The Ontological Primacy Framework (OPF): Philosophical Foundations, Epistemic Evaluation, and Formal Derivations

This paper presents a comprehensive formulation of the Ontological Primacy Framework (OPF), a philosophical system asserting the foundational superiority of ontology over mathematics. Ontology is positioned as the generative substrate of causal, identitarian, and temporal structures, while mathematics serves as a derivative descriptive tool. Integrating key affirmations of ontological primacy—such as causality as the base encoded by equations, entity identity preceding symbols, and time (τ) unfolding independently of formalization—this work incorporates philosophical critiques through the lenses of Aristotle’s Four Causes (as a counter to Platonism) and Karl Popper’s falsifiability criterion. The framework is evaluated through 20 falsifiability tests, with additional mathematical derivations and their own 15 falsifiability tests to formalize and test its assertions. Furthermore, an extension titled Ontologization of Postulates (OOP) is introduced to handle uncaused axioms and ad hoc elements in science, ensuring provisional ontological grounding. None of the tests succeed in refuting OPF, thereby reinforcing its resilience and coherence. Citations draw from developments up to 2025, including critiques of mathematical realism and quantum ontology, with an expanded bibliographic review highlighting similar and contrary works in the philosophy of mathematics.