Magic as Signature Practice: An Informational Engineering Model in a Causal-Symmetric Framework
PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) November 23, 2025 Rubenstein, Elias
A formal model proposes that structured initiatory or esoteric practices can produce reliable inner transformation through lawful informational interventions rather than supernatural causation. The framework describes a five-operator kernel involving symbolic mediation, bounded correspondence, attentional stabilization, stage-indexed invariants, and reflexive fixpoint audit. These protocols inject signature information into an agent's state distribution, driving relaxation toward stage attractors. The model generates concrete, falsifiable predictions testable with preregistered three-arm designs comparing congruent protocols, diagnosis-mismatch protocols, and context-only controls. Predictions include monotone diagnostic moderation, stage-specific early-signature ordering, operator necessity via ablations, and an authenticity threshold based on calibrated invariants and bounded distortion. This approach turns magic into an experimentally decidable hypothesis about informational state engineering.