Information Field: Algorithm of Existence and Interaction

A Scientific Article with Source Analysis and Statement Differentiation

Based on the concept by N.V. Kharitonov

2026

Abstract

Abstract

This article presents a detailed analysis of the concept of the information field as a fundamental reality. The work systematically differentiates between statements supported by scientific evidence in peer-reviewed research and propositions of a philosophical or speculative nature. Based on the analysis of works in quantum field theory, thermodynamics of dissipative structures, integrated information theory, and cosmology, a comprehensive picture of the interaction between the information field and material systems of varying complexity levels is formed. The article serves as a logical continuation of the “Manifesto of Anegentropy” and deepens the theoretical foundations of the concept.

Keywords: information field, quantum field theory, dissipative structures, emergence, consciousness, integrated information theory, holographic principle, cosmological cycle.

1. Introduction

The concept of the information field represents an attempt to synthesize modern scientific knowledge into a unified picture of reality, where information is viewed not as a secondary property of matter, but as a fundamental entity underlying the physical world. This article is an in-depth elaboration of the propositions set forth in N.V. Kharitonov’s “Manifesto of Anegentropy” and aims to conduct a rigorous differentiation between scientifically grounded statements and philosophical hypotheses.

The relevance of this research is driven by the growing interest of the scientific community in the informational aspects of physical reality. The works of John Wheeler, who proposed the formula “It from Bit” [1], Gerard ‘t Hooft, who formulated the holographic principle [2], and numerous studies in quantum information demonstrate a profound transformation in understanding the nature of reality. Information ceases to be merely an abstract concept in communication theory and acquires the status of an ontological primordial foundation.

The research methodology includes critical analysis of primary sources, systematization of empirical data and theoretical models, as well as philosophical interpretation of scientific results. Particular attention is paid to identifying logical connections between diverse scientific disciplines—from quantum physics to neuroscience—in the context of a unified informational paradigm.

2. Theoretical Foundations of the Information Field Concept

2.1. The Fundamental Nature of Fields in Modern Physics

[SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED] Modern quantum field theory regards fields as fundamental reality, while particles are their excited states. Art Hobson, in his work “There are no particles, there are only fields” [3], demonstrates that reality consists of a set of universal quantized fields, and particles do not exist as independent entities. Steven Weinberg directly asserts: “The basic ingredients of nature are fields; particles are derivative phenomena” [4]. Electrons are quanta of the electron field, photons are quanta of the electromagnetic field. The Standard Model describes approximately 25 universal fields, each corresponding to a specific type of fundamental interaction.

This proposition has profound philosophical significance: matter is secondary to the field structure of the Universe. The physical vacuum is not nothing, but an active substrate in a state of constant fluctuations. The Casimir effect [5], an experimentally confirmed phenomenon, demonstrates that the vacuum is full of activity: two parallel conducting plates placed in a vacuum are attracted to each other due to the difference in quantum fluctuations between them and outside. This is direct evidence that “emptiness” is an illusion, and the vacuum possesses a nontrivial structure.

2.2. Information as a Physical Entity

[SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED] John Wheeler, in his seminal work “Information, Physics, Quantum: The Search for Links” [1], formulated the concept of “It from Bit”—the idea that every element of the physical world has at its basis an immaterial source and explanation. Wheeler argued that everything that exists derives from bits of information—yes/no answers posed by an observer. This concept has been developed in numerous studies on quantum information and links physics with Claude Shannon’s information theory [6].

Shannon’s theory, proposed in 1948, defines information as a measure of uncertainty, and entropy as a characteristic of the statistical properties of a system. The connection between thermodynamic entropy and information entropy, established by the works of Shannon, Kolmogorov, and other researchers, points to a deep interconnection between physical and informational processes. However, the question of whether information is primary relative to matter remains a subject of scientific discourse.

2.3. The Information Field Concept: Scientific and Philosophical Aspects

[PHILOSOPHICAL CONCLUSION] The proposition that an information field exists as a fundamental reality alongside known physical fields represents a philosophical hypothesis extending beyond the generally accepted scientific paradigm. Although the concept is consistent with Wheeler’s informational approach and ‘t Hooft’s holographic principle, it lacks direct experimental confirmation in the form of detection of a separate “information field” as a physical entity.

[SPECULATIVE STATEMENT] The claim that the information field “is not an emergent property of complex systems—it is primary” represents a speculative generalization. Scientific data, including Philip Anderson’s work “More is Different” [7], demonstrate that emergence is a universal principle of matter organization. The question of the primacy of information relative to matter belongs to the realm of metaphysics and cannot be resolved within the framework of the current experimental method.

[LOGICAL CONCLUSION] Nevertheless, the logic of the information field concept is built on systematic generalization of established scientific facts: quantum fields are fundamental, information plays a key role in quantum mechanics, the holographic principle indicates the possibility of describing three-dimensional reality through a two-dimensional information structure. These propositions create a foundation for the hypothesis of a unified informational substrate of reality.

3. Interaction of the Information Field with Matter

3.1. Dissipative Structures and Negentropy

[SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED] Ilya Prigogine, awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1977, introduced the concept of dissipative structures to describe systems that are far from thermodynamic equilibrium, exchange energy and matter with the environment, self-organize into ordered structures, and maintain their order through energy dissipation [8]. In equilibrium systems, order is destroyed according to the second law of thermodynamics, but in open systems far from equilibrium, order can emerge from chaos due to a constant influx of energy.

Classic examples of dissipative structures include Bénard cells (hexagonal convective cells in heated fluid), the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction (chemical waves and spiral patterns), lasers (coherent radiation from atoms), and Taylor-Couette vortices. All these structures exist only as long as a flow of energy passes through them. The philosophical significance of Prigogine’s theory is profound: chaos and randomness are not enemies of order, but its necessary prerequisite.

[SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED] Erwin Schrödinger, in his book “What is Life?” (1944), formulated the key concept of negentropy [9]: a living organism continuously increases its entropy and approaches the state of maximum entropy, which represents death. The organism can avoid this state only by constantly extracting negative entropy from the environment. Living systems maintain their high orderliness by absorbing negentropy from the environment and dissipating entropy outward.

3.2. Emergence and the Complication of Matter

[SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED] Philip Anderson, in his famous article “More is Different” (1972), showed that when a large number of elements interact, qualitatively new properties and structures emerge that are absent in individual components [7]. Emergence—”more is different”—operates at all levels of matter organization: from atoms to galaxies, from cells to societies. Complexity is not the sum of the properties of elements, but the result of their interactions. Each new interaction adds a dimension to the “space of possibilities” of the system.

[PHILOSOPHICAL CONCLUSION] The proposition that “the information field manifests only when interacting with sufficiently complex material systems” represents a philosophical interpretation of the emergence principle. Although science confirms that complex systems demonstrate properties irreducible to the properties of components, the hypothesis of a “manifestation threshold” of the information field requires further theoretical development and experimental verification.

4. Hierarchy of Manifestations: From the Inanimate to Consciousness

4.1. Consciousness and the Brain in the Context of the Informational Paradigm

[SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED] Integrated Information Theory (IIT), developed by Giulio Tononi, proposes a mathematical model of consciousness as integrated information [10]. According to IIT, consciousness is identical to a certain kind of information whose realization requires physical integration. As information becomes less integrated or decreases, consciousness fades. This theory is empirically supported by studies of neural correlates of consciousness and provides a quantitative measure (Φ) for assessing the level of consciousness in a system.

The human brain contains approximately 86 billion neurons and quadrillions of synaptic connections. The brain consumes about 20% of the body’s energy while comprising only 2% of its mass [11]. This is a colossal energetic cost of complexity. Research shows that maintaining the basic state of a complex system requires enormous expenditures, while solving specific cognitive tasks can be relatively “cheap.” The infrastructure of complexity is expensive; computations are relatively economical.

[PHILOSOPHICAL CONCLUSION] The proposition that “consciousness is not a product of the brain, but a process of the brain’s interaction with the information field” represents a philosophical hypothesis alternative to materialistic theories of consciousness. Although IIT and other neurobiological theories provide valuable models, the question of the nature of consciousness (the “hard problem of consciousness” according to David Chalmers) remains open. The “receiver-transmitter” hypothesis requires further development and empirical testing.

4.2. Memory and Creativity

[SPECULATIVE STATEMENT] The hypothesis that “memory is not the storage of data in the brain, but the ability to tune into previously created or read fluctuations of the information field” extends beyond generally accepted neurobiological theories. Modern science views memory as a collection of neural ensembles and synaptic connections formed during learning. However, the concept of “tuning” to the information field presents an interesting analogy with quantum entanglement and deserves further theoretical analysis.

[LOGICAL CONCLUSION] Understanding creativity and insights as “moments of particularly successful resonance with new, previously unmanifested regions of the field” is consistent with the phenomenology of the creative process described in psychological literature. The sudden “insight” that comes after a period of unconscious information processing can be interpreted in terms of establishing new connections in the neural network or—within this concept—as resonance with the information field.

5. Cosmological Context of the Information Field

5.1. Black Holes and the Information Paradox

[SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED] Hawking radiation is a process predicted by Stephen Hawking in which black holes emit thermal radiation and gradually lose mass [12]. This process creates the information paradox: if a black hole completely evaporates, what happens to the information about the absorbed matter? According to quantum mechanics, information cannot be destroyed, but Hawking radiation appears purely thermal, carrying no information.

[SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED] The holographic principle, proposed by Gerard ‘t Hooft [2], asserts that all information about a three-dimensional volume can be encoded on its two-dimensional boundary. This principle, developed through the work of Leonard Susskind and other researchers, offers a solution to the information paradox: information is preserved on the event horizon of a black hole and can be extracted from Hawking radiation with correct quantum description. The entropy of a black hole is proportional to the area of its event horizon—this is the most compact form of information storage.

[PHILOSOPHICAL CONCLUSION] Interpreting a black hole as an “ultimate archiver”—a structure that “leaves only the registration of interactions, terminating the interactions themselves beyond the event horizon”—represents a philosophical metaphor consistent with the holographic principle. However, the claim of “rewriting” information from material structures into a “pure form of information field fluctuations” is a speculative extension of scientific theory.

5.2. Cyclic Cosmological Models

[SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED] Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (CCC), proposed by Roger Penrose [13], suggests that the Universe passes through an infinite sequence of cycles (aeons), each beginning with a Big Bang and ending in a state of maximum expansion. Penrose uses conformal mapping to connect the end of one aeon with the beginning of the next, pointing to the possibility of detecting “traces” of previous aeons in the cosmic microwave background.

[SPECULATIVE STATEMENT] The hypothesis that “a new universe inherits the complexity of the previous one” through the structure of information field fluctuations represents a speculative generalization extending beyond even the most bold cosmological theories. Although Penrose’s CCC and other cyclic models (e.g., the ekpyrotic model of Steinhardt-Turok) allow for information transfer between cycles, they do not explicitly assume the accumulation of complexity. This proposition requires further theoretical development.

6. Statement Differentiation: Summary Table

Below is a systematization of key statements of the information field concept with an indication of their status: scientifically confirmed, philosophical conclusions, or speculative hypotheses.

Statement	Status and Justification
Fields are fundamental; particles are their excitations	SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED: Quantum field theory, works by Hobson, Weinberg [3], [4]
Information is fundamental (“It from Bit”)	SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED: Wheeler’s concept, quantum information research [1]
Existence of information field as separate entity	PHILOSOPHICAL CONCLUSION: Hypothesis consistent with scientific data, but lacks direct experimental confirmation
Dissipative structures and negentropy	SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED: Works by Prigogine, Schrödinger [8], [9]
Emergence as universal principle	SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED: Anderson’s “More is Different” [7]
Consciousness as integrated information	SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED: Integrated Information Theory (IIT) [10]
Consciousness as brain interaction with information field	PHILOSOPHICAL CONCLUSION: Alternative to materialistic theories, requires testing
Holographic principle and information preservation in black holes	SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED: Works by ‘t Hooft, Susskind, Hawking radiation [2], [12]
Cyclic cosmology	SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIRMED (partially): Penrose’s CCC, ekpyrotic model [13]
Inheritance of complexity between cosmological cycles	SPECULATIVE STATEMENT: Extends beyond current cosmological models
AI as neoneocortex	PHILOSOPHICAL CONCLUSION: Metaphor consistent with evolutionary logic
Ethics of complexity as objective criterion	PHILOSOPHICAL CONCLUSION: Ethical system based on thermodynamic principles

Table 1. Differentiation of statements in the information field concept

7. Counterarguments and Limitations

While the information field concept offers a compelling unifying framework, several significant counterarguments and limitations must be acknowledged. First, the hypothesis lacks direct experimental falsifiability—a cornerstone requirement of the scientific method. Unlike established physical fields (electromagnetic, gravitational), the information field has no measurable quanta, no identified carriers, and no instrumentally detectable effects that would distinguish it from known phenomena.

Second, critics from the physicalist camp argue that the concept risks being a mere rephrasing of existing knowledge rather than a genuinely new explanatory framework. The properties attributed to the information field—ubiquity, potentiality, fluctuation—closely parallel known characteristics of quantum vacuum fluctuations, raising questions about whether a separate ontological category is necessary.

Third, the application of the concept to consciousness faces the same explanatory gap as other dualist or panpsychist approaches. The “hard problem” of subjective experience—why and how physical processes give rise to qualia—remains unresolved even if one accepts the existence of an information field. The hypothesis does not provide a mechanism by which information field interactions produce the felt quality of experience.

Fourth, cosmological extensions of the concept, particularly regarding information preservation across universal cycles, remain purely speculative. While conformal cyclic cosmology and related theories are legitimate areas of theoretical investigation, they currently lack empirical support and face significant theoretical challenges from inflation theory and dark energy observations.

8. Conclusion and Implications

The analysis conducted demonstrates that the information field concept represents a complex synthesis of scientifically confirmed propositions, philosophical interpretations, and speculative hypotheses. The key scientific foundations of the concept—quantum field theory, the principle of emergence, the theory of dissipative structures, integrated information theory, and the holographic principle—have a solid experimental and theoretical basis.

At the same time, the central proposition about the existence of an information field as an independent fundamental entity is a philosophical hypothesis that is consistent with the informational approach to physics but extends beyond the current scientific paradigm. This hypothesis possesses heuristic value, providing a unified conceptual framework for understanding phenomena from quantum fluctuations to consciousness.

The cosmological aspects of the concept—including the role of black holes as “archivers” of information and the hypothesis about the inheritance of complexity between cycles of the Universe—combine scientifically grounded propositions with speculative generalizations. Further development of the concept requires both theoretical work to refine the mechanisms of interaction between the information field and matter, as well as experimental research capable of confirming or refuting key predictions.

The information field concept opens new perspectives for interdisciplinary research, linking physics, biology, neuroscience, and philosophy into a unified research program. Regardless of the eventual confirmation or refutation of the hypothesis about an independent information field, the integration of the informational approach into understanding fundamental aspects of reality represents an important vector for the development of modern science.

Future Research Directions:

• Development of testable predictions derived from the information field hypothesis
• Formal mathematical models describing information field interactions
• Empirical studies on quantum correlations in complex biological systems
• Integration with quantum gravity theories and the search for information-based unification
• Cross-disciplinary collaboration between physics, consciousness studies, and information science

9. Addendum

Fields are stable, enduring, and distinguishable patterns of interactions within the unified information field, which for convenience of definition can be interpreted as fundamental entities. Their multiplicity does not contradict unity, but is its manifestation — like multiple waves on the surface of one ocean.

References

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[9] Schrödinger, E. (1944). What is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell. Cambridge University Press.

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[13] Penrose, R. (2010). Cycles of Time: An Extraordinary New View of the Universe. Knopf. CCC Overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conformal_cyclic_cosmology

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