Informational Persistence as Structural Necessity
William H Chang
Abstract
This paper argues that the global persistence of information is not an empirical postulate but a strict structural necessity, derivable from the minimal requirements of any stratified system architecture. The argument proceeds in three steps. First, drawing on the External Reference Paradox (ERP), it is shown that any stratified system requires a deterministic reference layer (𝐿1) whose persistence is independent of the finite, informational subsystem (𝐼2) it anchors. Second, a proof by contradiction demonstrates that if informational content were strictly co-terminus with its physical carrier — ceasing upon the carrier's dissolution — the functional stratification required by the ERP would collapse, reducing all structure to a single entropic layer. Third, consistency with the physical constraints of unitarity, holographic entropy bounds, and conservation principles is established. The conclusion is that informational persistence across carrier boundaries is the structural precondition for any coherent stratified ontology, not an additional metaphysical claim imposed upon it. The argument is neutral regarding the specific mechanism or substrate of persistence, establishing a functional minimum rather than a determinate physical or metaphysical account.