Erosion as the Ontological Condition of Diachronic Self-Identity: A Deductive Self-Model Theorem of Phenomenological Lack
PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) July 3, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21164343 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Normative Identity music Appeal Modality human–computer interaction Phenomenology philosophy Class philosophy Contrast vision State computer science Epistemology Object grammar Property philosophy Modal operator Calculus dental |
| Key points | Argues that phenomenological lack is a necessary modal consequence of diachronic self-identity, arising from the comparison of present state to a normative horizon under representational non-coincidence. |
Abstract
Abstract This paper establishes a fully deductive account of phenomenological lack grounded in diachronic self-identity. I demonstrate that any system satisfying diachronic identity necessarily operates under temporal indexation, which analytically entails the formation of a minimal self-model as a structural requirement of maintaining identity across non-coincident temporal states. From this, I derive that self-relation is necessarily non-equivalent across time, and that any internal comparison structure must generate a normative horizon. Phenomenological lack is shown to be the modal consequence of comparing present state to this horizon under conditions of representational non-coincidence. Erosion is redefined as the class of all structural transformations induced by temporal indexation, without appeal to decay or empirical assumptions. Keywords: Diachronic identity, self-model theorem, non-equivalence, temporal indexation, lack, ontology, modality