——寫給所有關心人類未來的人

（This letter is followed by a text translated into English using online resources. Please refer to the Chinese text of this letter while reading it.）

——作者：金穀雨

今天，幾乎所有關注科技的人，都知道埃隆·馬斯克經常提到一個詞——第一性原理（First Principles）。

在馬斯克看來，無論是火箭、汽車、電池還是人工智能，一個真正複雜的問題，沒有良好的解決方案時，那麼不應該停留在已有經驗、傳統做法或者既定答案之上，都應該不斷拆解，直到找到最基本、不可再分解的事實，再從那裡重新建立解決方案。

正是這種思維方式，使他完成了許多人認為“不可能”的事情。

馬斯克的方法，是不是能啟發我們思考另一個問題。

如果第一性原理能夠幫助我們重新理解物理世界，那麼，人類文明本身，是否也存在自己的第一性原理？因為人類文明，本質上就是人類社會合作共同做的一件事，只是一直沒有做得理想。

如果存在，那麼歷史與今天人類面臨的許多困境，是否正是因為我們還沒有真正理解它？

我不是科學家。

也不是哲學家。

我曾是一名中國法官。

我的思考，並不是從抽象哲學開始，而是從具體案件開始。

但隨着時間推移，我越來越意識到，法律、制度乃至文明，都不是孤立存在的。

它們同樣是自然演化的一部分。

如果答案是否定的，那麼，人類文明的發展也許只能繼續依賴經驗、不斷試錯。

但如果答案是肯定的，那麼，人類今天最重要的任務，也許不是某一種政策，或者某一項技術，也不是繼續發明新的制度，而是首先找到文明運行的第一性原理。這樣才能再建立的新的人類社會合作制度，能達到人類文明的理想，如同日月星辰，在人類社會合作中，人人都一生熠熠生輝而整個人類社會合作鏈接一直和諧可持續，這實際就是實現了世界永久和平。

基於此，尤其在現在全人類都再次感到人類文明已經來到一個涉及生死選擇的十字路口而迷茫時，集全力先探索主宰人類文明的第一性原理及其演繹規律，應成為每一個人都應當予以最高度重視的大事。

所以我已經寫了系列的《致全球每個人的信》，發在網上，呼籲所有人關注並參與。我的經歷與思考情況，請網上搜索我已經發布的文章《致全球每個人的信（6）：看一位中國前法官花了二十多年時間給北京寫信的故事，以及他最終想告訴全人類什麼》。

事實上，不同文明都曾試圖尋找一個統一解釋世界的底層規律，使社會合作可持續。

我自己的思考是，人類文明本身，就是因為人類比其他動物更善於合作所創造出來的一種演繹現象，這個現象本身本質，也是廣義上的物理世界中，宇宙能量演繹大範疇框架內的自然演繹現象。因此中國很早就有天人同一的基本理念。直到量子理論的形成和人工智能的出現，更是引動了人類關於意識的自然本質新思考。而實際上人類文明有史以來，人類社會各種信仰的建立，即從宗教到各種主義，推而至數學界一直想用一個簡約化公式來描述一切物理現象，以及愛因斯坦確信物理界存在一個統一場和哲學上第一性的探索.......等等這些人類思想與探索行為，本質上都是人類基於自身來自宇宙而對宇宙本質是同一的本能感知所產生潛意識感應，促使人類在各個不同視角都在探索天人同一即第一性原理的表現。即人類天然知覺到：人類及其面臨的一切，都是按照同一個演繹底層規律演繹出來的不同表現。因此，實際人類一直本能地認為，一定有一個全時空同一底層承托一切演繹現象的規律。

所以，貫穿於整個人類文明歷史，人類實際早就本能確認人類文明本身，有其賴於產生和存在的全時空支撐萬象演繹的同一性底層規律，因而一直都在探索人類文明的第一性原理，從來都沒有停止過。

基於此，我想，我們完全可以將人類文明，看成是人類因為比其它動物更善於合作才做成的一件事。那麼我們可以這樣思考人類文明踉蹌前行的歷史，就像馬斯克造火箭過程中總是失敗，而一直用第一性原理來快速解決問題終於成功一樣，人類文明發展不順，也是人類也一直還沒有能力將人類文明這件事做好，總是使得人類社會合作鏈接斷裂而需要平時用軍隊、警察等強制力捆綁合作而甚至合作崩潰時又用戰爭來重組合作.........。

簡而言，想做好人類文明這件事，使人類社會合作鏈接不再斷裂而能穩定可持續發展，就一定要找到人類文明的第一性原理的演繹規律。

我依據從治理司法中有法不依現象一直延伸至人類文明本質的系列思考，嘗試提出一個假說，它試圖說明，人類能覺知的任何認知對象都是宇宙能量演繹相對獨立的系統，且每個系統的性質，取決於它由什麼組成只是一種表象，其本質是取決於這些組成部分如何能實現持續組織、合作並維持動態平衡並實現能量可持續交換更新。

我暫時把這個假說稱為"程序定質規律"。並認為，我闡述這個規律是宇宙能量本質全時空演繹同一性規律，也即是人類文明所有事務全時空演繹的底層支撐規律，也即人類文明第一性原理的規律。其解析人類文明所有行為的同一性本質只有九個字：抓程序、做模式、求平衡。人類遵守這九個字做事的要訣也只有八個字：以序為綱、循序定度。故，與所有人類研究文明來指導人類社會合作鏈接的穩定可持續性的結論不一樣的是，“程序定質規律”是從自然哲學視角歸納出來的具有具體做事抓手的應用理論體系。當全人類都因甄別而肯定地認知了這裡的具體做事抓手，或許真就能簡約化釋解人類遇到的所有迷惑，這樣人人都能輕鬆、順暢地幸福生活一生。所以我個人認為這是目前全人類最重要的事，是需要告訴全人類的大事。

如果我的假說最終被證明錯誤，人類至少會因此更加接近正確答案。

如果它具有價值，那麼它值得接受來自不同國家、不同學科和不同文明背景的共同檢驗。

也正因為如此，我呼籲國際學術機構、國際組織以及所有關心人類未來的人，共同推動一次關於"人類文明是否存在第一性原理"的國際討論。

因為，無論答案是什麼，這個問題本身，都值得全人類認真回答：文明是否也存在自己的第一性原理？人類是否可以由此簡約化識別和解決人類文明遇到的所有疑惑？

當文明走到今天，我們是否仍然願意認真回答那些最基礎的問題。

這，就是我寫系列致全人類每一個人的信的原因。

同時再次強調我的希望是，不需要關注我是誰，但一定人人都要關注我提出的課題。最好能儘快推動相關國際組織召開一次專題討論會議。因為我認為這已經涉及整個人類在當前遇到的歷史性生死選擇。

   隨後是本信的英文譯文。

Letter to Every Person on Earth (7)

Why I Believe Human Civilization Should Also Be Reconsidered from First Principles

— A Letter to Everyone Who Cares About Humanity's Future

By Jin Guyu

Today, almost everyone who follows technology has heard Elon Musk repeatedly refer to First Principles.

In Mr. Musk's view, whenever a truly difficult problem lacks a satisfactory solution, we should not remain confined by existing experience, conventional approaches, or accepted answers. Instead, we should continually break the problem down until we reach the most fundamental facts that cannot be reduced any further, and then rebuild the solution from there.

This way of thinking has enabled him to accomplish what many people once considered impossible.

His approach naturally leads us to another question that may be worth asking.

If first-principles thinking helps us better understand the physical world, could human civilization itself also possess its own first principle?

After all, civilization is fundamentally a collective undertaking created through human cooperation. Humanity has built civilization, yet throughout history it has struggled to make that cooperation stable and enduring.

If such a first principle exists, could many of the difficulties that have confronted humanity throughout history—and continue to confront us today—stem from our failure to understand it?

I am not a scientist.

Nor am I a philosopher.

I am a former judge from China.

My inquiry did not begin with abstract philosophy. It began with real judicial cases.

Over time, however, I gradually came to realize that law, institutions, and civilization are not isolated phenomena. They are all part of the broader process of nature's evolution.

If the answer to the question above is no, then perhaps humanity can continue to rely only on experience, gradual reform, and trial and error.

But if the answer is yes, then humanity's most urgent task may not be inventing another policy, another technology, or another institutional design. It may first be discovering the first principle that governs civilization itself.

Only then might we construct new forms of social cooperation capable of achieving what civilization has always sought: a stable, harmonious, and sustainable human society in which every individual can flourish, much as the sun, moon, and stars each shine in their proper place while remaining part of a larger cosmic order. Such a civilization, in my view, would represent lasting world peace.

For this reason, especially at a time when many people sense that humanity once again stands at a historic crossroads, uncertain about its future, I believe that identifying the first principle of civilization and understanding the laws by which it operates deserves the highest priority.

This conviction is why I have written the series Letters to Every Person on Earth, which I have published online in the hope of encouraging wider discussion and participation.

Those who wish to understand how these ideas developed may first read my earlier essay:

Letter to Every Person on Earth (6): The Story of a Former Chinese Judge Who Spent More Than Twenty Years Writing to Beijing—and What He Ultimately Wants to Tell Humanity.

Throughout history, different civilizations have attempted to discover a unified principle capable of explaining the world and sustaining human cooperation.

My own reflection begins from a simple observation.

Civilization itself is an emergent phenomenon created because human beings cooperate more effectively than other animals. As such, civilization is also a natural phenomenon arising within the broader evolutionary processes of the universe.

This idea is not entirely unfamiliar.

Traditional Chinese thought long emphasized the unity between humanity and nature.

More recently, developments in quantum theory and artificial intelligence have encouraged new discussions about the nature of consciousness.

More broadly, throughout history humanity has repeatedly searched for underlying unity: through religions, political philosophies, mathematics, the search for unified physical theories, Einstein's belief in a unified field, and philosophical inquiries into first principles.

Although these pursuits differ greatly, I believe they all reflect the same intuition: that reality may ultimately rest upon a common underlying order.

In other words, humanity has long sensed that the countless phenomena we observe may all arise from the same fundamental principles expressed in different forms.

For this reason, I believe humanity has never truly stopped searching for the first principle of civilization.

If civilization is fundamentally humanity's greatest cooperative project, then perhaps we should think about it in the same way that Elon Musk approached the challenge of building reusable rockets.

Repeated failures did not persuade him to abandon the effort.

Instead, they led him back to first principles.

Likewise, the repeated instability of civilization may suggest not that civilization itself is impossible, but that humanity has not yet fully understood the principles required to sustain cooperation over the long term.

Throughout history, social cooperation has repeatedly fractured.

To preserve order, societies have often relied upon armies, police, legal systems, and other forms of compulsory authority.

When these mechanisms themselves fail, wars have repeatedly become the means through which cooperation is reconstructed.

In short, if humanity wishes to build a civilization whose cooperative structures no longer repeatedly collapse, then understanding the first principle governing civilization itself may become indispensable.

Based upon more than two decades of reflection that began with judicial practice and gradually expanded into broader questions about civilization, I would like to propose a hypothesis.

My hypothesis suggests that every object or system human beings can perceive is a relatively independent system emerging from the evolution of cosmic energy.

The properties of any such system do not fundamentally arise merely from the elements of which it is composed. Rather, they arise from the ability of those elements to organize, cooperate, maintain dynamic equilibrium, and continuously exchange and renew energy.

I call this hypothesis The Principle That Process Determines Properties (PDP Principle).

I further propose that this principle may represent a universal law governing the evolution of cosmic energy across space and time, the underlying structure supporting all human affairs, and possibly the first principle governing civilization itself.

From this perspective, the essence of civilization may be summarized in nine Chinese characters:

"Focus on process. Build patterns. Seek balance."

Its practical guideline may likewise be summarized in eight characters:

"Take order as the guiding principle, and determine appropriate limits by following proper sequence."

Unlike many existing theories of civilization, which primarily describe how societies function, the PDP Principle is intended as an applied theoretical framework derived from natural philosophy—one that aims not only to explain civilization but also to provide practical guidance for action.

If humanity were ultimately to recognize and verify the practical implications of this framework, it might offer a simpler way to understand many of the problems that continue to confront civilization.

Whether or not this hope proves justified is a question that should be examined openly.

If my hypothesis is ultimately shown to be wrong, humanity will nevertheless have moved one step closer to the truth.

If it contains genuine value, then it deserves careful examination by scholars and thinkers from different countries, disciplines, and cultural traditions.

For this reason, I respectfully call upon international academic institutions, international organizations, and everyone concerned with humanity's future to promote a global discussion around one question:

Does human civilization possess its own first principle?

Regardless of what the answer may ultimately be, the question itself deserves serious consideration.

Could identifying such a principle help humanity understand—and perhaps even resolve—many of the persistent challenges civilization continues to face?

As civilization reaches another pivotal moment in its history, are we still willing to ask the most fundamental questions?

That is why I have written this series of Letters to Every Person on Earth.

Finally, I wish to emphasize once again that I do not ask people to focus on who I am.

Instead, I ask that attention be given to the question itself.

I sincerely hope that relevant international organizations may one day convene a dedicated conference to examine whether civilization possesses its own first principle.

In my view, this question concerns one of the most consequential choices humanity now faces in its history.