Physis

Physis Theory redefines the ancient Greek Physis–Nomos distinction. Physis is the default state of all living systems and carries two independent functions: agonistic (aggression, competition, dominance, the production of leadership) and affiliative (empathy, the sense of justice, reciprocity, repair). The two are not opposites; they run at the same time, with different sensitivities to scale. Nomos is not a second system but a capacity — for conscious choice and meaning — born within Physis at the intersection of memory and death-awareness, in linear temporal consciousness. It is morally neutral: it can run agonistically as well as affiliatively, and it generates three derived capacities — choice, scale, and temporal symbolic selfhood.

The theory's central thesis is structural asymmetry, and the asymmetry lies in friction rather than in strength. The affiliative reflex works in the immediate circle and stays at its own scale; the agonistic reflex operates independently of scale. At the institutional level the difference sharpens: scaling the agonistic side is aligned with the decision-maker's interest and therefore meets no resistance, while scaling the balancing side constrains that same power and therefore runs into it — high friction, and constant erosion. This is why a just, free and equal society can be built but not sustained.

Corporate entities — states, companies, parties, religious orders, institutions — are treated as a hybrid species born from the symbiosis of the human and the idea. This is the paradox of the corporate entity: it is a product of Nomos, yet it is locked in pure Physis mode. The distinguishing difference is the source of death: for the human it is entropy, and others are allies; for the corporate entity it is others — rivals, the market. That is what pushes it toward singularity.

Physis Theory is set out in full in the book Physis: A Theory of Power.

Interactive 3D Map of the Literature

Interactive 3D Map of the Literature — shows where Physis sits in the literature on power across three axes: horizontally Liberal/Individualist ↔ Structuralist, vertically Normative ↔ Descriptive, and in depth (the ground plane) Cultural-Constructivist ↔ Biological-Ontological. Each dot is a thinker; its colour marks kinship to Physis: red is Physis itself, filled Oxford blue the closest kin, filled grey near-but-distinct approaches, and a hollow blue ring distant-but-in-dialogue positions. The map shows Physis occupying a descriptive, biological-ontological corner: its true kin are behaviour-biology thinkers (de Waal, Boehm, Sapolsky, Hamilton), while it stands apart from cultural-constructivist power theorists (Foucault, Gramsci) and the normative-liberal tradition (Rawls, Sen). Drag to rotate.

Open the map (English) · Haritayı aç (Türkçe)

Research program architecture

The work is organized in four interconnected strands.

Physis is the theoretical strand — Physis: A Theory of Power and the two paper series built on it: the Physis Series, which opens a gateway to each text of the book, and the Nomos Paradigm Series, which applies the book's final part to the present.

Almanak is the chronological power-recording branch — a structured method of daily chronological recording, first applied in full to Turkey's 2002–2014 period.

Babil is the historical synthesis branch — a three-volume reading of governing classes through the Physis framework.

Triade Engine is the applied analytical extension of Physis Theory — an applied methodology under proprietary development, with v1.0 release targeted for 2027.

The four strands are not parallel projects but a single research program: Physis defines, Babil and Almanak ground in history and observation, Triade Engine extends into applied analysis.