Writings
Longer-form explorations of quality theory, its philosophical foundations, and practical applications.
Foundations
What qualities are and how they sit at the center of metaphysics, science, and inquiry.
Two Definitions of Quality — The word "quality" has two distinct but interconnected meanings that shape how we perceive and evaluate the world. This foundational article explores quality as both characteristic and excellence, revealing the deep connection between perception and evaluation.
A Modern Illustration: Database Design — How normalized data models mirror identity as a pattern of qualities and relationships; extends the argument in Two Definitions of Quality.
Expanding the Realm of Science to Include Good — Just as consciousness has entered scientific inquiry, Quality (or good) must be recognized as foundational to science itself. This article explores how Quality is not peripheral but essential to scientific reasoning, and how expanding our conception of truth to include harmony and benefit can transform scientific ontology.
Dynamics of Quality
How qualities are selected, prioritized, and directed—how value emerges within a field of distinctions.
Motives and the Direction of Quality — Motives as the orienting counterpart to qualities: how evaluative weight arises, and whether direction in a field of qualities requires consciousness.
Systems
Coming later: how stable structures form—harmony, intelligence, and related themes.
Applications
Coming later: software, education, cognition, and other applied work.
More in development
Additional pieces on the roadmap:
- Ontology and Epistemology: The radical connection between "what is" and "what we know"
- Algebra of Quality: How quantitative and other algebras are subsets of qualitative algebra
- Practical Applications: Tools that help us to think more intelligently
- Definition of Intelligence: Intelligence as the perception of harmony and actions flowing from it