The Second Enlightenment and its research approaches

ABSTRACT The Holistic Information Theory (HIT) proposes a novel foundation for integrating quantum mechanics, general relativity, and the Standard Model, grounded in the assumption that information is the fundamental entity of the universe from which energy, matter, space-time, and consciousness emerge. Central to this framework is the concept of dimension 0, understood as a timeless source of information that connects all physical and biological processes. This model offers coherent explanations for long-standing paradoxes in physics and cosmology. Phenomena such as quantum entanglement, the black hole information paradox, fine-tuning of natural constants, the double-slit experiment, and the unexpectedly early formation of galaxies observed by the James Webb Space Telescope can be reinterpreted as manifestations of information couplings beyond space-time. In biology and medicine, HIT provides an integrative perspective: epigenetic plasticity, neuroplasticity, memory formation, and placebo/nocebo effects appear as processes shaped by information as an organizing principle at molecular and neuronal levels. Beyond theoretical synthesis, HIT formulates falsifiable hypotheses and an interdisciplinary research program. These include quantum optical experiments on interference patterns, long-range entanglement studies with satellites, precision measurements of natural constants, cosmological data analysis, and biomedical research on information-induced cellular reprogramming. By embedding testability at its core, HIT goes beyond philosophical speculation and positions itself as a scientific framework that generates new predictions. Taken together, HIT suggests the dawn of a Second Enlightenment, where science, society, and ethics are reconnected through information as a universal principle. This paradigm not only resolves contradictions between fundamental theories, but also opens transformative perspectives for health, creativity, cultural evolution, and sustainable development. As such, HIT extends beyond the natural sciences to become an integrative worldview capable of guiding empirical research and fostering a new quality of scientific practice for the 21st century and beyond.