From Apex to Foundation: A Purely Formal Meta-Definition of the Ultimate"One"

The millennial inquiry into the ultimate "One" in ontology has long been trapped in the dilemma of apex-style substantive assertions. Different theoretical positions are mutually exclusive, making it difficult to form a neutral and compatible cognitive foundation. This paper argues that the various concrete ultimate "One" in the history of philosophy and the purely formal ultimate "One" constructed in this paper are not two separated ontological entities, but differentiated manifestations of the same ultimate being across different cognitive dimensions. This paper first establishes four a priori constraints for a qualified foundation: purity, neutrality, inclusiveness and non-exclusiveness. On this basis, it deduces a purely formal meta-definition of the Origin as the totality of matter, energy and their Transformation. It further elaborates six formal attributes and conducts a paradigmatic comparison with mainstream ultimate concepts in philosophical history. By setting a clear falsifiability boundary, this paper provides a logically self-consistent, testable and pluralism-compatible paradigmatic solution to the millennial puzzle of the ultimate "One".