Executive Summary The work proposes a single‑principle, process‑oriented ontology in which difference is the primordial generator of all ontological categories. From difference arise potential, which gives rise to processes; processes generate compensators that maintain a measure within which an identity can persist. The cycle then closes as micro‑transitions create new differences, restarting the loop. The author argues that this schema supersedes traditional thing‑based (substantialist) and existentialist accounts of being, offering a unified explanatory framework that can be instantiated at physical, biological, and social levels. The manuscript is both a philosophical treatise and a methodological proposal for a "processual" philosophy of science. 2. Core Conceptual Architecture Category Definition (as given) Role in the Cycle Example (Physical / Biological / Social) Difference The ontological primitive; a relational distinction between states. Source of potential; the "first move." Quantum vacuum fluctuations; genetic mutation; ideological divergence. Potential Latent capacity generated by a difference; can be active or passive. Fuels the emergence of processes. Energy gradients; epigenetic readiness; institutional flexibility. Process Actualisation of potential; a temporally extended event‑structure. Produces compensators that stabilise the system. Nuclear fusion; cell division; policy enactment. Compensator Mechanism that counteracts micro‑transitions to preserve identity. Generates a measure (range of permissible states). Radiation pressure in stars; heat‑shock proteins; bureaucratic routines. Measure The admissible interval of states within which identity is maintained. Delimits the identity's stability zone. Stellar stability curves; homeostatic set‑points; legal frameworks. Identity The relatively stable configuration that persists through compensatory action. Gives rise to micro‑transitions that create new differences. Stellar class (e.g., main‑sequence star); organismal phenotype; nation‑state. Micro‑transition Minimal state change that, when accumulated, can trigger a new difference. Feeds back into the difference node, closing the cycle. Photon emission; point mutation; policy amendment. Universal Cycle of Being↗ (p. 14‑15): Difference → Potential → Process → Compensator → Measure → Identity → Micro‑transition → New Difference 3. Mapping to Scientific Fields Scientific Domain How the Cycle Manifests Key Empirical Correlates Physics (quantum → astrophysics) Vacuum fluctuations → particle potentials → interaction processes → gauge‑field compensators → stability zones (e.g., bound states) → particle identity → decay events → new fluctuations Casimir effect, particle decay widths, Chandrasekhar limit, stellar nucleosynthesis. Chemistry Concentration gradients → reaction potentials → catalytic processes → reaction‑medium compensators (solvent shells) → reaction windows (measure) → molecular identity → bond‑breaking micro‑transitions → new reactive differences Reaction kinetics, Le Chatelier principle, catalytic cycles. Biology Genetic/epigenetic differences → developmental potentials → morphogenetic processes → homeostatic compensators (e.g., heat‑shock proteins) → physiological measure (set‑points) → organismal identity → cellular turnover → new mutations/differentiations Developmental biology, allostasis, apoptosis, evolutionary punctuated equilibria. Ecology Species‑level trait differences → niche potentials → community processes → ecosystem engineers as compensators → resilience measure → ecosystem identity → species turnover → novel invasions Trophic cascades, ecosystem resilience, regime shifts. Social Sciences Ideological or institutional differences → policy potentials → governance processes → bureaucratic/normative compensators → legal‑political measure → state/organisation identity → legislative micro‑transitions → new political differences Institutional theory (North), Luhmann's social systems, policy cycles. The author's claim of universality is therefore instantiated across the hierarchy of natural and social sciences, each with its own concrete mechanisms that instantiate the abstract categories.