The General Zero Principle: Formalizing the Indeterminate Ground of Determination A Solution to the Infinite Regress Problem

Abstract:This paper presents and defends the General Zero Principle (GZP): the claim that all determina-tion requires an indeterminate ground. I demonstrate that GZP provides the only non-arbitrarysolution to the infinite regress problem that arises whenever we attempt to ground determinateentities, truths, or meanings. The paper proceeds in four parts. First, I formalize the principleand distinguish it from foundationalism, coherentism, and infinitism. Second, I prove its logi-cal necessity through transcendental and regress-stopping arguments. Third, I show its implicitrecognition across philosophical domains—from logic and mathematics to metaphysics and epis-temology. Fourth, I demonstrate GZP’s applications and address major objections. The principleemerges not as another metaphysical posit, but as the transcendental condition for determinationitself, with implications for how we understand boundaries, foundations, and systematic thought.Keywords: infinite regress, determination, grounding, foundations, indeterminacy, Gödel,Spencer-Brown, metaphysics, logic, first principles