The Theory of Universal Belonging (TUB)

Abstract

The Theory of Universal Belonging (TUB) proposes an ontology of coexistence based on a transposition of an arithmetic fact into a metaphysical principle: to belong is not simply to be included, but to maintain an equilibrium of reciprocal irreducibility. In arithmetic, two entities are said to be co-first when they do not share any common factor; no one “decomposes” the other. Transposed to being, this observation becomes a law of stability: an element belongs to a stable universe if it resists decomposition by the other elements and if it refrains in return from decomposing them. The paradigmatic model is the universe of prime numbers: each prime is indivisible (beyond 1 and itself) and does not disintegrate any other prime. On this model, the TUB formalizes the idea of rank equilibrium, an ontological invariant measuring the contribution of a being to the stability of the whole. This recasting leads to a reconsideration of the ethics of relationship, the politics of plurality and the engineering of systems (technical and social) from the perspective of mutual stability through non-reduction.