The Principle of Optimal Coherence
Authors/Creators
- 1. Institute of Integrative and Interdisciplinary Research
Description
This article proposes the Principle of Optimal Coherence as a methodological tool for scientific investigation across disciplines. The principle states that in any system where a fixed and non-contradictory set of constraints fully determines an admissible set of probable configurations, the realized configuration is one for which no alternative admissible configuration can achieve higher global coherence without violating at least one constraint.
Drawing on recent developments in the philosophy of physics—including constraint-based accounts of laws (Adlam, Chen & Goldstein, Meacham), the Law of Scale-Specific Principles (Kriger), variational principles, and Leibniz's concept of compossibility—the article argues that this principle provides a productive heuristic for research: when encountering apparently anomalous or suboptimal features in a coherent system, the investigator should assume structural necessity and seek the constraints that the feature ensures.
The work rehabilitates Leibniz's notion of optimum (maximal potency of realization, not comparative excellence) from Voltaire's moralized caricature, connecting early modern metaphysics to contemporary physics through Terekhovich's modal interpretation of the principle of least action and Feynman's path-integral formulation.
A key contribution is the distinction between teleology as ontology (inadmissible in science) and teleology as epistemology (a productive heuristic exploiting human cognitive architecture). The article includes a practical seven-step workflow for applying the principle, with guidance on identifying "cheat" functions, multifunctionality, and specifying falsification conditions.
Keywords
philosophy of science; methodology; coherence; constraints; laws of nature; variational principles; Leibniz; teleology; fine-tuning; effective field theory; renormalization group
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Principle_of_Optimal_Coherence.pdf
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Additional details
References
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