In a complexifying universe, structural order, information, and energy are tightly linked: more complex entities require higher energy flows to sustain their informational richness. Eric Chaisson’s work on free energy rate density shows a clear trajectory from low-density systems like stars to high-density systems like human culture, with increasing complexity accompanied by greater capacity for meaningful information processing. Bobby Azarian frames this as a cosmic learning process, where reducing uncertainty enables organisms to extract energy and resist entropy. Gregg Henriques’ Unified Theory of Knowledge maps this process across four emergent planes—Matter, Life, Mind, and Culture—each defined by novel forms of information processing (genetic, neuronal, symbolic) and corresponding system–environment relationships. As complexity rises, entities must navigate and integrate meaning across all lower levels as well, with each layer introducing new, adaptive forms of viability-enhancing information. Thus, meaning itself evolves in step with complexity, accumulating novel layers while remaining grounded in the thermodynamic imperative to maintain existence.
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