Towards an Ontology of Interaction: Universal Building Blocks for Naturally Occurring Systems

As a falsifiable hypothesis, a set of five ontologically primitive types of pairwise interactions between sub-systems within systems are put forward as the universal building blocks for all naturally occurring systems. These interaction types are proposed from a combination of metaphysical observation, Graph Theory and Category Theory. Compounding each type of pairwise interaction enables the construction of a hierarchy of five theoretical Ideal Type systems, which are proposed to form a limited taxonomy of fundamental system types, of which all more complex naturally occurring systems and networks are composed. Examples of systems which are close to these Ideal Types can be readily observed in the world around us: for instance, in the physical sciences, the first three Ideal Type systems form the basis for (1) gases, (2) solids and (3) liquids. The approach presented here has the scope to provide a definitive metaphysical and mathematical foundation and common vocabulary for systems thinking and network analysis, which can span all scientific disciplines, with the potential to transform our appreciation of all types of complex systems and networks.