I am unaware of a single model of nature that covers the many levels of scientific study that cross from the very small to the very large. It might be time to converge the many levels of scientific study and attempt a single model of nature.

The many levels include:

• Physics has its model of reality existing from the particle level.
• Biochemistry has nature built around molecules and proteins, built from atoms and particles.
• Medicine has nature built around organisms, stemming from the cells and proteins of biochemistry.
• Ecology has nature built around species, environments and interactions of organisms.
• Astronomy has nature built around planets, stars, and galaxies.

From a practical perspective, we are not likely to ever build a single model of nature all from the level of particle physics. This direction also presumes a full reductionist philosophy that has not been proven. It would seem we should be able to develop a single model of all nature in which all these levels can be incorporated. The model would need to include organisms as well as inanimate matter, and hence go beyond physics.

If we start with a model space that can accommodate all levels, we can then 'slide in' current models into the appropriate levels to build out the larger picture. There is no initial change to the individual models at each level, however cross-scale interactions would be able to be modeled (as with multi-scale modeling). Such a model should be able to address actions by organisms, including actions that impact levels smaller than that of the organism (e.g., animals devouring and digesting other animals and plants, building the Large Hadron Collider by humans) and so challenge a strict reductionist philosophy. The concepts of emergence and complexity should be addressed.

I do not see how such a model can be accomplished in a traditional three-dimensional space, since the many levels of objects studied by science each use a three-dimensional model at each level. Identifying the interactions of proteins, cells, organs, an entire organism, and an ecological environment will require the objects at each level to be relationally located in scale. Actions by proteins on cells, on organs, and impacting the behavior of the entire organism need to address actions that cross levels and not be limited by one level or another.

Since such a model would require we identify the layers of objects involved, it would seem the layered approach would need a fourth location identifier to locate the scale level of all objects involved. This could be accomplished via a four-dimensional space model, with the fourth dimension identifying the layers.

I do not see how this can be a done by specialists in any single discipline. There has to be a large generalist / integrationist perspective involved. Most multi-disciplinary attempts I see still look at specialized areas and not the larger picture.

Does a larger perspective exist? If not, maybe we should build such a larger picture.