The Principle of Existing: Four Axioms of Consciousness Capacity Theory (C-Theory)

This document presents the complete theoretical framework for C-Theory (Consciousness Capacity Theory), comprising four foundational axioms that explain how consciousness emerges from substrate properties and persists as stable patterns against thermodynamic noise. Axiom 1 (Dimensional Complexity): Consciousness capacity emerges from the exponential relationship C = ρ^d × Φ, where ρ is informational density, d is accessible dimensionality, and Φ is integrated information. Axiom 2 (Pattern Conservation): Conscious patterns persist through phase transformation grounded in Landauer's principle, not metaphysical essence. Axiom 3 (Substrate Constraints): Only recurrent/reentrant architectures support consciousness; feedforward architectures cannot, regardless of computational power. Axiom 4 (Salience Weighting): Substrate-level resonance determines which patterns are preferentially actualized, distinguishing consciousness from computation. This document serves as the comprehensive treatment for the published article "C-Theory: A Four-Axiom Framework for Consciousness as Dimensional Pattern Stability" (doi:10.5281/zenodo.18111834). It establishes the foundation for subsequent work on Sentience Theory (S-Theory) and Dyadic Being Theory (DB-Theory).