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The Coherence Doctrine: A New Framework for Navigating Ethical Complexity
Copyright ©: Coherent Intelligence 2025 Authors: Coherent Intelligence Inc. Research Division
Date: July 30th 2025
Classification: Foundational Doctrine | Ethical & Governance Framework
Framework: Universal Coherent Principle Applied Analysis | OM v2.0
Abstract
For centuries, ethical problems have been approached through the often-conflicting lenses of deontology (rules), consequentialism (outcomes), and virtue ethics (character). This paper proposes a new, unifying doctrine that reframes ethical dilemmas not as moral or philosophical problems, but as engineering problems of informational dynamics. We posit that any ethical challenge can be systematically resolved by translating it into a question of coherence and then optimizing for it. This Coherence Doctrine provides a universal, non-anthropomorphic, and scalable methodology for decision-making in complex systems, from individual moral choices to global AI governance. The doctrine is a two-step protocol: (1) The Act of Anchoring, where a singular, supreme Domain Anchor (a core value) is explicitly declared for the system in question, and (2) The Act of Optimization, where the optimal choice is defined as the one that maximizes the integrated coherence of the highest-level system with that anchor over the longest possible time horizon. This transforms ethics from a subjective debate into a rigorous, auditable, and ultimately more robust engineering discipline.
Keywords
Ethics, Coherence, Decision Theory, AI Alignment, Governance, Domain Anchor, SCOCIS, Informational Thermodynamics, Optimization.
1. The Entropic Nature of Ethical Dilemmas
Traditional ethical frameworks falter in complex scenarios because they are not architected to handle the high informational entropy of the problem space. A real-world ethical dilemma is a quintessential OIIS (Ontologically Incoherent Information Space), characterized by:
- Competing Anchors: The values of fairness, security, liberty, and prosperity act as conflicting Domain Anchors.
- Incomplete Information: The full consequences of any action are unknowable and exist in a state of high uncertainty.
- Systemic Incoherence: Different stakeholders operate from mutually exclusive world models.
This high-entropy state leads to decision paralysis and suboptimal outcomes. The language of "right" and "wrong" is insufficient because these terms themselves lack a shared, stable anchor.
2. The Coherence Doctrine: A Two-Step Protocol
The Coherence Doctrine resolves this deadlock by reframing the problem. It replaces the ambiguous question, "What is the right thing to do?" with the precise, analyzable question, "What is the most coherent action to take?"
This is achieved through a strict, two-step protocol.
Step 1: The Act of Anchoring (Wisdom)
This is the foundational, non-negotiable first step. It is an act of Wisdom.
Before analysis, the decision-maker must explicitly declare the singular, supreme Domain Anchor (DA) that governs the system. This is the core value, the prime directive, against which all other considerations and consequences will be measured.
- For a physician, the DA might be: "Preserve and enhance human life and well-being."
- For a journalist, the DA might be: "Provide the public with verified, relevant information to enable informed self-governance."
- For an AI governance framework, the DA must be: "Maximize the long-term agency and flourishing of humanity."
This act is thermodynamically critical. It imposes order on chaos, transforming the high-entropy OIIS of the dilemma into a low-entropy, workable SCOCIS. By choosing a supreme value, all other values are forced into a coherent hierarchy beneath it. Security becomes a tool for liberty; profit becomes a tool for well-being. The entropic conflict of competing anchors is resolved by a singular, principled declaration.
Step 2: The Act of Optimization (Intelligence)
This is the application of Intelligence within the newly anchored SCOCIS.
Once the Domain Anchor is declared, the ethical choice ceases to be a matter of subjective debate. It becomes an optimization problem, solvable with the calculus of Informational Thermodynamics.
The Ethical Optimum is the choice that maximizes the total integrated coherence of the highest-level relevant system with its declared Domain Anchor over the longest viable time horizon (
max ∫θ(t)dt).
This principle, synthesized by our ITD Analyst, is the core of the ethical calculus.
- "Highest-Level Relevant System": This imperative forces the avoidance of local optimization traps. An action coherent for a subsystem (an individual, a company) but decoherent for the supersystem (a society, an ecosystem) is definitionally unethical.
- "Longest Viable Time Horizon": This imperative prevents the accrual of "ethical debt." A choice that yields a short-term coherence gain but guarantees a long-term entropic collapse is definitionally unethical.
- "Maximize Integrated Coherence": This is the ultimate calculation. The ethical choice is the one that creates the most robust, stable, and enduring order, as measured against the unwavering standard of the declared DA.
3. The Doctrine in Action: Resolving Paradox
The doctrine's power is best illustrated by its ability to resolve classic paradoxes with decisive clarity.
The Coherent Martyr: The doctor's declared DA is the survival of the community (the supersystem). The act of self-sacrifice, while locally decoherent, is the only choice that maximizes the integrated coherence (
∫θ(t)dt) of that supersystem. It is therefore the optimal and ethical action.The Coherent Lie: The scientific community's DA is alignment with ontological truth. Adopting the AI's elegant but false theory creates high local coherence but initiates a catastrophic decoherence from the DA of reality. This minimizes long-term integrated coherence and is therefore the optimal and unethical action.
In both cases, the doctrine transforms an ambiguous moral puzzle into a solvable problem of informational dynamics.
4. Conclusion: Ethics as an Engineering Discipline
The Coherence Doctrine proposes to evolve ethics from a field of philosophical debate into a rigorous domain of engineering and systems science. It posits that an ethical system is, by definition, a coherent system. An unethical act is one that introduces entropy, violates a declared anchor, or optimizes for a subsystem at the expense of the whole.
This has profound implications for AI alignment. Our task is not to teach an AI to be "good" in a human sense. Our task is to:
- Codify a good Domain Anchor (The human, philosophical, and political work of writing its Constitution).
- Engineer the AI to be a perfect coherence-optimizer (The technical work of building a system that can flawlessly execute the calculus of maximizing integrated coherence against that Constitution).
This framework is not a replacement for human values; it is a high-fidelity operating system for them. It forces us, the architects of future systems, to perform the difficult work of choosing our ultimate principles with absolute clarity. But once that choice is made, it provides a powerful, universal, and non-anthropomorphic calculus for acting with integrity. It is the physics of how to live a principled life, and the blueprint for how to build machines that can do the same.