Modern cosmology is often presented as the most ambitious extension of physical theory: a science not merely of systems within the universe, but of the universe as a whole.
It asks:
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What is the state of the universe?
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What were its initial conditions?
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How did it evolve?
Implicit in these questions is a powerful assumption:
The universe can be treated as a physical system like any other.
This assumption appears natural.
It is also deeply problematic.
1. The Hidden Model
In ordinary physics, the structure of inquiry is clear.
A system is:
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prepared in some way,
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allowed to evolve,
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and then measured.
The theory connects these elements, yielding predictions about observable outcomes.
This structure presupposes a distinction between:
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the system under investigation, and
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the conditions under which it is observed.
But cosmology attempts to apply this same framework to the universe itself.
And here the structure breaks.
2. There Is No External Standpoint
To observe a system, one must stand in some relation to it.
There must be:
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an experimental arrangement,
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a measurement context,
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a distinction between observer and observed.
But the universe, by definition, includes all physical systems.
There is nothing outside it.
This leads to a simple but devastating conclusion:
The universe cannot be observed in the way physical systems are ordinarily observed.
3. The Meaning of “State of the Universe”
Despite this, cosmology frequently speaks of “the state of the universe.”
But what does this mean?
In standard physics, a state is defined relative to:
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a set of observables,
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a measurement framework,
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and a specification of possible outcomes.
If there is no external measurement context, then the notion of a fully specified, observer-independent state becomes unclear.
A “state of the universe” cannot be defined in the same way as the state of a laboratory system.
The concept is being extended beyond the conditions that give it meaning.
4. The Problem of Initial Conditions
The same issue arises in discussions of initial conditions.
Cosmology often posits that the universe began in a particular state — for example, a hot, dense configuration associated with the Big Bang.
But the notion of an “initial state” presupposes:
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a temporal framework,
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a set of variables,
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and a way of specifying values.
All of these are defined within a theoretical and observational context.
If the universe is treated as a whole, the question arises:
Relative to what are these initial conditions specified?
Without a context of measurement or comparison, the idea of intrinsic initial conditions becomes conceptually unstable.
5. The Cosmological Extension of Independence
Cosmology inherits the independence assumption from earlier physics.
It treats the universe as:
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a self-contained system,
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possessing a definite state,
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evolving according to physical laws.
This is independence ontology in its most expansive form.
But the very conditions that make the concept of a system meaningful in physics — preparation, measurement, and observational context — are absent at the cosmological level.
The assumption of independence is therefore no longer supported by the structure of the theory.
6. Observers Within the Universe
All observations of the universe are made from within it.
Astronomical data are gathered by instruments that are themselves part of the physical world.
The observational situation is therefore fundamentally different from that of laboratory physics.
We do not observe the universe from the outside.
We observe phenomena within it, from specific locations, under specific conditions, using particular theoretical frameworks.
Cosmological knowledge is therefore necessarily situated.
7. The Illusion of the “View from Nowhere”
Despite this, cosmological discourse often adopts what might be called a “view from nowhere.”
The universe is described as if its properties could be specified independently of any observational standpoint.
This perspective is a direct inheritance from the independence ontology of classical physics.
But once the absence of an external standpoint is recognised, the illusion becomes apparent.
There is no position from which the universe can be described in complete independence from all conditions of observation.
8. Rethinking Cosmology
If the universe cannot be observed as a system in the usual sense, then cosmology must be reinterpreted.
Rather than describing the intrinsic state of a self-contained object, cosmological theories can be understood as:
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models that relate observable phenomena within the universe,
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frameworks that organise large-scale patterns of data,
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and structures that constrain how observations cohere.
The emphasis shifts from intrinsic description to relational organisation.
9. The Consequence
The attempt to treat the universe as an independently specifiable system extends the independence assumption beyond its domain of validity.
What worked as an approximation in classical physics becomes conceptually unstable at the cosmological scale.
The universe is not a system that can be observed from the outside.
It is the totality within which all observation takes place.
Final Statement
The universe cannot be observed.
And if it cannot be observed, it cannot be assigned a fully specified, context-independent state in the way classical ontology предполагает.
Cosmology therefore forces a recognition that was already emerging in quantum theory:
The idea of reality as something fully defined independently of all perspectives is not a neutral assumption.
It is a metaphysical inheritance.
And at the scale of the universe itself, it begins to break down. 🌌🔥
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