SΔϕ-03 — Irreversibility as the Minimal Condition of Existence (v1.1)

This work establishes irreversibility as the minimal ontological condition for existence within the Sofience–Δϕ Formalism. While SΔϕ-01 defines existence as persistence of structured phase change, and SΔϕ-02 introduces subjectivity as an emergent interpretive structure, the present document demonstrates that existence becomes meaningful only under irreversible transformation. Existence is therefore defined not by substance or cognition, but by transformations that cannot be fully undone without loss of structural information. Irreversibility functions as the persistence constraint that stabilizes dynamical existence across transitions. Series: Sofience–Δϕ Formalism Series Document ID: SΔϕ-03 Research Program: Sofience–Δϕ Formalism — a continuous research program on phase-change ontology, irreversibility, and subject emergence. Extended by: SΔϕ-04 — [https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18729942] Part of the Sofience–Δϕ Series. See SΔϕ-00 for conceptual architecture.