The Beacon Model: Orientation, Navigation, and Meaning Under Uncertainty

The Beacon Model is a qualitative, interpretive framework describing how individuals orient themselves under conditions of persistent uncertainty when outcomes are non-comparable, paths are non-replicable, and incentives are ambiguously perceived. The model does not function as an explanatory, predictive, or evaluative system, nor does it propose mechanisms, decision rules, or optimization criteria. Instead, it provides a constrained descriptive stance for articulating orientation, aspiration, and perceived progress without collapsing meaning into outcomes, narrative coherence, or system dynamics. Formal symbolic expressions included in the appendices serve strictly to preserve internal coherence and boundary conditions. They do not imply quantification, computability, empirical extension, or predictive capacity. The Beacon Model contributes a conceptual vocabulary for describing navigation under uncertainty while preserving uncertainty as a defining condition rather than a problem to be resolved.