The article details an empirically justified physical foundation and provides a novel approach to resolving physics' oustanding questions. The thermocontextual interpretation (TCI) introduces three new assumptions: (1) temperature is a measurable property; (2) absolute zero can be approached but never reached, and (3) there are no unobservable "hidden" properties of state. Logical implications are entropy and exergy as thermocontextual properties of the physical state, and fundamental randomness and irreversibility. The TCI provides logical explanations for wavefunction collapse and nonlocal correlations without untestable and untenable metaphysical implications of prevailing interpretations. It lays a firm foundation for addressing outstanding questions regarding the evolution of complex systems in physics, chemistry, and biology.