Overview
Within the Cosmos (the scientifically visible segment of Being) there is a general axiom that every effect must have a prior cause. This axiom encounters a boundary condition when extrapolated backward along the chain of causation: a point is reached at which no prior cause can be identified within the Cosmos itself. Within the framework of Philosophia, this implies that the antecedent cause must lie either within the Transcendent or the Apeiron.
An observer who operates within the Cosmos may infer some prior cause located in the Transcendent, depending on that observer’s worldview. While scientific verification of such inferences is precluded by the boundary condition, these questions fall within the domain of Epistemology, which examines how such inferences may be justified or challenged.
Within the framework of the Transcendent, it is possible to identify several broad categories of worldview that address ultimate causation:
- First Agent - a personal or intelligent originator (e.g., "In the beginning, an Agent created the Cosmos").
- First Substance - a primordial substrate from which all arises (e.g., "In the beginning, the Cosmos was Chaos").
- Perpetual Cycle - an eternal process of generation and dissolution (e.g., "The universe endlessly cycles through birth and death").
- Unspecified - a worldview that remains silent or agnostic regarding any initial cause.
This Transcendent rank classifies the various worldviews according to the categories outlined above. Each worldview may then be further elaborated within the Subtranscendent rank.