The Impossibility of Nothingness and the Structural Re-Expansion of Collapsed Universes: A Foundational Model of Self-Contained Cosmology

This paper proposes a foundational model of Self-Contained Cosmology based on the impossibility of absolute nothingness. If “nothing” cannot be coherently defined without introducing differentiation, then the universe cannot collapse into a truly static or non-existent state. Instead, any collapsed universe enters a functionally point-like, maximally homogeneous configuration—analogous to a cosmic-scale single crystal—where all difference, structure, and temporal gradients disappear. Such a state is logically unstable. The mere fact of “existing as a state” introduces a minimal bit of differentiation, forcing the collapsed universe to break symmetry and re-expand. This model unifies cosmology with the structural principles previously developed in Self-Contained Ethics, showing that the same coherence–variation–collapse–recursion cycle governs existence, consciousness, and cosmic evolution.