A Signal-based Epistemology

This paper proposes a unified framework for understanding knowledge, perception, and reality grounded in a single principle: all access to reality is mediated through detectable signals and constructed through processes of signal generation, detection, and interpretation. No observer—biological or artificial—has direct, unmediated access to external truth; instead, all knowledge arises from processes that involve the generation, detection, and interpretation of physical, chemical, or informational traces available in the present. Building on this premise, the paper distinguishes between belief and knowledge, arguing that confirmation is a necessary condition for knowledge, while also recognizing intrinsic limits to what can be verified. It develops a signal-based epistemology in which perception, memory, and scientific inquiry are understood as structured methods of extracting and interpreting signals. Within this framework, memory is not treated as a literal recording of past events, but as a reconstructive process grounded in present neural states, and internal mental phenomena—such as intentions, desires, and emotions—are accessed through signal-mediated processes that involve both interpretation and active generation, rather than direct observation of fully formed internal objects. The analysis further examines constraints imposed by established physics, including limits from thermodynamics, relativity, and quantum mechanics, alongside computational and logical boundaries. These constraints reinforce the central claim that not all truths about reality are epistemically accessible, even if they are ontologically determinate. The paper also distinguishes between simulation and instantiation, arguing that digital systems can represent biological processes but do not constitute biological reality themselves, emphasizing the importance of substrate in discussions of mind, consciousness, and potential “uploading” scenarios. Across domains—including neuroscience, artificial intelligence, physics, and philosophy—the framework highlights a consistent structure: detection depends on signals, and understanding depends on interpretation. This leads to a broader conclusion that the limits of knowledge are not merely technological but are rooted in the fundamental structure of how systems interact with reality. The goal of this work is not to provide a complete theory of mind or physics, but to establish a coherent, cross-domain foundation for understanding the relationship between information, perception, and reality, and to clarify the boundaries within which knowledge can be meaningfully claimed.