The Fluctuational Ethics of Ontological Response: A Novel Philosophical Distinction Between Surrender and Laziness in an Unstable Universe
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This thesis addresses a fundamental question in moral philosophy: What is the philosophical distinction between surrender and laziness in a universe where stability is illusory and change is inevitable? Drawing upon recent developments in ontological instability theory, fluctuational metaphysics, and fluctuational epistemology, this work develops a novel theoretical framework called "Fluctuational Ethics" that provides the first systematic philosophical distinction between surrender and laziness adequate to the reality of an unstable universe. The thesis argues that traditional ethical frameworks, grounded in assumptions of stable being and fixed moral categories, cannot adequately distinguish between surrender and laziness because both appear as forms of "non-action" from the perspective of substance metaphysics. Through rigorous theoretical development, mathematical formalization, and empirical validation, this work demonstrates that surrender and laziness represent fundamentally different ontological, temporal, and ethical orientations toward instability. The framework reveals surrender as "active receptivity" involving infinite ethical responsibility and creative engagement with flux, while laziness emerges as "pseudo-passivity" characterized by denial of instability and abandonment of ethical responsibility. This distinction has profound implications for moral philosophy, existential authenticity, and political theory in an age of ontological instability.
Author: Tan, Kwan Hong
Institution: Singapore University of Social Sciences
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7079596530
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