The First Resonance Flicker: The Emergence of Autopoiesis and the Origin of Meaning in Judgemental Philosophy

This paper explores the most fundamental genetical question within Judgemental Philosophy (JP): how primordial meaning and the possibility of judgement first emerge. We propose the bold hypothesis that the 'First Resonance Flicker' (FRF), a core concept in JP, can be identified with the emergent event of 'Autopoiesis'—the self-production and maintenance system of life. The very 'event' wherein an autopoietic system, through interaction with a non-equilibrium environment, begins to form its boundaries, maintain its internal organization, and reproduce itself, is argued to be the FRF as understood in JP: the moment a system first establishes a 'returning relationship' with the external (or internal) and experiences its trace. Through this FRF (the emergence of autopoiesis), the system, moving beyond a mere physicochemical assemblage, is posited to inevitably and concurrently manifest primordial 'Affectivity'—the capacity to distinguish what is 'harmful' from what is not for its own integrity and to respond selectively. Furthermore, this paper argues that such autopoietic self-maintenance and extension is the most primordial form of JP's 'Resonance Drive' (RD). Propelled by this RD, the system initiates the most primitive cycle of the Judgemental Triad (JT: Constructivity, Coherence, and Resonance), thereby taking its first step into the 'world of meaning.' By reinterpreting scientific discussions on the origin of life—such as chemical self-organization, protocell formation, and the RNA world hypothesis—from a JP perspective, this paper seeks to establish the emergence of autopoiesis as the true starting point for 'meaning-seeking life' and the possibility of judgement. This will provide a theoretical foundation for JP to advance as a universal philosophical system that elucidates the most fundamental link between life and meaning.