"Spacetime as an Ontological Prerequisite: Resolving the Singularity Paradox and Cosmic Expansion within the Energy-Phase Theory

The nature of spacetime has long been treated as a stage on which the drama of the universe unfolds—a passive backdrop to matter and energy. Yet, lurking within the mathematics of general relativity is a paradox that has gone largely unacknowledged: singularities, the so-called “points of infinite density,” defy the very framework that defines them. How can mass collapse into a state that erases the spacetime needed for its own existence? Traditional approaches, from quantum foam to modified gravity, attempt to patch over this tension, but at the cost of freezing cosmic dynamics or introducing conceptual ambiguities. This paper presents a radically different perspective: spacetime is not merely a stage—it is an existential prerequisite for mass, gravity, and cosmic evolution. Within the framework of the Energy-Phase Theory, extreme matter densities undergo a transformation into a non-directional energy phase rather than collapsing into singularities. This ontological shift preserves spacetime as a smooth, dynamic entity, provides a natural mechanism for cosmic expansion, and reinterprets dark matter as halos of the energy-phase field. By grounding mass and gravitational interactions directly in the geometry of spacetime itself, this work offers a coherent, testable framework that resolves long-standing paradoxes and opens a new path for theoretical and observational exploration.