Reality as a Living System™
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Reality as a Living System™: A Synthesis of the Axiom State, Observer-Relative Interpretation, and Earth-System Continuity Part IV of the Four-Paper Axiom State Series This concluding paper integrates three conceptual proposals developed within the Axiom State™ series: the Axiom State as a provisional classification of living systems, the I/O/U/Q framework for observer-relative interpretation, and Earth as a candidate system exhibiting organizational continuity through biological and geophysical interactions. The synthesis distinguishes the universe as a physical totality, shared reality as the world of existing conditions and relationships, and experienced reality as an observer's situated encounter with that world. Central to the framework is the proposition that multiple observers participate in one shared reality while interpreting it through different positions, available information, and biases. These interpretations may influence individual actions and consequently alter the future conditions of the shared system. The paper further investigates whether interconnected physical and biological processes could exhibit the four proposed Axiom State conditions: self-correction, self-sustenance, self-continuation, and self-preservation. Drawing upon scientific perspectivism, autopoiesis, Gaia theory, ecological resilience, and Earth-system science, the synthesis explores the possibility that living-system organization may exist at scales beyond individual organisms. The proposal does not equate observation with the creation of physical reality, nor does it assert that Earth or the universe possesses consciousness. Instead, it identifies conceptual boundaries, counterarguments, and preliminary conditions for evaluating whether the classification of reality as a living system offers explanatory value beyond existing scientific frameworks. The manuscript concludes with the guiding philosophical principle: "To live is to continue. To be alive is to embrace individual identity." This work is presented as an integrative philosophical hypothesis rather than an empirically established scientific theory.
Author: Estes, Elyse Meagan
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225817670
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