Determinacy Conditions

Structural conditions required for action determinacy

1. Canonical Definition

Determinacy conditions are the minimal structural conditions required for a governing baseline to deterministically route response selection without reinterpretation. These conditions specify whether a baseline can continue to govern action under the reference conditions treated as in force.

2. Phase and Preconditions

• Operates: structural (non-temporal)

• Requires: a governing baseline capable of constraining response selection

• Does not require: crystallization, legitimacy, authority, or persistence across time

3. Scope and Exclusions

Determinacy conditions are not:

• variables, forces, or evaluative measures

• temporal states or lifecycle phases

• guarantees of correctness or success

• indicators of legitimacy or authority

• explanations of why a baseline was formed

4. Structural Role

Determinacy conditions specify the structural requirements for action determinacy. When all conditions are satisfied, a governing baseline can route response selection without reinterpretation. Failure of any condition results in loss of determinacy and necessitates reactivation of interpretation.

5. The Three Determinacy Conditions

1. Reference Viability

   Reference viability is the condition under which a governing baseline remains applicable to the reference conditions treated as in force. Reference viability fails when the baseline can no longer be applied without reinterpretation because its presupposed reference conditions no longer obtain.

2. Constraint Orderability

   Constraint orderability is the condition under which competing constraints can be internally ranked such that one course of action dominates. Constraint orderability fails when multiple constraints bind without an available dominance resolution, preventing deterministic routing.

3. Routing Realizability

   Routing realizability is the condition under which at least one authorized response pathway exists for a governing baseline. Routing realizability fails when no executable or admissible route remains available to carry the baseline into action.

6. Authority and Legitimacy Status

• Authority relation: neutral

• Legitimacy relation: not applicable

Determinacy conditions do not create, assign, or revoke authority. They do not evaluate legitimacy.

7. Temporal Status

Determinacy conditions are not temporal. They apply whenever a governing baseline is used to route action, regardless of whether the baseline is newly formed, persistent, or approaching exhaustion.

8. Common Category Errors

• Treating determinacy conditions as types or stages of ADL

• Treating them as probabilistic or gradual states

• Treating them as indicators of correctness or quality

• Treating them as governance or authorization rules

9. Canonical Cross-References

Interpretation • Interpretive Jurisdiction • Binding • Action-Governing Meaning (AGM) • Response Routing • Action Determinacy Loss (ADL) • Drift • Meaning Regimes (PCMR / DMR)

10. Plain Statement

Determinacy conditions describe whether existing meaning can still decide what a system can do next.