Information Censorship

***[A New Way of

Seeing](_New%20Way%20of%20Seeing.md)***

Chapter 9: Information

Re-Founded

*From Autaxic Distinctions and Relational Processing to Emergent

Significance*

Beyond

Shannon and Subjectivity–The Quest for an Ontologically Grounded Theory

of Information

The

Ambiguity of “Information”: A Concept at the Crossroads

The concept of “information” permeates contemporary discourse, from

physics and biology to computer science and philosophy, yet it remains

remarkably elusive and multifaceted. Dominant conceptions often address

distinct aspects without necessarily forming a unified ontological

picture. Shannon information, for instance,

foundational to communication theory, brilliantly quantifies uncertainty

reduction, channel capacity, and the syntactic aspects of signal

transmission, but deliberately excludes semantic content or meaning.

Conversely, theories of semantic information attempt to

incorporate meaning, truth-value, or relevance, but often grapple with

issues of observer-dependency or context-specificity, struggling to

achieve universal applicability. Furthermore, bold propositions like

Wheeler’s “It from Bit” posit physical information as a

fundamental constituent of reality itself, yet the precise ontological

status of this “information”–what it is before it is observed

or processed–often remains unclear or a subject of intense debate.

This conceptual fragmentation highlights a profound problem: the lack

of a unified, ontologically deep framework capable of grounding these

different facets of information and explaining its apparent, almost

ubiquitous, role in structuring reality and enabling knowledge. If

information is indeed fundamental, what is its origin? If it is merely

descriptive, what is it describing? The autaxic framework confronts this

ambiguity head-on.

The

Autaxic Proposition: Information as Emergent Relational Significance

from Autaxys-Generated Distinctions

This chapter advances the core autaxic thesis regarding information:

information is neither a fundamental, independent substance or entity,

nor is it merely a subjective construct of observers. Instead,

information, in its fullest sense, **emerges from objective,

autaxys-generated distinctions (patterns of difference) that acquire

relational significance and ultimately semantic content through their

participation in complex, interacting autaxic systems.** Autaxys,

as the universe’s intrinsic generative principle (Chapter 7), provides the ontological

ground for what Gregory Bateson famously termed “a difference which

makes a difference.” By tracing the genesis of information from the most

primordial operations of autaxys, this chapter aims to move beyond

purely syntactic or purely subjective views, offering a path to re-found

information on a more robust and comprehensive ontological basis. The

value of this autaxic reinterpretation lies in its capacity to unify

disparate notions of information and ground them in the same generative

processes that give rise to particles, spacetime, and physical laws.

Building on the

Autaxic Generative Engine

The autaxic theory of information is not an ad-hoc proposal but flows

directly from the principles of autaxys’ “generative engine,” as

detailed in Chapter 8.

Several components of this engine are particularly crucial for

understanding the emergence of information:

Relational Processing (Dynamic I): This fundamental

autaxic dynamic, involving the continuous creation, propagation, and

transformation of distinctions and relations, forms the very raw

material from which information is constituted. Information, at its

core, is about discernible differences and their interrelations.

Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking (SSB) (Dynamic II):

This is the primary mechanism by which autaxys generates the initial

distinctions from an undifferentiated state of potentiality. Without

SSB, there would be no differences to form the basis of

information.

Conservation of Distinguishability (Meta-Logic II):

This meta-logical principle ensures that once a distinction (a unit of

proto-information) is formed and stabilized by autaxic processes, it

possesses an ontological inertia. It persists and can participate in

further relational processing, allowing for the accumulation and

structuring of information.

**Feedback Dynamics (Dynamic III) and Resonance (Dynamic

IV):** These operational dynamics are essential for selecting,

stabilizing, and amplifying certain patterns of distinction over others,

giving them the persistence and robustness necessary to function as

reliable informational units within larger systems.

By leveraging these established autaxic mechanisms, we can construct

a coherent narrative of information’s emergence, from its most

elementary form to its role in complex, meaning-making systems.

The

Genesis of Information in Autaxys: From Primordial Distinction to

Patterned Difference

The autaxic framework posits a staged emergence of information,

beginning with the most fundamental operations of its generative

engine.

**Stage 1: Autaxic Distinction–The Most Fundamental Form of

Proto-Information.** The very first step in the genesis of

information is the creation of distinction. Within

autaxys, this occurs primarily through the dynamic of

spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB). As autaxys

transitions from a state of undifferentiated potentiality (maximal

symmetry) to states of lower symmetry, specific forms and

differentiations emerge. The simplest outcome of such a break is the

establishment of a difference: this configuration of autaxic activity

(Pattern A) is not that configuration of autaxic activity

(Pattern B), or this region of autaxic potential now possesses a

characteristic that another region lacks. This “A is not B” is the most

basic, primordial “bit” of autaxic proto-information. These distinctions

are initially “objective” in a crucial sense: they are real

differentiations within the autaxic process itself, arising from its

intrinsic dynamics, independent of any subsequent observation or

interpretation by a complex observing system. They are features of

autaxys’ self-patterning. The **principle of conservation of

distinguishability (Meta-Logic II)** then plays a vital role by

ensuring that these nascent distinctions, once stabilized by feedback

and resonance, possess a degree of ontological inertia. They do not

arbitrarily vanish but persist as identifiable units that can

participate in further relational processing. Without

this conservation, no stable informational structures could form.

**Stage 2: Pattern Formation–Stabilized Configurations of

Distinctions.** Primordial distinctions, in isolation, represent

only the most rudimentary form of information. The next stage involves

the organization of these distinctions into **stable, reproducible

patterns**. This is achieved through the ongoing

relational processing within autaxys, guided by its

dynamics of **feedback (positive and negative), resonance, and

coherence establishment** (as detailed in Chapter 8). These dynamics

selectively amplify and stabilize certain configurations of distinctions

while damping others. The result is the emergence of persistent

autaxic process-patterns—the entities we reinterpreted

as “particles” in Chapter 11. Each

such stable process-pattern (e.g., an electron-pattern, a

photon-pattern) represents a higher order of information than a mere

isolated distinction. It is not just “A is not B,” but “this specific,

complex, self-sustaining configuration of autaxic activity exists,

possessing a unique set of internal dynamics and relational

affordances.” The internal structure of a process-pattern—its specific

mode of autaxic activity, its symmetries, its internal

resonances—constitutes a complex informational state. This “formative

information” defines the pattern’s identity and its potential modes of

interaction.

**Stage 3: Relational Significance–“Differences that Make a

Difference.”** A stable pattern, while informationally richer

than a simple distinction, does not yet possess “meaning” or

“significance” in a deeper sense merely by existing in isolation. The

crucial third stage in the autaxic genesis of information involves the

acquisition of relational significance. This aligns

closely with Gregory Bateson’s influential definition of information as

“a difference which makes a difference.”¹ Within the autaxic framework,

Bateson’s dictum is reinterpreted thus: a distinction or a pattern

acquires significance—becomes “information” in a richer, more

functional sense—when its presence, absence, or specific state

**makes a discernible difference to the state, behavior, or

evolution of other autaxys-generated patterns** within an

interacting system. This significance is not an intrinsic property of

the isolated pattern but arises entirely from its **relational

context and its causal efficacy**—its capacity

to influence and be influenced—within the broader network of autaxic

interactions. The dynamic of relational processing is

the mechanism by which these differences propagate through the autaxic

system and “make a difference” to other parts of it. An autaxic pattern

“informs” another when an interaction based on their respective

distinctions leads to a change in the state or relational configuration

of one or both. It is through this dynamic interplay that patterns

acquire roles, influence outcomes, and thereby embody significance

relative to the system in which they are embedded.

The

Nature of Autaxic Information: Objective Grounding, Relational

Meaning

This three-stage emergence—from distinction to pattern to relational

significance—allows autaxys to provide a nuanced account of information

that bridges the gap between purely objective and purely subjective

views.

**Objectivity of Autaxic Information: Grounded in Real

Distinctions and Causal Efficacy.** Autaxic information, at the

levels of fundamental distinctions and their direct causal consequences

through relational processing, is objective. It is

objective because it refers to real, efficacious differences in the

configuration and dynamics of autaxys itself. The distinction between an

electron-pattern and a photon-pattern, for example, is an objective

difference in their underlying autaxic structure and generative history,

leading to objectively different interaction potentials. When one

pattern influences another, that influence is a real transformation

within the autaxic system. This contrasts with views that render all

information radically observer-dependent or purely mental constructs.

While complex observing systems (like humans) undoubtedly

interpret and assign higher-level meaning to

information, the autaxic framework posits that the underlying

distinctions, the patterns formed from them, and their capacity to “make

a difference” through interaction are intrinsic features of autaxic

reality, existing prior to and independent of complex cognitive

interpretation.

**Relationality of Autaxic Information: Meaning Emerges from

Context and Interaction.* While the existence* of

distinctions and their causal efficacy is objective, the “meaning” or

“semantic content” of an autaxic pattern is not an inherent, isolated

property of that pattern. Instead, meaning emerges from its **web

of relations with other patterns and the functional role it plays within

a larger system of interactions.** A specific autaxic pattern

(e.g., a particular sequence of distinctions) only acquires semantic

content by virtue of how it correlates with, influences, or is

interpreted by other patterns or systems of patterns. Consider the

information encoded in a DNA sequence. The sequence of base pairs (A, T,

C, G) represents a complex pattern of objective chemical distinctions.

However, the “meaning” of a specific gene sequence (e.g., “code for

hemoglobin protein”) is not intrinsic to the isolated DNA molecule. That

meaning arises entirely from its relational context within a living

cell: its interaction with RNA polymerase, ribosomes, transfer RNAs, and

the entire cellular machinery that translates that sequence into a

functional protein which then plays a role in the organism’s physiology.

The same DNA sequence, isolated from this relational and functional

context, would be a complex pattern of distinctions, but it would lack

that specific biological meaning. The **principle of interactive

complexity maximization (Meta-Logic V from Chapter 8)** is

crucial here. It describes autaxys’ inherent tendency to generate

systems with increasingly rich and complex relational structures. It is

within these complex interactive networks that patterns acquire

increasingly nuanced and layered relational significance, forming the

basis for emergent semantic content.

**Information Hierarchies: From Simple Distinctions to Complex

Semantics.** Autaxys thus generates a natural hierarchy of

informational complexity, where each level builds upon the informational

structures of the level below: 1. *Level 1: Primordial

Distinctions:* The most basic form–“A is not B”–arising from

spontaneous symmetry breaking. These are the

fundamental “bits” of difference generated by autaxys. 2. *Level 2:

Stable Process-Patterns:* Configurations of distinctions stabilized

by feedback, resonance, and coherence establishment

(e.g., “particles”). These patterns possess “formative information” in

their structure and internal dynamics. 3. *Level 3: Relational

Information:* Patterns of interaction and correlation

between process-patterns, mediated by **relational

processing**. This includes information about relative positions,

motions, and states within a system. 4. *Level 4: Functional/Semantic

Information:* This highest level emerges in highly complex, often

adaptive, autaxic systems (e.g., biological organisms, cognitive

systems, ecosystems, potentially even complex social or technological

systems). Here, patterns and relational information acquire “meaning” or

“purpose” relative to the persistence, goals, or functional organization

of the larger system. This level is characterized by interpretation,

representation, and context-dependent significance. Each new level in

this hierarchy emerges as a result of autaxys’ capacity for

**critical state transitions and the formation of emergent

hierarchies (Dynamic V from Chapter 8)**, where

new organizational principles and informational capacities arise from

the complexification of underlying patterns and interactions.

Autaxys

vs. Other Information-Centric Ontologies: Clarifying Distinctions

The autaxic theory of information, by grounding information in a

fundamental generative process, offers a distinct perspective compared

to other prominent information-centric philosophies.

**Autaxys is Not Panpsychism or Information Monism (in the

usual sense).** It is important to distinguish the autaxic

framework from panpsychism, which posits consciousness

or mind-like properties as fundamental and ubiquitous in all matter.

Autaxys posits a generative process (autaxys itself, with its

dynamics and meta-logic) as fundamental. Consciousness, if and when it

arises, is viewed as an extraordinarily complex emergent pattern of

autaxic activity, likely associated with Level 4 informational systems,

not as a property inherent in primordial distinctions or simple

patterns. Similarly, autaxys is distinct from many forms of

information monism, such as Wheeler’s “It from Bit,”

where “information” (often ill-defined ontologically, or treated as

purely abstract bits) is seen as the ultimate “stuff” of reality. In

autaxys, information (as patterned distinction and relational

significance) is an emergent product and descriptor of autaxys’

generative activity; it is not the fundamental substrate itself. Autaxys

is “Pattern from Process,” and information is a way of characterizing

those patterns and the processes that generate and relate them. The

ontological primacy rests with the generative process of autaxys, not

with “information” as an independent primitive.

Autaxys and Shannon Information. Shannon’s

mathematical theory of information is a powerful and indispensable tool

for quantifying uncertainty reduction, communication channel capacity,

and other syntactic aspects of signal transmission. The autaxic

framework fully acknowledges its utility and views it as applicable to

measuring certain aspects of how autaxys-generated distinctions are

propagated, differentiated, and processed within specific contexts

(e.g., the “channel capacity” of a particular mode of relational

processing). However, autaxys provides the deeper ontological ground

that Shannon theory deliberately abstracts away from. Shannon theory

measures aspects of pattern transmission, but autaxys explains the

origin and nature of the distinctions and patterns themselves,

and, crucially, how they can acquire relational significance and

semantic content beyond mere statistical properties.

**Autaxys and Algorithmic Information Theory /

Complexity.** There are conceptual resonances between autaxys and

algorithmic information theory, particularly concepts like Kolmogorov

complexity (where the information content of a string is defined by the

length of the shortest computer program required to generate it).

Autaxys’ **principle of parsimony in generative mechanisms

(Meta-Logic III from [Chapter

8](8%20The%20Generative%20Engine.md))** suggests that the universe’s observed complexity arises

from the iterative application of a relatively simple set of autaxic

generative rules (the “program” being autaxys’ intrinsic engine).

However, autaxys aims to go further than merely measuring the complexity

of an output pattern. It seeks to articulate the *actual generative

rules and dynamics* of the “cosmic program” itself. While

algorithmic complexity provides a measure of descriptive economy,

autaxys focuses on the economy and power of the *generative

process*.

Implications

of an Autaxic Theory of Information

Grounding information in autaxic process has several profound

implications for our understanding of reality and scientific

inquiry.

Reframing the Observer Problem in Physics. If

information emerges from objective distinctions but acquires specific

meaning and is actualized through relational interaction, the “observer

problem” in quantum mechanics (Chapter 11) can be

reframed. The “observer” (or measuring apparatus) is understood as a

complex autaxic system. Its interaction with another quantum-scale

autaxic system (the “observed”) forces a specific actualization of

relational information from a spectrum of potentialities inherent in the

combined system. This interaction changes the relational state of both.

This perspective avoids radical subjectivism (where information only

exists in a conscious mind) while fully acknowledging the participatory

role of the observing system in defining the context for informational

significance and in co-determining the outcome of a “measurement” event.

The “collapse of the wavefunction” is reinterpreted as the autaxic

system (observer + observed) settling into a new, definite, and mutually

consistent relational state, where specific distinctions become manifest

and informationally salient.

Understanding Emergence and Complexity. The growth

of information—in the sense of structured complexity, hierarchical

organization, and increasingly rich relational significance—is seen as a

direct consequence of autaxys’ **principle of interactive

complexity maximization (Meta-Logic V from Chapter 8)**,

operating under the constraints of stability and coherence. New levels

of information and meaning emerge at **critical state

transitions** within the autaxic system, as new, more complex

patterns and modes of interaction become possible and stable. This

provides a framework for understanding emergence not as a mysterious

leap, but as a natural outcome of autaxys’ fundamental generative

tendencies.

**A Foundation for Understanding Meaning, Purpose, and Value

(Speculative Extension).** While this monograph primarily focuses

on the physical implications of autaxys, the autaxic theory of

information lays a potential foundation for future autological inquiry

into higher-order concepts. If meaning arises from relational

significance within complex autaxic systems, it is conceivable that

concepts like “purpose” could be understood naturalistically as

system-maintaining or goal-achieving relational dynamics within highly

evolved adaptive autaxic systems (like living organisms or conscious

beings). Similarly, “value” might be interpretable as a measure of a

pattern’s or process’s contribution to systemic coherence, stability, or

the facilitation of further interactive complexity. These are explicitly

speculative extensions, requiring much further development. However, the

crucial point is that an autaxic theory of information, by grounding

information in objective generative processes while allowing for

emergent, context-dependent meaning, opens a path for a naturalistic

understanding of these deeper aspects of existence, without resorting to

dualism or non-physical vital forces.

Information

Re-Founded: A Coherent Expression of Autaxic Reality

Synthesizing the

Autaxic View of Information

The autaxic framework refounds information, liberating it from the

confines of being either a purely abstract mathematical quantity, a

fundamental but ontologically obscure “stuff,” or a wholly subjective

mental construct. In autaxys, information is an emergent, multi-layered

phenomenon, intrinsically linked to the universe’s generative core. Its

journey begins with primordial distinctions born from

spontaneous symmetry breaking, solidifies into **stabilized

process-patterns** through feedback and resonance, acquires

relational significance through interaction and causal

efficacy, and ultimately blossoms into rich **semantic

content** within complex, hierarchically organized autaxic

systems. Information, in its fullest sense, is the discernible,

efficacious, and meaningful face of autaxys’ ceaseless creativity.

The

Explanatory Power of Autaxic Information Theory

The strength of this autaxic re-founding of information lies in its

capacity to provide a unified ontological source—autaxys and its

generative engine—for both the “syntax” (the objective distinctions and

patterns) and the “semantics” (the relational significance and

context-dependent meaning) of information. It resolves ambiguities in

prior theories by showing how these different facets of information can

arise coherently from a single, underlying generative process. This view

is fully consistent with, and indeed integral to, the broader autaxic

framework for understanding particles, spacetime, mass-energy, and

physical laws, contributing to a more integrated and parsimonious

worldview.

Information as a Lens

on Autaxys Itself

Ultimately, the study of information, when re-founded autologically,

becomes more than just an analysis of signals or meanings; it becomes a

powerful tool for understanding the nature and workings of autaxys

itself. The patterns of information generation, flow, transformation,

and complexification observed throughout the universe are direct

reflections of autaxys’ intrinsic operational dynamics and its guiding

meta-logical principles. To understand information in its deepest sense

is to gain insight into the very “grammar” of creation, the inherent

logic by which reality unfolds. Thus, information re-founded is not just

a theory about something in the universe; it is a lens that

reveals the generative heart of the universe.

[10 The Architecture of

Order](10%20Architecture%20of%20Order.md)

Notes - Chapter 9

The concept of information as “a difference which makes a

difference” is famously attributed to Gregory Bateson, notably in his

work Steps to an Ecology of Mind (1972). While autaxys

reinterprets this within its own generative framework, Bateson’s

formulation captures the essence of relational significance.