization of the ultimate truth of the universe is called Anuttarasamyaksambodhi (阿耨多罗三藐三菩提) (Liu & Liu, 2024; Shakyamuni, 2020).
Chapter 16 of Laozi’s “Tao Te Ching” tells people: “至虚极, 守静笃. 万物并作, 吾以观复” to perceive and understand the method of acquiring knowledge and information (Liu & Liu, 2021d).
Western philosophical works summarize the ideas of philosophers such as Plato, while Eastern philosophical works summarize Wang Yangming’s school of mind. If you are a layman in philosophy, it is difficult to find these ideas in the original works of these philosophers because philosophers all use this method.
Newton was both a scientist and a philosopher. He discovered gravity using the same method and wrote the famous “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”. He incorporated mathematical methods into his insights and perceptions, providing a scientific and mathematical basis for thinking about space and time. Newton’s contemplation of absolute space and time surpassed all other scientists and philosophers, laying the foundation for the development of science and philosophy over 500 years and setting the stage for resolving Aristotle’s philosophical trap of material.
By using the same method, let us consider some mythological masterpieces left by our human ancestors, abandoning the mythological content descriptions in literary works, and reflecting on the cosmological philosophical thoughts of our human ancestors.
These mythological masterpieces are as follows: Hesiod’s “Works and Days. Theogony” (Hesiod, 1991), “Homer’s Epics” of Ancient Greece, the “Bhagavad Gita” (Ancient Indian Classics, 1989) and the “Vedas and Upanishads” of ancient India, the “Avesta” of ancient Iran (Ancient Iranian Classics, 2010), and the ancient Chinese “I Ching.”
3.2.2. Contemplation of Ancient Mythological Epic
The author is not a researcher of ancient mythological masterpieces, but only reflects on the philosophical essence of these masterpieces through the cosmic original principles.
“Works and Days,” “Theogony,” and the “Homeric Epics,” such mythological masterpieces, were born in the early period of the Axial Age, and the thoughts of ancient Greek philosophers during the Axial Age were deeply influenced by these works. At that time, the language function of human beings was not comprehensive enough, and one had to marvel at the expressive function of human ancestors and the imaginative thinking, admiring the ancestors’ tenacious spirit of struggle for survival.
The book describes the process and wisdom of human ancestors waging wars for the sake of the opposite sex. The universe has endowed humans with a powerful function of attracting Yin and Yang, and humans will not thrive if they do not value this function.
The process of fighting for wealth, status, and power is also depicted. This type of description can be extended to the present world, where human beings have set money and wealth as the survival standard of the material world, and have been constantly waging wars for material interests.
Humans are self-aware beings with subjective consciousness, and human wars have intertwined wealth and subjective consciousness.
The book sets the ancestors admired by humans for their fairness, justice, bravery, and benevolence that benefit human survival as gods, and establishes the “Genealogy of the Gods”, portraying ancestors disliked by humans and harmful to human survival as demons.
The book does not have many descriptions of the nature gods; it suggests that the first to appear in the creation of the universe is “Chaos”, followed by “Ge” (Mother Earth), which is related to matter.
The ancient Greek concept of the origin of the universe is prominently reflected in the thoughts of ancient Greek philosophers in the Axial Age (Liu, 2024d).
The classic Iranian text “Avesta”. It is the oldest document in Iran, dating back to before the 10th century BC. This is a work of ancient philosophy, the intellectual crystallization of our ancestors’ reflections on the origin of the universe and the human world.
The book introduces the universe’s unique and omnipotent God, Ahura Mazda, and the sacred God of wisdom, Spenta Mainyu. It also introduces the demon representing the base and evil origin, Ahriman, also known as Angra Mainyu.
The book suggests that humans do not need to be manipulated by fate or controlled by destiny. In the struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, everyone can use their own heart and mind to make choices and decisions between the two conflicting forces. Human destiny is in their own hands.
The book emphasizes human pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty, as well as the discernment and differentiation between good and evil. What is beneficial to human survival and existence, representing fairness, justice, purity, sincerity, kindness, and freedom, is called the god of goodness, while the opposite is the evil demon. Praising and worshipping the god of goodness, while despising and cursing the evil demon.
The book praises the knowledge bestowed by God upon human beings (Volume Six).
The book argues that light and spiritual light created human beings and all things, nurturing human beings and all things (Volume 3, Chapter 1). The book praises the human soul (Volume 3, Chapter 31). The book believes that all existence has a soul, praising the souls of all things (Volume 6).
The book contains the term “heretics”; at that time, humans already had an ideological confrontation between subjective consciousness.
The book also mentions the term “doomsday,” which is a term that continues to instill fear and terror in humanity.
Ancestors proposed the vocabulary of “the end of the world”. What is the end of the world? Does it refer to the destruction of the material universe? The destruction of the solar system, the Earth? Or does it refer to the extinction of human existence?
According to modern scientific information, the material universe may have originated from an event similar to the Big Bang 12.7 billion years ago. Note that this is only the content we have explored. Using the concept of time in the universe to judge the current knowledge and information of humans, we cannot see the end of the universe; we can only explore it. Physics information tells us that the material universe may be a cyclical existence, just like humans with birth and death, with time being extremely long, measured in billions of years.
The disappearance of individual humans, natural birth, and natural death have become a common occurrence, and people do not blame the heavens.
However, the non-natural death or intentional death of individual humans has generated numerous stories of love, hatred, and revenge. Humans oppose war, yet continue to wage war for various reasons.
The overall event of human extinction is highly probable, just like the extinction of dinosaurs. Therefore, humans can use wisdom, science, and unity to deal with such events, recognize the human destiny community, and strive to develop science.
However, on Earth, there is a strange phenomenon where humans have created nuclear weapons through science, leading to the existence of reasons and factors for humans to self-destruct, which is a reality that humans must seriously confront.
Ancestors not only created the vocabulary of “the end of the world,” but also created the contemplation of “the beginning of the world,” which is the contemplation of the cosmic origin: where does the material universe come from? Where does matter come from? Where does humanity come from? This question has become the ultimate philosophical question for humanity from the beginning to the end.
“The Bhagavad Gita” is a classical work of ancient India, filled with profound thoughts and contradictions. The author dares not study this work, and is only able to briefly understand its core ideas, with the idea of the origin of the universe.
The word “Bhagavan” means the exalted one, which is a praise for the highest and supreme God of the universe, expressed and described through human stories.
This book ostensibly tells a story of war, but actually promotes the idea of non-war.
The book argues that each individual organism has a soul called the “self”, and the universe also has a soul called “the great self”. The “self” is a part of “the great self”, interconnected with each other. When the self is liberated, the individual soul can merge into the universal soul, becoming an undying and indivisible whole.
The book reflects a story of the original of the universe: it is believed that the universe’s original is called “I” or “Self” (Atman), describing “Atman” as an existence that is “无始无终, 不生不灭, 遍满太空, 亦是亦非, 平静常恒”. It seems like “nothing”, but it is “real”, it is the true “reality”, the ultimate of the universe, the supreme god, the soul of all things, the “cause” and “factor” of the world.
The “Atman” can also be called “Brahman” or “Brahma.” The Chinese description of “Brahma” is: “既有既无, 非有非无, 非生非灭, 非一非异, 非来非去.” Without the information of modern physics, such as quantum mechanics and relativity, it is difficult to understand these philosophical or mystical language descriptions.
Interestingly, the book portrays Brahma as conscious and perceptive just like living beings. Moreover, Brahma coexists with humans and all creatures, being the creator, destroyer, and nurturer of humans and all beings.
The book reflects a natural principle of the material world, that both human beings and matter are composed of material, and consciousness is a property of all matter, including humans. The difference of this property is that human consciousness possesses subjective dynamism. Human existence and other existences in nature are all governed by the forces in the universe, and human subjective consciousness is guided by the power of desire bestowed by the universe. Self, appetite, and sexual desire are natural forces.
The book argues that the human soul is an independent self-entity that is in harmony with the universe, calm and peaceful, and devoid of subjective consciousness, similar to the description of the “five elemental soul” in the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic (Liu, 2025c).
The book created and invented a concept of time in the universe called “Kalpa (劫)”, where one Kalpa is equal to a day of “Brahma”, which is equivalent to 4.32 billion years as defined by humans on Earth. If it takes the sun about 0.25 billion years to orbit the Milky Way once, that would be approximately 17 orbits. If the existence of Earth is 5 billion years, then the age of the Earth has only been born for one day. Perhaps the age of planets or galaxies can really be measured in “Kalpas” if human age is measured in “years”.
By this, we can associate the concept and essence of time.
From a conceptual perspective, human beings name the phenomenon of the movement of the Earth around the Sun once a year as “year,” the phenomenon of the moon revolving around the Earth once a year a “month”, and the phenomenon of the Earth rotating once a year a “day”. (Liu, 2025b). This is the basic unit of time defined by human beings through philosophical thinking for the movement and changes of the Sun, Earth, and Moon. Subsequently, it is further divided into years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds, defining the relative changes of the Sun, Earth, and Moon as units of existence process time, which have been solidified by human beings.
First of all, let’s analyze this rigidification logically. This kind of rigidification is a fixation of human subjective consciousness on a phenomenon of the solar system, which is incorrect. The universe is always changing. In the process of using “kalpa” as a unit of cosmic time, humans cannot accurately judge this kind of change in infinite space with subjective consciousness.
Assuming we recognize the solidification of this concept of time as correct, any changes (bend or reverse) in the concept of time would signal a huge change in the relative movements of the Earth, Moon, and Sun in this energetic environment. The result may be the complete annihilation of humanity and biological existence, the disruption of the balance of the energetic environment, an outcome that humanity cannot bear.
Based on this, do humans dare to make designs like time is curved or can be reversed? Einstein’s general theory of relativity is such a philosophical design in physics.
Analyzing from the basic level: modern science has solidified the definition of the time unit “second”, with the measurement standard being the radiation frequency corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of a cesium-133 atom, ν = 9,192,631,770 Hz. One second is defined as 1 s = 9,192,631,770/ν (13th CGPM, 1969). This solidification of the definition of time is a manifestation of scientific progress after the abundance of human scientific information, which can be considered as a specific description of the concept and essence of time.
Please note! Even so, we still can’t determine the essence and origin of time. The concept of time, named by humans, starts from the naming of natural phenomena. What is the specific meaning and essence of this phenomenon in the natural universe? We have almost no information in this regard.
Humans must be conscious of one issue: when we solidify time with a clock, it is the wisdom and intelligence of humans in survival and existence that invented units of time for the process of existence, and defined the speed of material change, yet it is a foolish manifestation in philosophical thinking. Yet it also reflects human wisdom.
Because we still do not know what it means when we name natural phenomena as the process of time. What is its essence and origin?
When we randomly design a thing to bend or reverse when we are not clear about its essence and origin, what does this imply? Let’s think together about this interesting question, which is a contradiction in material philosophical thinking. We cannot determine the correctness or incorrectness of this contradiction, and of course, we cannot easily describe this phenomenon as “smart” or “stupid” (Liu, 2024b). This may be a turning point in thoughts.
Analysis from the modern science of the definition of “second”: Human analysis of time has approached the essence and origin of this concept.
From the perspective of the cosmological original philosophy and mechanics, time may be a “cause” of the perception of human cells and material existence (Liu, 2025c). The “cause of time” is related to all forces that form matter and drive the movement and change of matter, with direct relevance to the weak force and thermal force.
Force is the soul of the universe, determining the formation, creation, change, and movement of matter, as well as its destruction and disappearance. Humanity has named this existence “process” and established the unit of process as time.
Notice, from the current definition of human physics and the perspective of human existence, that time is a unit solidified by humans and absolutely cannot be bent, reversed, or changed; otherwise, humans will disappear.
Perhaps in the near future, humanity will definitely be able to explore and study the origins of time.
The Bhagavad Gita also teaches people many Cultivation methods, but not through direct sensory logic; it requires comprehension and summarization to understand. This is a great philosophical classic.
Ancient China also left behind many classic myths, among which a great classic is called “I Ching”. “I Ching” does not involve mythological descriptions, but is a purely philosophical classic. Chinese people like to treat this book as a book of divination. Confucius used this book for divination practice, and his evaluation of its accuracy was: “十有七当”, meaning its accuracy is 70%.
The author does not believe in fortune-telling, nor does he appreciate the practice of using this book for fortune-telling. This book is the greatest philosophical classic in human history.
3.2.3. The Contemplation of the “I Ching”: “Lianshan”, “Guicang”, “Zhouyi”
Humans are very lucky; the ancestors of the Eastern humans have left such a wonderful book for their descendants. More precisely, this may be a common crystallization of thought for the ancestors of all humans on Earth. It is a classic work for humans to comprehend the universe, a comprehensive reflection on the origin of the universe, the material world, and human society. It cannot be described as a book, but as a concentrated essence of human thought (Liu & Liu, 2020).
According to historical records, the complete book of “I Ching (易经)” does not exist. When it comes to “I Ching,” three works from different periods in history are often mentioned: “Lianshan (连山),” “Guicang (归藏),” and “Zhouyi (周易)”.
“I Ching”, a book of changes. “Yi (易)” in Chinese means change. All existence, material and immaterial, the existence of all things, changes and moves in time, all are alive and have life.
People are alive, living in movement and change. Both the body and soul are in a state of flux until death. Death represents the separation of the soul and body, but the person’s cellular tissue still exists, symbolizing the end of one coordinate system of a living person and the beginning of another form of existence’s coordinate system, until the disappearance of this cellular structure. Therefore, cellular material can exist twice, or in other words, live twice (Liu & Liu, 2020; Liu & Liu, 2021a).
Similarly, the existence of plants and animals can be determined.
So, are the rocks, the Earth, the solar system, the Milky Way, our galaxy, superclusters, etc., alive or dead? We must first make a definite judgment that they are all alive, because they all move and change in time and space.
Under the action of various forces, particles form atoms, atoms form molecules, molecules form stones, and the chemical bond force is a comprehensive force. Stones have structure, and each kind of mineral has its own unique structural existence, and the process of its existence can be measured in units of time.
Under the action of force, particles perceive each other and form pure chemical elements—atoms. Each kind of pure chemical element has its structure, undergoes motion and change, can be measured in time, and has life.
Under the action of force, each atomic structure can form molecules. Minerals and compounds appear in the form of molecular structures, each with its own structure. Molecules and compounds can be measured in time; they move, change, and have life. That’s how rocks are formed.
In rocks, radioactive elements can be extracted to make nuclear weapons or to extract nuclear energy. However, each type of element, mineral, and rock has a microscopic thermodynamically determined radioactivity, which may have been decided by weak forces before atomic formation.
This determines the molecular structure of all atoms, molecules, and minerals. They all have a “cause” with a perception time. This “cause” should be consistent with the principle of perceiving natural time for the human cell in the Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic (Liu, 2025c).
My doctoral supervisor is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the founder of genetic mineral processing. He believes that minerals have “genes”. This instruction inspired me to connect the scientific principles of mineral processing with the philosophy of the “I Ching”, Taoism, and Buddhism in my scientific work practice. Existence is a combination of information and energy.
The solar system, the Milky Way, the Local Group, the galaxy cluster, etc., all have structures and are mainly influenced by the gravitational force and electromagnetic force, undergoing changes and movements. They also have life, and their life can be calculated in terms of “kalpa (劫)”.
The Earth also moves and changes in space and time, which we cannot feel. However, science tells us that the Earth is undergoing complex movements of rotation and revolution along with the solar system, and its speed of motion is faster than the rockets launched by humans. The trajectory of the movement is extremely complex. The entire solar system revolves around the Milky Way, which is also in motion. Both are alive and have life. Using “kalpa” as a unit of time is temporarily balanced. The phenomenon of years, months, and days discovered and defined by humans will not change temporarily, and humans dare not change it because they cannot bear it.
After humans acquired language, writing, and numbers, they named and solidified the phenomena of the Earth, Moon, and Sun’s movements into time. Today, humans dare to consider this solidified cosmic energy environment as curved and reversible, which shows how ignorant and ridiculous humans can be.
The universe is constantly undergoing immense changes. From the moment when human beings developed language, writing, and numbers to the present day, as we gaze up at the sky, we find that the Big Dipper still points towards the four directions of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, seeming unchanged. In reality, we have been existing in the infinite expanse of the universe along with the Earth and the solar system for a very long time, traveling over a vast distance.
Humans, in order to survive and exist, for scientific research and exploration, can solidify some physical parameters that humans cannot control, such as time and speed.
Aristotle’s material philosophy and material science have made significant contributions to the exploration of human knowledge, bringing about remarkable advancements in the study of the material world and human society. However, when our study of the material world reached its peak, it brought about theoretical contradictions in the philosophy of physical science.
The development of science has also led to mutual hostility and confrontation among human beings, causing both positive and negative factors, as well as the double-edged sword of science. This brings about an issue that humanity must face, which is that humans can destroy themselves at any time.
Two thousand five hundred years ago, Buddha Shakyamuni warned humanity that everyone can achieve enlightenment. However, up to now, has humanity become enlightened? Humanity has forgotten the philosophical question of the ultimate origin of the universe (Liu & Liu, 2024).
Today, science has enabled humanity to make great progress and has also provided an opportunity for humanity to re-examine the philosophical thoughts on the origin of the universe left by our ancestors.
Similarly, particles and quarks also have structure, although they exhibit wave-particle duality, unpredictability, and entanglement. They must also be alive, with life; otherwise, they cannot create atoms to form matter. Particles are alive in Planck time (Liu, 2025b). It is suggested here that the scientific community should give quantum mechanics its due respect; this great physics should not be questioned.
The information about dark matter and dark energy is not sufficient at present, and further research and exploration should be conducted. However, the principles behind the existence of dark matter and dark energy are consistent with quantum mechanics and the principles of the existence of matter (Liu, 2024d).
The insights of the “I Ching (易经)” (Liu & Liu, 2020; Liu, 2025c):
Insightful method: guard the mind, be quiet.
Location: Shangri-La, China.
Principle: Reflecting on consciousness through existence and information.
“Lianshan (连山)” tells us: the universe is alive, and all the existence of matter in the universe is the change and movement of information and energy.
“Guicang (归藏)” tells us that human beings are alive, and the essence of human existence is consistent with the existence of all phenomena and the universe. Ordinary existence possesses only the innate ability to perceive, while cellular matter possesses the dual innate abilities of perception and sensation.
“Zhouyi (周易)” tells us: all beings in space are living entities that integrate yin and yang. Even without the emptiness of humans and material substances, non-material beings still exist, which are the original essence of humans and materials. The origin of the universe is also alive.
The “Zhou (周)” in the “Zhouyi (周易)” can be understood as the Zhou dynasty; the “I Ching” in the Zhou dynasty is the “Zhouyi (周易)”; Zhou (周), in Chinese, means cycle, and the “Zhouyi (周易)” is the endless cycle of transformation.
3.3. The Possibilities of Space and What Exists in Space
Humans have created philosophy, science, and religion using language, words, and numbers. All knowledge and information are human-made existences, which are the result of human exploration for survival and existence. Based on the current information, the possible objective situations of space and the entities within it can be simply described.
Space is the matrix where everything exists, with no exterior limits (其大无外) and no interior boundaries (其小无内). Humans can use any form of existence they discover to describe space, such as the three-dimensionality of matter is referred to as three-dimensional space. The forms of other existences can also be used to describe space. Without a clear exploration of the existence of space, it is impossible to express space clearly and completely. Space is the eternal faith of human exploration.
The original existence in space is the emptiness, the divine light (光) of the universe, with two qualities of yin and yang, which can be called wisdom energy (the cause of information) and basic energy, or positron and electron. The original existence is light (光) and infinite (无限).
Without substance, there is no time, position, or velocity; it is the balance of the universe, absolute zero.
The universe becomes unbalanced, giving rise to the existence of dark matter and dark energy, creating a situation similar to the cosmic big bang, brewing the cosmic negative entropy similar to the Planck temperature, and initiating the journey of quantum mechanics creation. Light (光, gūang) is the primordial existence; the photon (光子, gūangzǐ) is the beginning of creation. Heat (热, rè) is the foundation of existence, the original force of creation, and the process with the cause of time (Liu, 2025b).
In the process of thermodynamics, the divine information cause, material cause, form cause, dynamic cause, and purpose cause combine energy into particles, atoms, molecules, plant cells, animal cells, and human cells, forming the existence of humans and all things, and returning energy in the process of existence. Existence, each with a natural perception, fulfills its natural mission of existence within that perception.
Humans have only discovered the material universe in which they exist and have not yet discovered other forms of universes. Physics has discovered the origin of the material universe.
Material cause (质料因): The essence of material lies in the equivalence between matter and energy at the speed of light condition, where humans have discovered that the fundamental nature of material is energy, and energy and matter transform each other in the context of information causality or due to causality.
Dynamic cause (动力因): The preliminary information suggests that matter and energy, their existence and changes, all come from the information of force. Information, energy, and matter are one entity, sometimes combined, sometimes separated. There is still not enough information to express the cause and effect of this combination and separation.
Purpose cause (目的因): Balance is the only expression of the purpose causes of the universe, this is the information revelation given by thermodynamics to humanity. Sometimes, humans also express a temporary solidification of the balance phenomenon of the universe’s existence, such as the solidification time expressions of years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds that humans have, which is a solidification understanding and expression of the existing energy environment of the solar system for humans. Once a change in the solidification of the concept of time occurs, it heralds a disruption of balance or heralds a terrifying change in the human living environment because even tiny changes in the energy environment of the solar system will affect human survival.
Form cause (形式因): There is hardly any scientific research or thinking information on the form cause of all things and human forms.
Physics has discovered the universal forces of gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force, and the weak force, as well as thermal energy. The divine mechanics underlying the creation, existence, movement, and change of matter in the universe have been essentially studied. The fundamental soul of the existence of the universe and matter has been discovered. The connection between this soul and the causes and forms of separation and aggregation of various structural existences.
Dark matter, dark energy, particles and quarks, atoms, molecules, plant cells, animal cells, and human cells all have their respective forms; the formation of their own entities is also the cause of the diverse existence.
Humans only recognize the existence that they are aware of, and have no way of recognizing the existence that they are unaware of, which can only be treated as metaphysical. The form of the universe is because of the divinity of the universe, and the existence is in accordance with the form it has, which can be used to express space.
Physics has discovered the material cause, purpose cause, and dynamic cause of the material universe, but it cannot study the form cause. Therefore, a new scientific discipline is needed for the study of the form cause of the universe.
“Time” and “the cause of time” are issues that the people of the new era need to seriously contemplate and address, requiring careful analysis of the concept and origin of time.
On one hand, time is a concept created by humans utilizing the relative motion changes between the Sun, Earth, and Moon (Liu, 2025b), which is a noun created using natural processes.
Ancestors created the concept of time units for natural phenomena, and this relatively balanced reality in the universe’s solar system gave birth to humans and all things on Earth. We must respect and awe the concept of time, and not describe it with words like bending or reversing in imagination. If such a phenomenon were to occur, it could lead to the destruction and disappearance of humanity.
On the other hand, we have not yet figured out the essence and origin of time. We can only speculate that it may be related to various thermodynamic processes in mechanics, a process of information that humans and substances can perceive, rather than a specific existence. This requires combining scientific definitions of the “second” (13th CGPM, 1969) with reflections on the nature of weak forces in how human cells and rocks perceive the “cause of time” (Liu, 2025c).
3.4. The Possible Scenarios of Human Existence
Humans are intelligent matter created by the universe, a combination of body and soul. The body is formed and created by the universe in its natural processes; the soul of humans is an intangible software installed by the universe, through which humans self-program during the learning process. Language, writing, numbers, coordinate systems, mathematics, and science are tools for humans to receive and create information.
Humans are a kind of matter, a representative of the universe, and a kind of existence with subjective consciousness, sensation, and perceptual function. Subjective consciousness, dialectical thinking, language, writing, and numbers are unique endowments given to humans by the universe.
This is a material with the function of feeling and perception integration. In order to survive and exist, it explores knowledge and information in sensation and perception, creates knowledge and information, and uses knowledge and information to guide its tenacious survival and existence. The subjective consciousness of this existence is the trait and originality of wisdom material endowed by the universe to human beings, which is a natural phenomenon (Liu & Liu, 2021a).
This existence implies the mutual existence between human beings, between human beings and animals, between human beings and plants, between human beings and materials, and between human beings and the universe. Human beings have subjective consciousness, so they play a leading role in the relationships of existence. It is the leading role of “doing things with purpose (有为而为)” rather than the “doing things without purpose (无为而为)” of the universe.
Therefore, humans can have the kind of thinking and ideas that the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras said, “When I am in the universe, it exists; when I am not in the universe, it ceases.” However, humans must soberly realize that this is just human arrogance. Faced with the infinite universe, human survival and existence will always be passive, and humans must respond. This is the command of the universe.
The existence of human beings is the existence of a subjective consciousness coordinate system, which is the result of the creation of the universe.
3.5. The Existence of Human Beings, the Survival and Existence of
Human Beings
Humans were created by the universe and endowed with the imperative information to survive and continue to exist (Liu, 2025c). However, this instruction is not an operational manual, but a call for humans to persistently think and explore, to explore the existence, knowledge, and information of the universe. To explore the relationships among humans, to explore the relationships between humans and the universe, beings, and existence. Therefore, humans have the ability to explore and learn about the knowledge and information of the universe; language, writing, numbers, coordinate systems, mathematics, and science have all become tools for humans to create and understand information.
Humans explore the information of the universe through two logical ways: perception (intuitive cognition) and sensation (rational cognition). They use direct sensory logic and perceptual intuition logic to analyze these two ways and create new information, which leads to the emergence of philosophy, science, and religion. Science, philosophy, and religion together guide human survival and existence, giving rise to two modes of thinking: cosmological philosophy and material philosophy. Both ways of thinking exist in the human mind and entangle the human psyche.
If it were not for the information and achievements of modern physics, humanity could not break free from the shackles of materialistic philosophy and escape the traps left by it. Relativity and quantum mechanics have reopened the door to the cosmic origins left by our ancestors.
“I Ching” tells us that the material universe is the eternal cycle of change between non-material and material in the universe (Liu & Liu, 2020). “Tao Te Ching” tells us that the dynamic and purpose of this cyclical change are towards generating contradictions and moving towards balance (Liu & Liu, 2021d). “The Diamond Sutra” and “The Heart Sutra” tell us that humans should correctly understand themselves, understand the relationship between themselves and existence, thereby ensuring that they live well under the guidance of the mind and thoughts, and how to survive and continue to exist well (Liu & Liu, 2024).
Human survival refers to how living people can ensure that they live well until natural death.
The existence of human beings means that humans must continue to reproduce from generation to generation, think of ways to address and resolve any contradictions that threaten human existence, and achieve the long-term existence of humanity.
Human beings can solidify the changing phenomena into time units of processes for scientific research, but they cannot play jokes on the “time units” created by humans in the name of science. Designing the “bending” of time and imagining the “reversal” of time is a form of ignorance.
Humans are a form of matter, and in the cosmic process of existence measured in “kalpas”, all existences are undergoing change, unable to escape the destiny of cyclic existence, being cycled, existing, and being existed.
If someone claims to be the savior of humanity, he must be a fraud.
Each individual is their own savior, and humanity itself is the savior of humanity. The concept of a community of shared future for mankind embodies the original philosophy of the universe.
Learning from the universe, learning the spirit of the universe’s origin, creating contradictions, discovering contradictions, solving contradictions, and moving towards balance. This is the glorious mission that the universe created and bestowed upon mankind.
In the face of the creation of the universe, humanity should be grateful. Faced with the threats of the universe to human survival and existence, we should use the spirit of science to cope with and solve them. Humanity needs to survive, to exist.
Science is a spirit of seeking truth from facts to resolve contradictions. Human beings should understand the universe comprehensively with correct philosophical thoughts, not merely confined to the material universe. The material universe is just a small part of the universe, while the majority of the universe is the non-material universe, which is the origin of human beings and matter.
Humans are born in a universe of both material and non-material, nurtured by energy and information. All existence is the cause and factor of human birth, and humans should be in awe of existence and respect the existence of all things.
The destiny of human beings is a community, as well as a combination of soul and body. Living in the material world, it is easy to generate contradictions and conflicts under the influence of materialistic philosophy, because the “self” is the essence of human beings and matter. The idea of the origin of the universe tells us to truly understand humanity, to understand the universe, and to explore the origin of the universe and humanity.
The universe is contradictory, and both human beings and matter exist in contradiction. Mutual care and tolerance among human beings, recognizing contradictions, resolving contradictions, and moving towards balance are the common reflections of every individual and group of human beings.
If we do not think through this issue carefully, humans will bring danger to their own survival and will destroy themselves. Because humans already have such a very serious cause and factor in front of them, which is also a scientific “double-edged sword” problem.
The scientist admired by the author is Einstein, and the philosopher he admires is Russell. However, the author has a great deal of sympathy rather than admiration for famous figures like Einstein and Russell, who signed the “Manifesto for World Peace”. This is because they have forgotten that the reason for the “double-edged sword” of modern science is the “material philosophy trap” created by Socrates and Aristotle, which has not only benefited the development of science, but also had a serious negative impact on the confrontational thoughts brought by science to humanity.
Realizing this point can both solve the theoretical contradictions between quantum mechanics and relativity and resolve many of the conflicts that exist in today’s world.
Material philosophy has guided humanity for over 2000 years. In this new historical period, the ancestral cosmic origin Philosophy is calling us forth, and modern physics has once again opened the great door of cosmic origin Philosophy for the survival and existence of humanity.
4. Conclusion
The theory of Cosmic Origin Philosophy can become a new philosophical theory for mankind’s new era. This theory was born before the human axial age, and was intensively simplified into material philosophy and material science by Aristotle.
After more than 2000 years of development in material philosophy and material science, physics has reached its peak under the guidance of material philosophy. It has also verified the reliability of the philosophy of the Cosmic Origin Philosophy, which, in turn, can guide the resolution of the contradictions in modern physics. Through a contradictory cycle, science has once again opened the door to Cosmic Origin Philosophy. This not only resolves the contradictions in modern physics but also elevates science to the pinnacle of human philosophical thinking, becoming a flag for rethinking human existence and survival.
Thankfulness for the creation of the universe and for the ancestors’ tenacious survival and contemplation. This is the thinking of humans; only humans can do this.
These new thoughts are inspired by the philosophy of science and require rigorous validation by the philosophy of science.
Data Availability Statement
According to publishing standards and terms, the data in this article is publicly accessible and supports knowledge sharing. The author sincerely acknowledges the contributions of the cited works.
Acknowledgements
Thank Ms. Yu Kexin for her suggestions on the article, and thank the editor for their hard work.