Our universe is a vast expanse with a vast quantity of things within it. In our daily lives, we are presented with a clutter and multitude of entities, big and small. These things each appear to have their own identity independent of everything else. Yet, everything seems to have a place among all other things and there is consistent interaction between them. It is clear that there is a wholeness to the universe, that everything doesn’t exist but with the existence of everything else. We can grasp this whole quickly with our subjective grasp and the use of the words “universe” and “all,” but the wholeness doesn’t end with a statement. Indeed, the universe is a vast, churning interaction of entities dependent on each other, which is observed through our perception. Even our thoughts appear dependent on each other, and we can observe the causal mental and physiological interactions that go on within us through introspection. In the end, a wholly disconnected entity is impossible or mere conjecture. The truth is that all is one.
By definition, the universe is all things. It is the whole of existence. The grasp of “all things” or “universe” establishes that all things are one thing. This is, however, established subjectively. Why can’t one subjectively claim that everything is separated many things? One must hold the many as a one in one’s mind. One assumes an all whenever one makes a universal statement. That includes a universal statement about non-universality. Even when something is claimed to be disconnected from all else, it would still by necessity be part of the all, even if it had no causal interaction with the rest. This, however, doesn’t imply that everything is interconnected, merely that everything is grasped as one.
Causally, everything is interconnected through its physicality. From day to day, we perceive a consistent world, governed by laws, that we can interact with and which interacts with us. However, everything isn’t one solid body; it is clear that the things in the world are interconnected through causal interactions governed by physical laws (whether it’s grasped scientifically or casually). Through this causal interaction, everything’s behavior and existence is dependent upon everything else. Leaves on a tree only exist because of the water the tree pulls up and wither away upon separation as decay takes its toll. Through the constituent elements they’re composed of and the interaction of the entities around it the physical form of all things takes shape. This deep integration of interaction and existence creates the singular whole which is our universe.
What would something not being part of the one mean? It wouldn’t be knowable, and it wouldn’t have an effect in the universe. If something isn’t part of the one, isn’t interconnected, then there wouldn’t be a way to know of it since there couldn’t be any reference to it (direct observation is an effect with our eyes and body). If there’s a way to see or know the unconnected thing, then it has a connection to the observer and the world around it. It’s the same with any testing. A connection with the universe is required for us to know a thing. Likewise, a connection with the universe is required for a thing to have an effect (how we would most likely know the thing in the first place). An effect requires interaction with something, some causal progression with another thing. This leaves the unconnected thing as only something that is unknowable and ineffectual. Something outside the universe could only be conjecture.
We are confronted with a plethora. Yet, it is clear that there is a whole through everything’s interdependency with everything else. Indeed, it is nonsensical to say something doesn’t have a connection with anything else. For something to not have a connection with anything else is to say that one has no connection with the thing either, and the thing must be unknowable and non-effectual. Even so, if there was some unconnected thing, it would still be part of the universe, since the universe is all things.