TFP Section 1 (v9)

Section 1 — First Principles of Temporal Flow Physics (TFP)

(Foundational Axioms Only — v9.0)
By John Gavel

1.0 Purpose of Section 1

Section 1 establishes the ontological ground on which the entire framework of TFP is built. Only primitive assumptions appear here. Nothing in this section is inferred, derived, or dependent on higher-level constructs.

1.1 Primitive Ontological Entities

Axiom 1 — Temporal Substrate Exists

Reality consists of a discrete, underlying temporal substrate. It is not “time” in the classical sense but the primitive medium in which updates occur. The substrate is irreducible and has no internal structure beyond its capacity to host flows.

Axiom 2 — Local Temporal Flow Units

The substrate supports discrete temporal flow units. Each unit carries a signed orientation relative to its local temporal context: forward-oriented flow (\(+1\)) represents propagation in the substrate's preferred temporal direction, backward-oriented flow (\(-1\)) represents counter-propagation. These orientations are primitive relational states, not absolute directions.

Axiom 3 — Spatial Adjacency as Emergent Topology

The substrate supports adjacency relations. Adjacency is primitive; spatiality is emergent. Two flow units can influence one another only if adjacency is defined between them.

1.2 Primitive Dynamics

Axiom 4 — Irreducible Update Rule (Local Causality)

Each flow unit updates its state based solely on:

• its previous state, and
• the states of directly adjacent units.

No nonlocal influences are allowed at the primitive level.

Axiom 5 — Asymmetric Fundamental Preference

The substrate possesses an inherent asymmetry that biases the update rule toward a preferred temporal orientation. This preference is neither symmetric nor invertible. It is the seed of all higher-order asymmetries (thermodynamic, causal, electromagnetic, etc.) that appear later.

Axiom 6 — Flow Interaction Constraint

When flows interact across adjacency relations, they do so through a simple, primitive balance principle:

Excess oriented flow seeks minimal local tension.

The substrate constrains how this tension can be reduced. This “tension minimization” is not a force; it is a fundamental rule of interaction.

1.3 Identity, Consistency, and Exclusion

Axiom 7 — State Identity Preservation

A flow unit retains an identifiable state across updates. State transitions are well-defined and cannot spontaneously vanish or duplicate.

Axiom 8 — No Simultaneous Contradictory Orientations

A unit cannot contain both forward and backward maximum orientation simultaneously. This is a primitive exclusion principle defining consistency of update states.

Axiom 9 — Discreteness of Change

All changes occur in discrete steps. No continuous interpolations exist at the fundamental layer. Continuum behavior arises only in large-scale coarse-graining (later sections).

1.4 Primitive Conservation Structure

Axiom 10 — Global Flow Sum Is Unconstrained

The substrate does not impose a conservation principle on total temporal flow. Local interactions may generate or annihilate oriented flows in bounded amounts depending on the primitive update rule. This is intentional: conserved quantities emerge later, not here.

Axiom 11 — Local Flow Redistribution

Although the total global flow is unconstrained, local redistribution follows strict adjacency-based rules. No instant propagation is possible.

1.5 Prohibition of Derived Constructs in Section 1

The following constructs explicitly do not appear in Section 1 because they are emergent or higher-order:

• energy, mass, momentum
• charges, currents, fields
• potentials, wave equations, metric structures
• clusters, coherence, coherence gradients
• symmetry breaking, gauge structures
• continuum limits
• space, spacetime, geometry
• force, inertia, or kinematics
• probabilities or statistical ensembles

All such concepts must be defined in later sections as emergent structures built from these axioms.

1.6 Minimal Summary of First Principles

TFP is built on five primitive pillars:

• A discrete temporal substrate
• Signed temporal flow units
• Adjacency as the basis of interaction
• A primitive asymmetric update rule
• Consistent discrete state transitions with no contradictions

Everything else emerges from these.