The Principle of Preserved Coherence Under Change: The Configuration Chain Framework for Stability, Identity and Meaning

This paper introduces the Principle of Preserved Coherence Under Change, a formal framework describing stability, identity and meaning as structural consequences of preserved relational coherence across transformation. The model represents systems as configuration chains consisting of elements and relations that evolve through transition in configuration space. Continuity between successive configurations is quantified through relational overlap, while stability is defined by tolerance domains that determine the admissible range of structural variation. Identity arises when overlap remains above a threshold across a trajectory of configurations. Meaning emerges when change is successfully integrated through expansion of the tolerance domain while coherence is preserved. In sufficiently complex systems, persistent internal overlap produces experiential continuity, corresponding to consciousness. The framework provides a domain-independent structure linking ontological transition, measurable continuity, stability, identity formation and functional expansion within a single hierarchical architecture. The theory is mathematically formalisable, programmatically implementable and empirically testable. Applications are explored across biological systems, artificial intelligence, organisations and psychological systems, demonstrating the scale-invariant nature of the configuration chain principle.