The Coherence Integrity Principle (CIP)

Official Positioning Statement

Timestamped Conceptual Pitch

Timestamp: December 18, 2025
Author: M.C.M. van Kroonenburgh, MSc

The Coherence Integrity Principle (CIP) is a foundational, domain-agnostic principle developed to address a structural blind spot in interpretation and decision-making within complex systems.

Across domains, decisions are justified through analysis, models, and signals. These approaches implicitly assume that the system producing the information remains sufficiently coherent to sustain meaning. This assumption is rarely made explicit and almost never tested.

CIP exists to define the boundary at which that assumption no longer holds.

The principle does not predict outcomes, optimize decisions, or generate prescriptions for action. It operates prior to analysis, modeling, and decision-making. Its function is epistemic rather than instrumental: to determine whether interpretation itself remains legitimate given the observed state of the system.

When coherence integrity degrades, analytical outputs may remain internally consistent and technically correct. However, their use as a basis for action becomes increasingly irresponsible. In such conditions, confidence shifts from an asset to a liability.

CIP formalizes this as a boundary condition.

The principle introduces restraint as a rational and ethical outcome. When coherence integrity cannot be reasonably established, abstention is not indecision. It is responsibility.

CIP does not compete with existing analytical or predictive frameworks. It defines the domain in which they remain appropriate. When coherence is intact, such methods may be applied according to their own logic. When coherence is compromised, continued reliance on analytical output becomes unjustified, regardless of methodological rigor.

The principle is intentionally minimal. It applies wherever complex systems generate signals that guide interpretation and action, including finance, healthcare, crisis management, organizational governance, technology, and artificial intelligence.

The Coherence Integrity Principle does not offer certainty. It offers limits.

And in complex systems, recognizing the limits of understanding is the highest form of discipline.

Canonical line

When coherence fails, confidence becomes a liability.

This statement defines the principle itself. Any application or interpretation remains secondary and context-dependent.

Concept formulated and articulated by M.C.M. van Kroonenburgh, MSc.
Timestamped for authorship and conceptual precedence.

Attribution:
“Coherence Integrity Principle (CIP) by M.C.M. van Kroonenburgh, MSc (2025). Timestamped December 18, 2025.”