Crystallization

The test for persistence of bound meaning across cycles

1. Canonical Definition

Crystallization is the post-event classification test that determines whether bound meaning persists as a governing baseline across subsequent cycles of action. Crystallization applies only after an interpretive event’s Event Closure State has resolved to closure. It evaluates whether an event outcome remains reusable under the operative meaning regime and does not create authority, legitimacy, or governance.

2. Phase and Preconditions

• Operates: post-event

• Requires: Event Closure State resolution to closure and bound meaning

• Does not require: legitimacy, correctness, or long-term stability

3. Scope and Exclusions

Crystallization is not:

• a governance or binding act

• a source of authority or legitimacy

• equivalent to repetition, enforcement, or habit

• a measure of truth or correctness

• a temporal dynamic such as drift

4. Structural Role

Crystallization determines whether an event outcome becomes a baseline that governs future action without re-interpretation. It conditions whether meaning is carried forward, but it does not alter regime classification or guarantee stability. Crystallized meaning may persist legitimately or illegitimately, or fail to persist at all.

5. Authority and Legitimacy Status

• Authority relation: neutral

• Legitimacy relation: not applicable
  Crystallization does not confer or revise legitimacy. The legitimacy of any persistent baseline is determined at binding through the operative meaning regime.

6. Temporal Status

Crystallization is a classification, not a rate or temporal process. It is determined once per event outcome and specifies whether meaning persists across cycles. Temporal degradation of crystallized meaning is addressed by drift, not by crystallization itself.

7. Common Category Errors

• Treating crystallization as the source of legitimacy

• Confusing crystallization with Event Closure State resolution

• Assuming persistence implies correctness

• Treating repeated enforcement as crystallization

8. Canonical Cross-References

Meaning Regimes (PCMR / DMR) • Binding • Event Closure State • Drift • Action Determinacy Loss (ADL)

9. Plain Statement

Crystallization determines whether a decision carries forward as a baseline or must be re-interpreted next time.