Confluence as a Requirement for Reference Grounding
Abstract
This paper establishes confluence as a necessary condition for reference grounding. It shows that unless independent admissible redescriptions converge on the same referent, reference collapses into ambiguity or indeterminacy, regardless of internal coherence or empirical fit. Non-confluent systems are shown, by exhaustion, to permit drift, equivocation, or post-hoc stabilization, all of which violate admissibility. The result fixes confluence as a structural requirement for meaningful reference rather than a methodological preference. No algorithms, convergence procedures, or implementation guidance are given; the argument is necessity-based and eliminative.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Philosophy and Theoretical Science
Epistemology
Ethics
and Metaphysics
Philosophy
Science
and History
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
- Publication date
- 7 February 2026