The Ontology of Aging and Death: A First-Principles Derivation within Energy-Efficiency Theory

Aging and death remain among the most profound yet poorly understood phenomena. Traditional theories describe mechanisms—telomere(definition) shortening, oxidative damage, mitochondrial dysfunction(definition)—but lack a unifying first-principles framework. This paper completes the EET life cycle by deriving aging and death from the three axioms of Energy-Efficiency Theory (EET). Starting from energy monism (Axiom I), existence as constrained steady state (Axiom II), and energy dissipation tendency (Axiom III), we derive a quantitative lifespan equation fully integrated with the health framework developed in Health and Longevity. The healthy state is characterized by the unified Health Index: H(t) = 0.7·(Ė_main/Ė_repair) + 0.3·(B_flex/B_0), where B_flex is the 7‑day range of the Ben-Shi parameter. Aging begins when H drops below 0.8, and death occurs when cumulative damage reaches a critical threshold. The damage accumulation is driven by the health index. The lifespan equation is derived stepwise, and allometric scaling τ_life ∝ M^{1/4} is recovered from constraint nesting with saturation of logarithmic terms in mammals. The framework resolves the antioxidant paradox, unifies the senescence(definition))." style="text-decoration:underline dotted; text-underline-offset:2px; cursor:help;">hallmarks of aging(definition), explains biological immortality via dynamic redundancy, and provides strict falsifiable predictions with power analysis and minimum effect size thresholds. By integrating with the health framework, this paper completes the EET life cycle: origin → replication → health → aging → death, offering a unified energy-ontological foundation for geroscience.