PRRICCE: Foundational Theory and Epistemology

PRRICCE: Foundational Theory and Epistemology This project archives the core foundational manuscript of the PRRICCE framework — a minimal, substrate-agnostic model describing the simplest physical structure of persistent intelligent systems. Derived from three irreducible cores (Probability, Instinct/Reward-seeking, Entropy), it yields the Equilibrium Inequality as the necessary condition for survival. The framework is qualitative, universal, and epistemological in nature, focusing on the minimal constraints governing intelligence across scales. Related applied work: Recursive Closure: A PRRICCE-Derived Resolution to the Fermi Paradox and Great Filter (2025, DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/UAF24) Probabilistic Equilibrium as a Complementary Constraint on the Drake Equation and Resolution to the Fermi Paradox (2026, DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/DVXUA) Registrations provide frozen, timestamped versions.