The Pre-Integrative Rejection Principle: A Universal Integrity Filter in Self-Maintaining Systems

This paper proposes and defends a general systems principle describing a rapid rejection mechanism present in all self-maintaining systems. This mechanism operates prior to full analytical integration and serves to preserve structural integrity by excluding inputs that cannot be safely assimilated. Building on foundational work in autopoiesis theory, cybernetics, and immunology, I argue that this principle represents a necessary architectural feature of viable systems rather than a domain-specific adaptation. The principle is examined across biological organisms, immune systems, ecosystems, computational architectures, cultures, and cognitive frameworks. I formalize the mechanism, propose operational criteria for its identification, and derive testable predictions. System stability is shown to depend on the calibrated threshold of this rejection mechanism: excessively low thresholds produce rigidity and stagnation; excessively high thresholds permit destructive integration and systemic degradation. The paper establishes formal connections to the Predictive Viability Law and institutional exclusion theory, suggesting that pre-integrative rejection is one aspect of a more fundamental principle governing the architecture of viable systems under physical constraints. Keywords: system integrity, rejection filter, pre-integrative response, systemic stability, adaptive thresholds, structural preservation, autopoiesis, cybernetics, signal detection theory, dual-process cognition, predictive processing Related identifiers: IsSupplementedBy: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18444910 (The evolutionary inevitability of predictive processing) IsSupplementedBy: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18135188 (Non-participation and early exclusion as stability-preserving institutional strategies)