OpenEnded Philosophy MCP Server with NARS Integration

A sophisticated philosophical reasoning system that combines OpenEnded Philosophy with Non-Axiomatic Reasoning System (NARS) for enhanced epistemic analysis, truth maintenance, and multi-perspective synthesis.

Core Integration: Philosophy + NARS

This server uniquely integrates:

• NARS/ONA: Non-axiomatic reasoning with truth maintenance and belief revision
• Philosophical Pluralism: Multi-perspective analysis without privileging any single view
• Epistemic Humility: Built-in uncertainty quantification and revision conditions
• Coherence Dynamics: Emergent conceptual landscapes with stability analysis

Theoretical Foundation

Core Philosophical Architecture:

• Epistemic Humility: Every insight carries inherent uncertainty metrics
• Contextual Semantics: Meaning emerges through language games and forms of life
• Dynamic Pluralism: Multiple interpretive schemas coexist without hierarchical privileging
• Pragmatic Orientation: Efficacy measured through problem-solving capability

Computational Framework

1. Emergent Coherence Dynamics

C(t) = Σ_{regions} (R_i(t) × Stability_i) + Perturbation_Response(t)

Where:

• C(t): Coherence landscape at time t
• R_i(t): Regional coherence patterns
• Stability_i: Local stability coefficients
• Perturbation_Response(t): Adaptive response to new experiences

2. Fallibilistic Inference Engine

P(insight|evidence) = Confidence × (1 - Uncertainty_Propagation)

Key Components:

• Evidence limitation assessment
• Context dependence calculation
• Unknown unknown estimation
• Revision trigger identification

Quiick Start

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openended-philosophy": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/path/to/openended-philosophy-mcp",
        "run",
        "openended-philosophy-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PYTHONPATH": "/path/to/openended-philosophy-mcp",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "INFO"
      }
    }
  }
}

System Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│      OpenEnded Philosophy Server        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐  │
│  │  Coherence  │  │    Language     │  │
│  │  Landscape  │  │     Games       │  │
│  └──────┬──────┘  └────────┬────────┘  │
│         │                   │           │
│  ┌──────▼──────────────────▼────────┐  │
│  │   Dynamic Pluralism Framework    │  │
│  └──────────────┬───────────────────┘  │
│                 │                       │
│  ┌──────────────▼───────────────────┐  │
│  │   Fallibilistic Inference Core   │  │
│  └──────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

NARS Integration Features

Non-Axiomatic Logic (NAL)

• Truth Values: (frequency, confidence) pairs for nuanced belief representation
• Evidence-Based Reasoning: Beliefs strengthen with converging evidence
• Temporal Reasoning: Handle time-dependent truths and belief projection
• Inference Rules: Deduction, induction, abduction, analogy, and revision

Enhanced Capabilities

• Truth Maintenance: Automatic belief revision when contradictions arise
• Memory System: Semantic embeddings + NARS attention buffer
• Reasoning Patterns: Multiple inference types for comprehensive analysis
• Uncertainty Tracking: Epistemic uncertainty propagation through inference chains

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/angrysky56/openended-philosophy-mcp
   cd openended-philosophy-mcp
   

2. Install dependencies with uv:

   uv sync
   

   This will install all required Python packages, including ona (OpenNARS for Applications).

### For Direct Usage (without MCP client)

If you want to run the philosophy server directly using uv:

#### Prerequisites

1. Install uv if you haven't already:
   ```bash
   curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

2. Restart your shell or run:

   source $HOME/.cargo/env
   

Installation

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/angrysky56/openended-philosophy-mcp
   cd openended-philosophy-mcp
   

2. Install dependencies with uv:

   uv sync
   

Running the Server

1. Activate the virtual environment:

   source .venv/bin/activate
   

2. Run the MCP server:

   python -m openended_philosophy.server
   

The server will start and listen for MCP protocol messages on stdin/stdout. You can interact with it programmatically or integrate it with other MCP-compatible tools.

Available Tools

• ask_philosophical_question: Ask deep philosophical questions and receive thoughtful responses
• explore_philosophical_topic: Explore philosophical topics in depth with guided discussion

Usage via MCP

Available Tools

1. analyze_concept

Analyzes a concept through multiple interpretive lenses without claiming ontological priority.

{
  "concept": "consciousness",
  "context": "neuroscience",
  "confidence_threshold": 0.7
}

2. explore_coherence

Maps provisional coherence patterns in conceptual space.

{
  "domain": "ethics",
  "depth": 3,
  "allow_revision": true
}

3. contextualize_meaning

Derives contextual semantics through language game analysis.

{
  "expression": "truth",
  "language_game": "scientific_discourse",
  "form_of_life": "research_community"
}

4. generate_insights

Produces fallibilistic insights with built-in uncertainty quantification.

{
  "phenomenon": "quantum_consciousness",
  "perspectives": ["physics", "philosophy_of_mind", "information_theory"],
  "openness_coefficient": 0.9
}

Philosophical Methodology

Wittgensteinian Therapeutic Approach

• Dissolve Rather Than Solve: Recognizes category mistakes
• Language Game Awareness: Context-dependent semantics
• Family Resemblance: Non-essentialist categorization

Pragmatist Orientation

• Instrumental Truth: Measured by problem-solving efficacy
• Fallibilism: All knowledge provisional
• Pluralism: Multiple valid perspectives

Information-Theoretic Substrate

• Pattern Recognition: Without ontological commitment
• Emergence: Novel properties from interactions
• Complexity: Irreducible to simple principles

Development Philosophy

This server embodies its own philosophical commitments:

• Open Source: Knowledge emerges through community
• Iterative Development: Understanding grows through use
• Bug-as-Feature: Errors provide learning opportunities
• Fork-Friendly: Multiple development paths encouraged

NARS Configuration & Setup

Installation Support

The server now exclusively supports pip-installed ONA (OpenNARS for Applications).

uv add ona

Configuration via Environment Variables

Create a .env file from the template:

cp .env.example .env

Key configuration options:

• NARS_MEMORY_SIZE: Concept memory size (default: 1000)
• NARS_INFERENCE_STEPS: Inference depth (default: 50)
• NARS_SILENT_MODE: Suppress ONA output (default: true)
• NARS_DECISION_THRESHOLD: Decision confidence threshold (default: 0.6)

Testing NARS Integration

Verify your installation:

uv run python tests/test_nars_integration.py

Process Management

The improved NARS manager includes:

• Robust cleanup patterns preventing process leaks
• Signal handling for graceful shutdown (SIGTERM, SIGINT)
• Automatic recovery from subprocess failures
• Cross-platform support (Linux, macOS, Windows)

Troubleshooting

See docs/NARS_INSTALLATION.md for detailed troubleshooting guide.

Contributing

We welcome contributions that:

• Enhance epistemic humility features
• Add new interpretive schemas
• Improve contextual understanding
• Challenge existing assumptions
• Strengthen NARS integration capabilities

License

MIT License - In the spirit of open-ended inquiry

Project Status: Towards Functional AI Philosophical Reasoning

This project is a highly promising research platform or advanced prototype for AI philosophical reasoning. It lays a strong architectural and conceptual groundwork for computational philosophy.

Strengths & Progress:

• Robust NARS Integration: The NARSManager provides a reliable interface to the NARS engine, crucial for non-axiomatic reasoning.
• Modular Design: Clear separation of concerns (e.g., core, nars, llm_semantic_processor) enhances maintainability and extensibility.
• Conceptual Graphing (networkx): Effective use of networkx for representing coherence landscapes and conceptual relationships provides structured, machine-readable data for AI processing.
• Philosophically Informed Prompts: The LLMSemanticProcessor demonstrates a good understanding of philosophical concepts in its prompt crafting.

Current Limitations & Path to "Functional and Useful":

To evolve into a truly "functional and useful tool" for independent, deep, and novel philosophical reasoning, the following areas require significant development:

• Depth of NLP: Current semantic similarity metrics are simplistic. Achieving nuanced philosophical reasoning demands more advanced NLP (e.g., contextual embeddings, fine-tuned models) to understand subtle semantic differences.
• Transparency of Synthesis: While FallibilisticInference performs complex synthesis, the AI needs to understand how insights are synthesized to truly reason philosophically, rather than just receiving a result. This implies making the synthesis process more transparent and controllable by the AI.
• Explicit AI Interaction with Graphs: The AI needs explicit tools or APIs to actively query, manipulate, and reason over the networkx graphs, moving beyond them being merely data structures.
• Emergent Philosophical Insight: The ultimate goal is for the AI to generate novel philosophical insights or arguments that extend beyond its programmed rules or NARS's current capabilities. This is the most challenging aspect and represents the frontier of this project.