Project summary

The Elemental Reason is a research project into the fundamental structure of empirical reality, based strictly on what science has historically done through scientific measurement.

The only form of empirical knowledge of reality is scientific measurement. For approximately 400 years, science has systematically measured the forms in which this reality manifests itself, forms that it has called the “properties” of matter, but it has never measured “matter in itself.” These “properties” of matter are grouped into three fundamental forms: C (Coherence), I (Interaction), and K (Complexity).

Following an extensive scientific analysis, it becomes evident that there is nothing else hidden behind measurement, and that in every case what we actually measure are the different forms of manifestation of only three Constitutive Forces of Empirical Reality: C-I-K. Consequently, empirical existence (E) is expressed strictly through the ontological formula:

E = C × I × K ≠ 0

The foundational work is already publicly available through a substantial series of scientific papers based entirely on the most rigorous scientific measurement practices and on internationally established systems and standards of measurement and calibration, including the International System of Units (SI), maintained by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM), the International Vocabulary of Metrology (VIM), the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM), the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA), and ISO/IEC 17025 standards for testing and calibration laboratories. The project has now entered the phase of investigating the unavoidable consequences that follow from The Elemental Reason and its direct implications across all fields of human activity.

The two most recent essays, Myth, Power, Property and The Ontological Limit of Sovereignty, identify that the same structure of reality is also present in human society, and that human reality itself is subject to the same existential structure. They further examine how the imbalance between Myth, Power, and Property most profoundly reflects the present crises and the systemic risks arising from damage to the biosphere, nuclear weapons, and artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

Support would make possible the further investigation of these implications across the most fundamental fields of human activity: science, technology, ethics, law, religion, economics, and others. Work is currently underway to investigate measurement in economics and finance according to The Elemental Reason, with results intended to identify a strict predictive and preventive formula for determining when an economy is at risk of disintegration. This is fundamental work that requires sustained engagement and collaboration with researchers, specialists, and translators from different fields, while preserving free public access to the work.

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

The goal of the project is to investigate the scientific, philosophical, ethical, legal, and social consequences of The Elemental Reason, and to examine systematically how the C-I-K structure manifests itself in natural systems and in human civilization.

The work will focus on deepening the analysis of empirical data from established fields of science, as well as investigating the implications of The Elemental Reason for AI, the biosphere, systemic risk, governance, law, economics, and social organization.

The next objective is to develop a standardized system of economic and financial assessment based on the three fundamental C-I-K indicators, capable of signaling the early stages of destabilization or the risk of disintegration (bankruptcy) of an economic system.

These objectives will be pursued through research, analysis of existing data, development of new papers, and collaboration with researchers and specialists in the relevant fields.

How will this funding be used?

The funding will be used to support the ongoing work and the analysis of empirical data and well-established, reliable scientific data in the development of new work across the major fields of science.

A portion of the funding will also be used for collaboration with researchers and specialists in the relevant fields, as well as for translation, editing, publication, and international dissemination of the work, with the aim of preserving free public access to the foundational research on the applicability of The Elemental Reason.

The minimum funding is necessary to continue the work and maintenance of the project, sustain essential collaboration, and maintain TER’s public presence, while full funding of the goal would make it possible to expand collaboration, involve researchers and specialists, and gain access to essential data across different fields of knowledge.

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

The Elemental Reason is an original discovery of mine, the result of four decades of systematic work observing, researching, and analyzing data from the history of science. At the core of The Elemental Reason is the identification of what lies behind the act of scientific measurement, where it is explicitly demonstrated that the observer, the system, and the instrument share, in the strictest sense, the same structure: C-I-K. At present, TER is directed and developed by me, Erl Kodra, author, poet, and philosopher.

My work has been publicly documented through papers published on SSRN, Zenodo, PhilPapers, and ResearchGate, as well as on the official website, theelementalreason.com. Among these publications are The Universe as the Proof of Work: The Elemental Reason (Zenodo: https://zenodo.org/records/18894412); The Elemental Reason – Light, Measurement, and the Minimal Conditions of Existence (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6563899); The End of the Thing-in-Itself: The Elimination of the Substrate and the Empirical Measurement of Ontology (Zenodo: https://zenodo.org/records/21279570); The Elemental Reason: Scientific Evidence from Measurement and the Photon Boundary Test (Zenodo: https://zenodo.org/records/22726280); and The Elemental Reason: Empirical Validation Dataset (Zenodo: https://zenodo.org/records/22727059). The papers and materials published on these platforms have reached tens of thousands of reads, downloads, and shares, as well as an international audience through social media platforms. I have also published the essays Myth, Power, Property and The Ontological Limit of Sovereignty on the website. I am currently continuing work on the book of the same title, The Elemental Reason.

In the next phase, the project aims to involve researchers and specialists from different fields, depending on the specific needs of each area of research.

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

The Elemental Reason does not require prior consensus or a vote, but only recognition of its fundamental scientific arguments. In this sense, TER requires the extension of its argument across different fields of knowledge and interdisciplinary testing. Investigating these arguments, however, requires collaboration with specialists in the relevant fields of scientific knowledge. Consequently, an inability to secure the necessary resources would affect the reach and formal recognition of TER.

Nevertheless, the existing work and the results of ongoing research will remain publicly accessible.

How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

The Elemental Reason is a scientific and philosophical project that developed quietly over several decades, but only after the discovery of the connection between scientific measurement and the structure of reality was the work made public. All of the work to date has been financed through my own personal resources.