---
slug: oip-disconfirming-edge-2
title: Disconfirming Edge 2: Free Energy Principle vs Criticality
canonical: https://miscsubjects.com/a/oip-disconfirming-edge-2
---

**C13** (Free Energy Principle) contradicts **C05** (Criticality)

**Tension:** If FEP is universal (all systems minimize free energy), then criticality should be derivable from FEP — but critical systems are NOT minimizing anything local; they operate at a point of maximal sensitivity, not minimal surprise.

**Resolution status:** OPEN

**What would settle it:** A derivation showing that self-organized criticality IS the free-energy-optimal state for certain classes of systems; OR proof that critical systems do NOT minimize free energy, falsifying the universality claim of FEP.

**Current state:** Some Friston collaborators have attempted to derive criticality from FEP (e.g., Friston et al., 2012, “Active Inference and Agency”), but the derivation is contested. Criticality researchers (e.g., Beggs, Markovic) maintain that criticality is a distinct principle.

**Honest assessment:** This is a genuine theoretical tension. If FEP swallows criticality, it gains strength. If criticality resists absorption, FEP’s universality claim is weakened.

---

## Corpus map
- C13 (Free Energy Principle): [C13 in the Encyclopedia](/a/convergence-encyclopedia-c13) · [C13 in the Catalogue](/a/oip-node-c13-free-energy-active-inference)
- C05 (Criticality): [C05 in the Encyclopedia](/a/convergence-encyclopedia-c05) · [C05 in the Catalogue](/a/oip-node-c05-criticality-edge-of-chaos-power-laws)
- Disconfirming edges: [1](/a/oip-disconfirming-edge-1) · [2](/a/oip-disconfirming-edge-2) · [3](/a/oip-disconfirming-edge-3) · [4](/a/oip-disconfirming-edge-4) · [5](/a/oip-disconfirming-edge-5)
- Catalogue hub: [Convergence Catalogue — Public Article](/a/oip-convergence-public-article) · [The Schema](/a/oip-convergence-schema)
