Philosophy
Dependent arising
The insight, rooted in Buddhist philosophy, that everything we encounter comes into being through converging conditions and holds no isolated, self-existing essence.
Also called: pratītyasamutpāda, interdependence
Limit: Interdependence never erases moral accountability, personal boundaries, or the obligation to pay what we owe.
In our foundational teachings and in Chapter 1 of our book, dependent arising (pratītyasamutpāda) is the doorway to both wonder and responsibility. Look closely at anything in your room: a teacup, a printed page, an eight-hundred-dollar invoice, or your own capacity to read these words. Strip away the rain, the timber, the laborers, the language, and the agreements that brought it here, and no solitary core remains.
We place this Madhyamaka insight in conversation with twentieth-century cybernetics while respecting their different histories. And we hold fast to its ethical consequence: because things exist through relationship rather than in isolation, what we do with our hands and our promises matters at every turn.