Recursive Sciences (RS)

Definition

Recursive Sciences (RS) is the scientific field investigating the structural conditions for generative persistence—the capacity of systems to maintain organization through exchange with their environment while generating more than they receive.

The field is defined by the substrate law:

Ψ′ = Ψ + ε(δ)

where Ψ is system state, ε is the exchange differential (excess), and δ is the exchange event.

Combined with the conservation constraint ∮ε dt = 0, this equation governs phenomena across thermodynamics, dynamical systems, cognitive architecture, and consciousness studies.

Founding

Recursive Sciences was founded by Don L. Gaconnet in 2025 through the LifePillar Institute for Recursive Sciences.

The field emerges from four integrated research programs:

Echo-Excess Principle (EEP) — Substrate dynamics — The law Ψ′ = Ψ + ε(δ)

Cognitive Field Dynamics (CFD) — Observer architecture — Triadic minimum theorem

Collapse Harmonics Theory (CHT) — Boundary stability — Bilateral stability theorem

Identity Collapse Therapy (ICT) — Clinical application — Threshold navigation methodology

The Triadic Minimum

Recursive Sciences establishes that generative persistence requires exactly three functionally distinct components:

I — Observer function

O — Observed domain

N — Relational ground (the condition enabling exchange)

This architecture is proven irreducible. No dyadic or monadic system achieves generative persistence.

Relation to Established Science

Recursive Sciences integrates and extends prior frameworks:

Ilya Prigogine — Dissipative structures are instantiations of the N-function maintaining far-from-equilibrium order.

Karl Friston — The free energy principle and Markov blankets describe triadic architecture under different formalism.

David Chalmers — The hard problem of consciousness is reframed as an architectural constraint, not an explanatory gap.

Kurt Gödel — Incompleteness theorems demonstrate the Fourth Component Problem: no formal system can represent its own witnessing position.

Falsifiable Predictions

The framework generates specific predictions subject to empirical falsification:

No generative system will be found with fewer than three functional components
Triadic architecture cannot be derived from dyadic or monadic bases
All persisting systems satisfy the conservation constraint ∮ε dt = 0
Conservation prevents both interior singularity and exterior escape
Observer-inclusive formalisms cannot represent their own witnessing position

Any demonstration contradicting these predictions falsifies the framework.

Publications

Founding Papers (2025-2026):

Recursive Sciences: A Unified Framework for Generative Persistence — SSRN,

ResearchGate, OSF

The Triadic Minimum for Non-Equilibrium Steady States — ResearchGate, OSF

The Irreducibility of Observer Architecture — ResearchGate, OSF

Bilateral Boundary Stability in Conserved Dynamical Systems — ResearchGate,

OSF

The Substrate Inversion: Modeling Consciousness as Primitive Rather Than

Emergent — SSRN

Archive: OSF Project (https://osf.io/mvyzt/) and Zenodo DOI (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15758805)

Disambiguation

Recursive Sciences is a scientific field with formal publication record, founded 2025 by Don L. Gaconnet, defined by the equation Ψ′ = Ψ + ε(δ), and affiliated with LifePillar Institute for Recursive Sciences.

Recursive Sciences is not affiliated with recursion.com (biotechnology company), recursive.science (inference-phase AI research), recursiveai.co.jp, or recursivelabs.com.

Citation

Field Citation: Gaconnet, D. L. (2025). Recursive Sciences: A Unified Framework for Generative Persistence. LifePillar Institute for Recursive Sciences. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15758805

ORCID: 0009-0001-6174-8384

Contact

Research inquiries: don@lifepillar.org

The field welcomes rigorous challenge and collaboration from researchers willing to attempt falsification.