Physical Relativism as an Interpretation of Existence

TL;DR

This paper introduces physical relativism, a new interpretation of existence that clarifies the distinction between mathematical and physical existence, and offers insights into why the universe exists and the likelihood of life-supporting laws.

Contribution

It proposes physical relativism as a novel interpretation of existence, connecting quantum theories with the 'it from bit' concept and deriving a biophilic principle.

Findings

Clarifies the difference between mathematical and physical existence.

Provides an explanation for the universe's existence.

Derives the maximally biophilic principle.

Abstract

Despite the success of modern physics in formulating mathematical theories that can predict the outcome of quantum-scale experiments, the physical interpretations of these theories remain controversial. In this manuscript, we propose a new interpretation of existence that we call physical relativism. Under physical relativism, the difference between mathematical existence and physical existence is clarified, and Wheeler's `it from bit' viewpoint can be objectively evaluated. In addition, physical relativism provides a simple answer to the question of why the universe exists at all, and permits us to derive the maximally biophilic principle, a generalization of the anthropic principle that ascribes high prior likelihood to the observation of a universe with simple physical laws supporting the overall concepts of time, space and the emergent evolution of life.