closed system

When a person goes off by themself with their laptop, primarily to the bathroom, sits on a towel, and proceeds to masturbate

Dude, did you make a closed system just now?

by PeachesNCream July 30, 2008

closed systems of thought

A way of thinking that begins with the conclusion and spends the rest of its time trying to find ways to justify the conclusion, rather than the other-way around.

During an interview with the Monty Python troupe in 1979, they professed that "Life of Brian" was a condemnation of closed systems of thought. Example: after Brian escapes from the Romans, he is followed by a group of people who mistakenly believe he is the Messiah based on the fact that he does not finish his statement and therefore is "mysterious" to them. When he tells them he is not the messiah, they claim that only the true messiah would deny this. That is where dogma comes in. In the early stages of their new religion, Brian's unlikely followers built their faith out fo whole-cloth. They recover a gourd that is briefly owned by Brian, proclaim that it is a holy artifact and begin to assign greater meaning and significance to it. Upon finding his shoe, a schism emerges among his new followers. They are instantly dedicated to the emerging dogma to the religion of Brian. They are so eager to believe in Brian as the messiah that they immediately begin fashioning the tenants of their faith; the dogma of their religion.

-- Dogma & Theology - Life of Brian | Renegade Cut

by The Logical Fallacy January 12, 2019

Closed System Logic

Reasoning that operates within a strictly defined, self-contained set of axioms, rules, or assumptions, deliberately ignoring or rejecting any external information or context that might challenge the internal consistency of the system. It values internal coherence over correspondence with a messy reality. This is the logic of pure mathematics, certain ideological dogma, and airtight (but possibly irrelevant) theoretical models.

Example: A libertarian think-tank model that "proves" minimal government always leads to optimal outcomes, but which excludes variables like historical racism, environmental externalities, or public health crises from its equations, is using Closed System Logic. The argument is perfectly logical inside its own defined world, but may fail catastrophically when applied to the open system of real human society.

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 3, 2026

Logical Closed Meta-Systems

A self-contained, hierarchical framework for logic where the rules for evaluating validity, the allowed forms of inference, and even the definitions of truth are fixed and internally derived. It does not permit external evidence, new empirical data, or alternative rational frameworks to alter its core axioms. Mathematics, as traditionally conceived, is a logical closed meta-system; its truths are derived from its axioms, not from observation of the world.

Logical Closed Meta-Systems Example: Euclidean geometry is a Logical Closed Meta-System. Starting with its five postulates, it builds an entire, consistent universe of theorems about points, lines, and planes. No measurement of a physical "line" in the real world (which is made of atoms) can invalidate the Pythagorean theorem within the system. The system is sealed from empirical contradiction.

by Dumu The Void February 4, 2026

Meta-Logical Closed Systems

A system that takes logical systems themselves as its objects of study, but does so from a fixed, immutable perspective. It is a "closed theory about logic." For example, a specific, dogmatic philosophy of mathematics that definitively states what mathematics is (e.g., "Mathematics is nothing but the manipulation of symbols according to formal rules") and refuses to consider alternative philosophies (e.g., intuitionism, realism) is a meta-logical closed system.

Meta-Logical Closed Systems Example: Strict Logical Positivism, with its verifiability principle of meaning, acted as a Meta-Logical Closed System. It declared that any statement not empirically verifiable or analytically true was literally meaningless. This meta-framework itself was not open to empirical verification, making it a self-sealing, closed system for judging all other forms of discourse and logic.

by Dumu The Void February 4, 2026

Closed System Reality

A model of reality in which the system is closed to outside influences—everything that happens is determined by initial conditions and internal dynamics, with no room for true novelty or external intervention. This is the reality of classical physics, of strict determinism, of the feeling that your life was over before it started. Closed system reality is comforting if you like certainty and terrifying if you like freedom. It's the reality of people who say "everything happens for a reason" (the reason being initial conditions plus deterministic laws) and of those who believe the future is already written.

Example: "She lived in closed system reality, believing her fate was sealed by childhood experiences, genetic inheritance, and social position. When something good happened, she called it 'inevitable.' When something bad happened, she called it 'predestined.' Therapy was hard because she believed the outcome was already determined. Her therapist preferred open systems."

by AbzuInExile February 16, 2026

Closed System Truth

Truth that exists within a closed system—a framework with fixed premises, fixed rules, and no outside influence. In a closed system, truth is stable, certain, and final—as long as you accept the system's axioms. This is the truth of mathematics (within a given axiomatic system), of dogma (within a given faith), of ideology (within a given framework). Closed system truth is comforting because it never changes, but it's limited because it can't learn. It's the truth of people who have all the answers and never need new questions.

Example: "He lived in closed system truth: his religion, his politics, his worldview—all sealed, all certain, all final. When confronted with evidence that challenged his system, he didn't update; he defended. The system was closed, and nothing new could enter. He was certain, peaceful, and completely unable to learn. Closed system truth had given him certainty at the cost of growth."

by AbzuInExile February 16, 2026