Emotion as Circulating Informational Energy: An Observational Framework for Social, Economic, and AI-Adjacent Systems

Description This work is also presented under the complementary title: Designing for Emotional Circulation: A Non-Normative Framework for Attention, Narrative, and Value Formation While the primary title emphasizes a conceptual redefinition of emotion as circulating informational energy, the secondary title foregrounds the design-oriented, non-normative stance of the framework. Together, these two titles represent the dual pillars of this work: theoretical grounding and practical observability. The paper proposes an observational framework for analyzing emotional circulation across social, economic, and AI-adjacent systems—without prescribing normative judgments, claiming moral authority, or offering predictive guarantees. Recommended citation note (optional): When referencing this work, please cite the primary title above. The secondary title may be used as an explanatory subtitle. This research is conducted independently and shared openly.No payment or access restriction is required.