IOInformational Ontology
Visual aids · P

P — Purpose

In IO, purpose is not an inner intention. It is the stable, goal-like pattern that emerges when a system must satisfy persistence constraints (V) and has mechanisms that regulate itself under disturbance.

This diagram is intentionally simple. It is an intuition builder, not a proof.

Purpose as a control outcome (not an inner “aim”)

No regulationRegulation under constraintSame persistence band + same disturbances — only the feedback loop differsfailure regionfailure regionsafe band (persistence)drift accumulates → exits occurfailure regionfailure regionsafe band (persistence)repeated return toward a stable region“Purpose” is the stable, goal-like behavior produced by constraint + regulation over time.It can look intentional, even when it is just feedback maintaining persistence.

Purpose (P) names the pattern that results when a system persists under disturbance: it repeatedly returns to a viable region rather than drifting away.

The “failure regions” do not imply any specific sensor (voltage, etc.). They simply mark states outside the persistence constraint.